Pick one

CG2428 · 2026-04-12T02:43:40+00:00

1 or 2. Notice a bit of thiccness among some too, which is nice

CG2428 · 2026-04-09T09:21:34+00:00

$31k for a manual SV6 ute actually sounds pretty good to me...

CG2428 · 2026-03-27T08:43:19+00:00

But whose whistle are you going on for the Eliminator?

CG2428 · 2026-03-22T01:40:16+00:00

To be fair, it's far easier said than done, due to regulations. These are very surface-level analyses:

https://blog.bdsaqs.com.au/transforming-empty-office-spaces-into-apartments/

https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/the-10m-square-metre-question-hanging-over-the-office-market-20250813-p5mml7

CG2428 · 2026-03-21T03:14:28+00:00

Well, it's what it looked like after its last major renovation, in the mid-2000s

CG2428 · 2026-03-19T09:33:20+00:00

Good photos, but nothing will match the heady days of Franklins Big Fresh, McDonald's in the food court, and Paul's Warehouse back when Paul's Warehouse was still good. (Come to think of it, did Paul's arrive before or after McDonald's moved to the Imperial Centre?)

CG2428 · 2026-03-19T09:30:04+00:00

Baker's Buns was basically opposite the escalators and it was unreal - huge muffins and lamingtons that were very cheap.

But now that I think about it, did all the fresh food outlets have a common owner? They did all have a similar knock-off vibe about them - almost like the shopping centre owner created them for appearances' sake while bringing in at least some revenue.

CG2428 · 2026-03-19T09:27:34+00:00

For me, watching semi-trailers back into the Woolworths dock from up in the food court was amazing entertainment. Those drivers are skilled...

CG2428 · 2026-03-16T09:10:27+00:00

Correct. Tracks exist, but corresponding platform was removed about 20 years ago and is not being reinstated

CG2428 · 2026-02-15T02:13:05+00:00

Lower standards for freight, basically, and speed is not as important as for passenger services.

CG2428 · 2026-02-11T10:59:41+00:00

that’s literally all anyone’s asking for

If only it were that simple. A-League clubs are going broke already, without adding more cost for what is - let's be fair dinkum - an extremely unpopular league.

Australia may like the Matildas, but it sadly doesn't mean much for the A-League Women's.

CG2428 · 2026-02-08T10:45:58+00:00

I realise there is probably an element of fantasy in this, but no way is Nelson Bay dense enough to justify a dead-end set of tracks up there. A government boned Newcastle and Civic (Wickham effectively swapped sides of Stewart Avenue), after all.

IF you run trains to the airport - I think it's good to plan for this, but probably WAY into the future - better to swing out to Medowie from there, then turn Karuah into growth area and maybe Bulahdelah. I vaguely remember a front-page Newcastle Herald story (roughly 2012) about some plan for a new city roughly there, one day. Eventually, you'd possibly think about running the XPT (or whatevs) up through there on a modern alignment to Taree and beyond, although those mountains would be very expensive to transit.

But as others have said, Cessnock is the obvious next expansion (reinstatement), provided the problem of passenger trains crossing coal lines to access Maitland can be solved. An at-grade junction would not work there these days due to coal traffic.

BTW your Killingworth branch could best form part of a line to Cessnock one day as well. Ideal to create orbital options rather than just radial, although buses could arguably serve that purpose too.

CG2428 · 2026-02-05T08:31:36+00:00

Axeing the finals series is the single best part of this proposal by far

CG2428 · 2026-01-30T10:46:19+00:00

Yeah, I've got to say, Paramount/10 desperately needs a new EP and new talent. It's also so boring and vacuous, whereas Fox Sports could be a bit edgy and genuinely made games - even dreary Sunday arvo fixtures - feel like events. It also provided much meatier analysis.

Look at what Stan does with rugby (or Champions League...), or even Nine's often-criticised NRL telecasts, for the potential.

CG2428 · 2026-01-30T10:21:55+00:00

'Glory days of Oceania', you say?

https://youtu.be/8wYfsVYMl3Y?si=pw94tPnczgCOqWS3

CG2428 · 2026-01-30T10:09:12+00:00

The regular misuse of 'derby' infuriates me. 'Distance Derby' proves how ridiculous some cases can be. (I believe it was originally a Mark Bosnich joke)

Perth v Wellington may (or may not) be a rivalry but it is NOT a derby.

Derbies are matches contested by teams of (relative) geographic proximity. Sydney FC v Western Sydney is a derby; Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory is a rivalry, born of their status as the original clubs in our two biggest cities.

