The aqueduct

Carrying drinking water through open channels has a long history and the Romans of course had some great aqueducts, with their use of bridges being particularly notable.   Growing up, I was aware of the existence of some aqueducts forming part Melbourne's water supply system.     I now read that there was the O'Shannassy aqueduct in the Yarra Valley which is no longer used (see here and here).    

There was also the Maroondah Aqueduct, which I read was built in 1886–1881 to supply  water to the Preston Reservoir.  This, too, has been closed in a number of places and there's a walking/biking trail along part of it. There's also a disused section of this aqueduct that intersects the Yarra Glen to Christmas Hills Road.

Although in this era of steel pipes, we tend to think of this technology as a bit "yesterday", in fact there are still sections of the Maroondah Aqueduct in use today.   There's a reference here to over 30 kms of it still being in use (but my limited googling hasn't confirmed this distance).

Why am I saying this?  It's because, immediately behind Balgownie Estate (where we stayed recently), just a little further up the hill, a section of aqueduct is alive and well!    It's fenced off, and there are emphatic "do not enter" signs, but it most definitely is still is use.

Here's a link showing the location of the section of the aqueduct where it passes behind Balgownie Estate (the big while blobs are the accommodation blocks).

Tracking aircraft

The loss of MH17 was a true disaster.    It's a bit sobering to reflect that this is the very flight we travelled on last October (from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur).

However,  I was interested in the map that appeared on the internet shortly after the event, showing that hardly any commercial aircraft were near Ukraine.

On closer investigation, I find that you can see the location of a lot of the world's commercial  flights (including corporate planes) at Flightradar 24 and at Planefinder.   These sites use information transmitted from planes, particularly from ADS-B transponders (but also other sources).  They take a moment to load, but it's fascinating that this information is available to the world on just a click of the mouse button.  There are clearly some committed people out there that go to all this effort.

Just the same, some of the information looks a bit dodgy, particularly on Planefinder.  This site appears list a number of Aeromexico flights in Australia, but I think they are actually Pel-Air Aviation flights (do they use a similar flight prefix - perhaps something like AM)?   Also, Planefinder appears not to have a good coverage of China, but this doesn't seem to be an issue on Flightradar24.   Perhaps there are other strengths and weaknesses, too, but who's complaining, as the sites don't even carry advertisements. 

Biometrics

There was a bit of a discussion a few weeks back about the use of biometric data for security purposes.

In particular, a Facebook engineer, Gregg Stefancik was quoted  as saying that he "hates biometrics" because, once such data is compromised, it can't be amended.  He means that a person's fingerprints, retina or voice pattern can't be changed, whereas other forms of authentication like a password can be reissued.

However, the "Biometrics Institute" (not quite sure what this is or who is behind it)  apparently think that this overstates the case. They say,  "that biometrics offers far greater security than passwords and can’t be stolen because they are physical features of a person."

Well, perhaps biometric data they can't be stolen from a person, but what about at the other end?   Surely the data has to be on file at the bank or wherever, so that when the individual logs in, it knows what to look for?   And of course, we all know that any organisation that stores data about you is quite capable of being hacked (for example, eBay).  EDIT - and cloud storage also seems vulnerable.

The essence of the the Institute's  argument appears to be that you don't use biometrics alone.  Err, what's that?    So you do have to have a password or PIN as well?  Kinda defeats the purpose, I would have thought.....

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but at this stage, I remain to be convinced about the utility of biometric data!

PINs

I'm still getting letters and text messages from the bank reminding me that it's "PIN-only" from 1 August (because the banks want it that way).   It's all very annoying - especially the text messages.   ANZ in particular is getting quite agitated that I haven't used the PIN on my ANZ credit card.   They don't seem to have noticed that I haven't used the credit card at all......
Seems to me that the people that the banks need to be talking to are restaurants!    In my albeit limited sample of restaurants over the last few weeks signing is still very much alive!

But what about overseas card holders and other people who don't have a PIN?

I see that the Dementia Institute has taken up the issue and apparently it will be possible to have "sign only" cards.   So maybe things won't be entirely "PIN-only" after all.

ATM fees

It seems that ATM fees are very unpopular.   The Age (and other Fairfax media) ran a report about Galaxy Research's finding that people don't like ATM withdrawal fees when they use a "foreign" ATM.    It was mentioned that the typical fee seems to be moving up from $2 to $2.50.

But I'm sorry, I don't see any reason for indignation (at least, in relation to domestic ATMs).  Why shouldn't people be charged a fee when they use an ATM that's not operated by their own financial institution?   To me, it's a bit like walking into McDonalds and asking for a KFC product, or asking Qantas to sell you a Virgin ticket.

I think it's excellent that, if necessary, you can withdraw money from just about any ATM, but what's the problem if you have to pay when you use another bank's machine?  

It's said that people will drive to the other side of town to get petrol a few cents cheaper, so what's wrong with walking a few metres up the street to to get to an ATM operated by your own bank?  Although there are exceptions (small towns and airports come to mind), ATMs tend to be a bit like bananas - they bunch up.    Chances are that where there's one brand of ATM, several others won't be far away.

The use of  linked networks is sometimes overlooked, too.   The NAB and Redi ATM networks can be used interchangeably without fees, as can CBA/Bankwest and Westpac/Bank of Melbourne/St George.  I've seen a few Bankwest machines in 7/11 stores.  Another option is to use EFTPOS and the "cash-out" facility.    But of course the simplest option is just to plan ahead (albeit a little out-of-favour in our "instant gratification" world).

Ticking the wrong box

I went to check in on-line for our Qantas flight to Canberra.  Yes, I ought to have been more careful, but unfortunately on the page asking if we had any dangerous goods, I inadvertently ticked the wrong box.   Result - I was locked out of the on-line check-out process, with no way to go back to the beginning.  Oh well, I thought, I'll ring Qantas, surely it will be easy for them to re-set the process.   After 35 minutes waiting on hold (fortunately I had other things to do while waiting), the operator informed me that, yes, what I had done was not uncommon, but there was no way the process could be re-set.  The only option was to queue at the check-in and explain the situation to a real person.   She was adamant that this was a "safety" issue, and explained that Qantas were worried that having ticked the wrong box, I had to be checked in by a real person.

She was horrified when I suggested that perhaps if I was really out to sneak something on to the plane, I would have just checked the "I aren't carrying anything that I ought not to" box, rather than tick the other box and wait for 35 minutes on the phone to change it.  Ah, airline bureaucracy!

At the airport, the staff were very understanding, and we were checked in without any difficulty.

In fact, with hindsight, I see that the on-line check in process is almost certainly linked in to the database in the same way as the airport self-checkin stands, so perhaps the lack of flexibility is understandable after all.    Just the same, why the check-in personnel at the airport can override the system and the call centre operators can't remains a bit of a mystery.   The cynic in me wonders if this has anything to do with the fact that Qantas (like other airlines, I guess) doesn't wish to encourage phone calls?

However, I was a little unnerved when, on our return flight, the next day, once again, I wasn't able to access the self-checkin process at the airport.  The flight was again on Qantas, but it was a completely separate booking, made at a different time, and with a different reference.  But no, the self-checkin machine refused even to commence the process, and so we had to explain to a real person that we weren't carrying anything we weren't supposed to.

I'm now apprehensive that the Qantas computer has locked me out of the self-checkin process!  Surely, not as a result of my discussion over the phone?   We have a flight in the near future with Jetstar, so time will tell whether we have demonstrated ourselves trustworthy! In the meantime, two lessons have been reinforced:  be very careful about which boxes you tick and don't take issue with anything an airline person says.

Cardless cash

I know that sometimes I'm a late adopter of technology, but at least I'd heard of "PayWave" before it arrived in my mailbox.  But I hadn't heard of "cardless cash" until I read about it.  This enables you to withdraw cash from an ATM without a card, by using your smartphone.  CAB offer the facility allowing up to $200 per day, and Westpac will offer something similar later in the year.

As I understand it, with the CBA, when you want to withdraw money, you use the app to say how much you want.  You then receive two PINs, one via the app on the smartphone and the other by SMS. Both of these are transmitted to your phone.  When you get to an ATM, you enter these numbers.    

I watched the clip on the CBA site and it seems that you don't need to enter your bank PIN either on your phone or at the ATM.   Security is provided by your phone password (which the bank is not concerned with).   True, most phone users set their phone so that this needs to be keyed in after a minute or so of inactivity, but even so, it left me wondering, particularly about the fact that the bank having no responsibility in the process for checking that the phone is not being improperly used (such as requiring a PIN known by the bank to be keyed in).