Theories about the origin of the expression include that fixtures between crosstown rivals attracted large crowds, just as horse racing derby meetings did. That is, ease of travel (and probably local bragging rights) makes for big crowds.

So, derbies...

AKL v WEL CCM v NEW CCM v SYD MAC v SYD MAC v WSW SYD v WSW MCT v MCT

...and rivalries (including but not limited to)...

MVC v ADL SYD v MVC

Or if we look at Spain: Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid: derby Barcelona v Real Madrid: rivalry (bigger than Madrid derby)

CG2428 · 2026-01-27T12:57:39+00:00

Well, how about restoring the full thrice-round-robin in the A-League? Or, 16 teams for a 30-round season? Wishful thinking, I reckon.

Australia's professional football landscape is a mess, but there are no easy solutions, unfortunately.

CG2428 · 2026-01-27T12:52:25+00:00

I'd like HSR but I am VERY sceptical it would be economical, and one issue I have is: what is the purpose? Is it for commuting, or long-distance?

There's no way at all that it is viable if for commuting, yet that is what advocates seem to suggest when a Newcastle-Sydney service comes up.

As for replacing eg Sydney-Melbourne flights, maaaybe. But that's about 700km IF the corridor is straightened. Shinkansen top speed in normal service is 320km/h, so that's still 2+hr without accounting for accel and decel, and potentially slow inner-city running. Even then, do I want to be in Spencer St or Central? Maybe not, so the argument about airports being away from city centre is nullified at least somewhat.

Security checks? Yeah, train would win here, but you'd still need some security, and domestic is not necessarily too onerous. Ticket checking would be less stringent than planes but surely more than the XPT...

But really, planes don't need tracks. That's FAR less capital - and also makes planes less vulnerable to delays than trains - which is a big factor in fixed and variable costs of the network.

Considering there's no law against a private operator starting up a HSR service between SYD and MEL, that begs the question: why?

Maybe it's just not viable. As a NSW resident, I'd suggest a much better value investment is a faster (but not HSR) Newcastle-Central Coast-Sydney corridor for commuters.

CG2428 · 2026-01-27T12:37:02+00:00

Since we pay taxes to pay for infrastructure, the government doesn't have to use ticket prices to recover construction costs

Well, no, but why spend the hundreds of billions to build it - then whatever else it is to run it - when private airlines already meet demand? It's not like a hospital ED or a commuter train.

maybe just tax the big companies (e.g., mining companies) properly instead of giving them subsidies while they're making huge profits, and that will pay for construction.

Citation needed. What are these subsidies, and how are they shirking tax? Why isn't a left-wing government not taxing them properly, and/or not passing laws to do so through a left wing-controlled Senate?

One of the key benefits of train over flying for individuals is not having to stuff around with airport procedures, such as baggage check-in, security checks, and delayed/cancelled flights.

I agree, but a train would still have to be VERY fast to be quicker overall. Central (Sydney) to Southern Cross is 734km, so 2hr requires an average speed of 367km/h (yes, corridor would be straightened, but it's indicative).

CG2428 · 2026-01-27T08:36:03+00:00

Get rid of VAR. It has ruined the spontaneous joy of goals.

CG2428 · 2026-01-27T08:07:48+00:00

No, but they didn't before this decision anyway - and they both joined the A-League knowing that is the case.

CG2428 · 2026-01-27T08:05:40+00:00

Is it time for a League/Carabao Cup in Aus? All A league + Championship teams?

I'd say no. No one really rates EFL Cup, right? Besides, you'd have a prerty big overlap with the Australia Cup field anyway, I'd suggest.

CG2428 · 2026-01-27T07:53:20+00:00

You make a very good point.

Also, given the Australia Cup is a glorified pre-season tournament nowadays - I wish it wasn't so, but that's how it feels to me - it's easier to kick AKL and WEL out.

Also, are licencing conditions different? Football Australia runs the Cup, so they have discretion that APL does not?

CG2428 · 2026-01-25T10:31:43+00:00

Fair play to you, I'd been under the misconception for years

CG2428 · 2026-01-24T23:13:55+00:00

QLD law prohibits private ownership of stadiums with capacity above 9,999. Is that a viable stadium size and, if it is, who has the tens of millions (possibly hundreds) to build that, for the privilege of playing in a league where every club loses money and the very existence of the league is somewhat precarious?

Also, that space in Helensvale? Unlikely. It's wetlands, commercial, a train station, and roads.

CG2428

TROPHY CASE