So, I had a look at the "fine print", as a footnote to the expression about the user not being liable for unauthorised transactions.   
This states, "^{^}This means we’ll cover any loss should someone make an unauthorised withdrawal on your account using Cardless Cash - provided you protect your phone and phone password and immediately notify us of their loss, theft or misuse, and of any suspicious activity on your account."

Hmmm, if you lose your phone, can you be said to have failed to "protect" it?  If someone loses their phone, will informing the bank be the first thing on their minds?   How quickly do you have to notify the bank in order to be able to say that you've "immediately" notified them?   I haven't used this facility (and am unlikely to do so) so perhaps I've missed something, but otherwise it seems to me that there are a few "loose ends" here!

Black boxes

"Black boxes" have been in the news a bit lately, particularly with regard to the search for the one fitted to MH370.    It seems that ships have them too.

Here's the one on Dawn Princess (located prominently on an open deck) ---

Power outage - and Big Brother?

It was 8.30 in the morning and, click, just like that, the power went off.    In the past, the core balance device has occasionally tripped, but this time it was fine.    A neighbour was in his garden so I asked if their power was also out, but no, their power was fine.  And likewise, there was no problem for neighbour on the other side.

Thoughts of an expensive callout charge by an electrician on a public holiday crossed my mind.  But on closer inspection, there was no display on the smart meter.   So I rang Citipower, who told me that there were no problems in the area, but, yes, they could see that the meter wasn't functioning.  It seems that they can tell just what's going on at your meter.   Talk about Big Brother!

Hence, they sent their person around who fixed the fuse on the main line (where it's attached the house).

So, it seems that there can be some benefit in having Big Brother keeping watch.....???.

Mail to your door (2)

Shortly after my post about the proposal in Canada to deliver the mail to "community mail boxes" instead of to your door, a similar issue emerged here in Australia, namely, a proposal that mail (and also here) would be delivered on, say, 3 days a week with the option of paying extra for daily deliveries.  This seems to have been dropped, but instead it's intended to increase the base postage rate to 70 cents. 

Leaving aside some of the rather shrill comments on the various websites (do I detect a note of the "entitlement culture" amongst them?), I wonder if increasing the price of postage is a little counter-productive?

Don't get me wrong;   I don't suggest that the cost of posting letters should be cross-subsidised on an on-going basis, and in this digital age, conventional mail is going to come under pressure.   But I do think the proposal that Australia Post's service standards be reconsidered merits attention.   Assuming that a reduction of deliveries to 3 days a week is off the agenda (for the time being anyway), another possibility would be to look at the need for "next day" delivery in metro areas.  In most cases, would an additional day for a letter to arrive make much difference?   Or, possibly the "next day" requirement could be maintained, save that postbox clearances could be adjusted so that they occurred earlier in the day (instead of 6 pm as is usual at present in many areas).  Thus, if you wanted next day delivery, you would have to post by noon. This could reduce the amount of work required to be done overnight, presumably with a reduction in penalty rates payable.

I suppose another approach would be to charge extra for next day delivery, but to introduce this into the normal mail stream would obviously make the sorting process more complex and would seem to be counter-productive. In fact, the "Express Post" service already caters for this (even though its focus is interstate mail).

Another possibility is, do we need quite so many street postboxes?    Apparently there is a mandated minimum of 10,000;  perhaps this could be adjusted.

Retuning

It was 7 February, and SBS was showing "no signal".   I then remembered that somewhere I had read that further changes of the some of the TV channel frequencies was occurring.    In fact, it was an advertisement in the local paper that I had read.  If it had been mentioned on SBS - the channel that, at least so far as we were concerned, was affected - then we'd missed it. [Edit - seems that this is in fact what had occurred, or perhaps we watch at the wrong times.]

The challenge then was to do the retuning.   I scrolled through the menu, and tried "update".   After this had finished, still no SBS (even though I got a report that 7 channels had been found - must see if we really do have anything new).  Only when I set it to "install" was SBS again available.

Box girder bridges

Box girder bridges don't have a great track record, and the news of a crack in the West Gate Bridge - which is such a bridge - caused me to pause for thought.

Sure, the crack a few days ago seems only to relate to the surface, and not to the structure.  In fact, I'm told that the fact that there was yellow at the bottom of the crack is somewhat reassuring, as that means the membrane under the asphalt that protects the structural steel is intact.  Had the steel itself (which is under the membrane and is red) been visible, then the integrity of the membrane would have been breached and the issues would have been somewhat more serious.

More generally, however, what would be the implications for Melbourne if a structural problem with this bridge did emerge?   Perhaps life would go on with lower load limits and lower speed limits - but in a "worst-case" scenario, if the bridge had to be closed for safety reasons, there would be enormous disruption.



Bridges - like other structures - do fail from time to time, but it's interesting that the West Gate Bridge is a box girder bridge.    Some of these bridges failed during construction including,  as well as the West Gate Bridge itself,  the Milford Haven Bridge in West Wales (also known as the Cleddau Bridge) and South River Bridge in Koblenz, Germany. Since then the Cline Avenue bridge in Indiana has been closed.

Failures can occur in any sort of structure, of course, but apparently box girder bridges can be more susceptible to rusting and corrosion than some other types because water can begin to pool within the cell of the beam.   Hence, the authorities presumably keep a close watch on the West Gate Bridge and  seem to think that (and in relation to the latest incident, here) all is OK with it.

The Mixer tap

The mixer tap in the laundry was leaking.  The plumber came and replaced the "cartridge".  A couple of weeks later, it was leaking again, so we rang up another plumber.  "Have you got a replacement tap for us to install?"    No, we didn't, so we took ourselves to the local mega-hardware store, where we were confronted with a choice between the economy tap, the mid-range tap, or the top-of-the-range tap.  They all looked quite similar, but.......?  Anyway, we settled on the "mid-range" model (isn't "compromise" great?)

Before calling the plumber, I thought I should check the contents of the box, just to make sure that everything was there (imagine, the plumber arriving to find out a vital bit was missing!)    I also ran my eye over the installation instructions.   Ummmm, although they were written in plumber-ese, the task of installing the tap didn't look too complicated.   This was verified by inspecting the existing tap.

Sooo....20 minutes later, the new tap was installed!   There was some luck involved, in that amongst my random collection of spanners, there was one that was just the right size to tighten the nut.    I only got a little damp (!), so we took ourselves out to dinner with the money that would otherwise have paid the plumber (and there was change left over!)

The Garden Lights

We didn't need them, but we were checking out the Masters store, and they were "good value".   So now we've got a number of solar operated garden lights.  I'm still not certain whether they serve any useful purpose.......

After leaving them in the full sun for a day, we were disappointed that there wasn't even a glimmer of light when evening fell.   But closer investigation revealed that there was a little switch inside that needed to be turned on.

Then we had some heavy rain.   A couple of the lights
failed to operate the next night.  Well, we thought, they didn't cost much, so perhaps they're not completely waterproof.  However, a day or so later, after some warm sunshine, all was well again:   the warmth appears to have dried things out and the lights were all operating again.

Fund raising for........???

I have occasionally sent donations to an organisation the provides accommodation for the aged.   I admit that, deep down, part of the motive may be a feeling that it might not do any harm to be in their "good books" when the time comes....?   Or doesn't it work that way?   Be that as it may, I'm on their mailing list.
However, I was a bit taken aback by their latest appeal.   To provide emergency accommodation?  No.  To meet essential maintenance expenses?  No.  To provide iPads for residents.....YES.   No doubt a worthy cause, but even in this day and age, it hardly tugs at the heart-strings!  Perhaps it's designed to stir pangs of guilt in family members!

Buying a camera

I have had my current camera for a few years, and it has served me well.  I know that my photos aren't always great, but that's probably due more to my lack of skills than to the camera.  Also, for the record, some of my photos are taken using my phone, which isn't great but I don't always have a camera with me when I need it.

There have been significant developments in camera technology since I acquired my present camera, and you certainly get "more bang for your buck" now.  Just the same, I have stuck with my present camera because I have become reasonably familiar with its controls, and have been able to utilise its various features.

However, it has also meant that I have become aware of its limitations, and with that in mind, I have been intermittently researching what's now available. There's an enormous range of cameras available, at least on the internet. It's very important to know what features you need.  For me, while the quality of the image is obviously an important factor, other considerations included the amount of zoom, the ability to control the aperture and exposure settings manually if desired and the size/weight

But just because a particular model is reviewed and available on-line doesn't mean that the stores stock it.   With the exception of the speciality shops (at least to some extent), the range available in each category in the stores is nearly as great as might be assumed.  It's not a lot of use looking at the reviews and setting your heart on a particular camera if it's only available on the internet (not my preferred method of purchasing).

So, when after several months of casually watching what was happening in the market and reading numerous reviews, one of the cameras that was in fact on my short list (offering a reasonable balance of the features I had in mind) was promoted by a well-known retailer at a good price, plus the distributor had a "cash-back" offer,   I made the decision to "go for it".   Result, a new camera that I now have to get used to, and a wait - potentially 60 days! - for the "cash back" offer to materialise (this is deserving of a post in itself).

The Smart Meter

When the first wave of smart meter conversions was occurring, the guy came to the door to do the work but took one look at our meter box and quickly retreated, telling us that it "was full of asbestos".   He was obviously a casual contractor but nevertheless in the months since then I have wondered what I ought to be doing.  My mind even turned to the possibility of Citipower arriving and demanding that I pay for the meterbox to be fixed so that they could have a "safe place of work".

That was some months ago.   Recently there was another ring of the door bell, and a man who identified himself as a Citipower person - which was certainly consistent with his uniform and equipment, and the van outside the gate - informed me that he was here to install our smart meter.   What about the asbestos, I asked?   The reply was to the effect, "Not a problem, I know how to handle that".  15 minutes later, the power was restored and the little red light on the new smart meter was flashing!

True, he said that there was asbestos there, and part of it wasn't in the best condition, so "one of these days" it ought to be dealt with - but for the time being, keep the door of the meter box closed.  Given that it is now no longer necessary for the meter reader person to open it, that shouldn't be a problem.

Internet Banking security

I logged on to the bank's internet banking site, and was informed that I now had to register three "security questions".  Yes, I know that other banks have had this requirement for a while, so ANZ is catching up.  I have no objection to this - except that there is no provision to frame your own questions and the range of pre-set questions was quite limited.  Frankly, I struggled.

I think that the responses to such questions ought to be intuitive, but I'm afraid that the answers to questions such as, "Which city or town was your first job in?", "What was the name of the first album you bought or downloaded?",  "Where did your parents meet?" and "What was the first concert you went to?" just don't come easily to me.  True, there were other questions, and I managed to get there, but ANZ gives the strong impression that the questions were formulated by someone from Gen Y - or perhaps someone trying to appeal to Gen-Ys?  Pity about the rest of us.

Renewing Myki

When I tried to"touch off", the Myki reader flashed a message at me.  I'm still not certain what it said, because it flashed up and went so quickly.    A different Myki reader operated normally, but I wondered if the message had something to do with the fact that my Myki card might be getting close to the end of its 4 year life.  It doesn't seem to have been that long, but I checked on the top-up machine, and yes, it was indeed due to expire in a couple of weeks time.

I paused to reflect on the fact that our London Oyster cards had worked without a hitch recently, more 5 years after they had last been used (and in one case, probably about 6 years since it had been first issued).   However, I suppose banks re-issue cards regularly, so I guess Myki isn't alone in having a drop-dead date.

So I headed to the ticket office, where the Myki was changed over without problems, although they pointed out that the new one wouldn't have my name on it (if I wanted that, I had to go to Southern Cross).  I didn't see this as an issue, although hopefully this won't give rise to issues when the ticket checkers look at it.  The Myki money balance was transferred  over, too.   Later in the day, I received an email confirming that the transaction had occurred, and all seemed fine, save that it stated, "If auto-top up was set up on the old Myki you will need to set it up again on the new Myki. Auto top-up arrangements are not transferred to replacement Mykis."   Once again, this isn't an issue for me, but I can see that it could be a little annoying for some people.

News Corp and Fairfax

The Australian has been irritating me for the last week or so:    it has managed to include an article referring in one way or another to Pamela Williams' book, Killing Fairfax, just about every day.

I don't doubt that the book is interesting, and there certainly seems to be a story to be told, but I really am over the constant harping on it.



Linked to this, the Australian has also been speculating that the Age wants to drop weekday print editions.    There was a report about this in May, and it featured again in the "Media" section this week (it's probably on-line, but I couldn't find it, but since it's behind the paywall anyway, perhaps it doesn't matter -- or was it pulled?).  An article reporting that Fairfax strongly denied that there are plans to wind down the Age's print editions in the near future was prominently published the next day, apparently after Fairfax "embarked on a PR offensive" ( see http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/fairfax-boss-denies-plans-to-stop-the-presses/story-fn91v9q3-1226687781989.)   (again, sorry about the paywall).

I'm no great fan of Fairfax, but all this seems to be over-the-top and leads me to question News Corp's motives.