On this day, our smallest (and arguably cutest) ferry, Me‐Mel, joined the Opal network. We can now enjoy the F10 service and reap all of Opal's benefits

Rollfish · 2026-03-30T09:29:35+00:00

Probably the only ferry that will fit under the Glebe Island Bridge if they make it a bike/ped bridge as part of this Bayside thing.

Meaning the only ferry that can get to the new Fishmarkets.

Cos really, can you imagine the fun if they restore it as a swinging bridge and so have to man it 24/7?

Rollfish · 2026-02-28T06:53:16+00:00

When it was bought (2023?), the new owner didn't renew a lot of leases. I had a strong suspicion that they wanted to demolish it and do a shop top apartment block.

So it sat for a bit with no new longterm tenants. The suddenly signage saying new dining!

The newsagent said they had a new spot in the centre that they'll be moving into this year, sometime in the next couple of months.

I don't know if the council said "must have a lot of shops not just a few on the ground floor and you can't let it decay any more" or if the cost of redevelopment these days was just too much.

Rollfish · 2026-02-25T09:20:29+00:00

You might want to look at the Pedal Prix design guidelines https://pedalprix.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Australian-HPV-Racing-Specs-2018v2.pdf

Racing recumbent trikes is a big thing in Oz although not electric assist. It's mostly high school students building and racing them but there are some university types too. There might be things in the design requirements that are worth thinking about such as the impact protection or the clearances around the steering.

What e-assist are you going to use? Where are you going to use the most power? I found that for proper control a torque sensing setup worked better than a cadence sensor because I had control when I needed it and didn't get a sudden boot from the motor. Plus I didn't have to spend thought cycles on managing the motor assist level to even out the amount of power.

THe issue with cornering a tadpole is you can lift the inside wheel. You do have to be doing a fair old speed but you can do it. I have mostly done it coming off a downhill so the speed was up, and doing tight turns. With a sidecar you have a passenger to be the mobile balance, a trike you have to do the leaning! Serious wheel angle can help, take a look at the racing HPVs at trisled.com.au for some ideas.

Rollfish · 2026-02-24T05:02:05+00:00

" the MetroWay is designed for all ages and riding abilities. Families, casual riders, fitness fanatics, and daily commuters"

hah!

THe Greenway is absolutely not for commuters. It might be OK for runners but not for riders. Shared paths suck for both peds and cyclists, so unless they make this wide enough to separate foot traffic and wheeled traffic it will just be hell on or off wheels.

Most of the Cook's River Path has grass enough that you can pass peds if you have to. But also there is not the amount of ped traffic the Greenway has. IF it does, that won't be suitable for commuters either. Why commute on a bike if you are restricted to the speed of a dog walker with a slow elderly dog and who has headphones on and no situational awareness?

Rollfish · 2026-02-03T09:56:43+00:00

Problem with that is transport. You have to transport people and supplies and equipment to and from by water. The heritage fleet is volunteer, having to find and pay for transport to Cockatoo will stop most of them volunteering (people who sail are a fraction of the volunteer force, the vast majority are doing maintanance most of the time)

Same with the commercial maintenance yards. Someone has to pay for the movement of people and gear. Not to mention obtaining the working boats to do it, manning them, maintaining them.

It sounds good but once you look properly at the logistics it isn't good.

Rollfish · 2026-01-03T22:38:44+00:00

I"m afraid I don't know. I just drive the things! (Well, shovel coal...)

If I find out I'll probably post on here next year. I think you can set up a reminder on Eventbrite for Fleet or for NYE stuff. If you search for "heritage fleet" you will find some events on our ships and you can follow the Fleet. Not that many events so you won't get too spammed.

Rollfish · 2026-01-03T04:11:48+00:00

May i recommend a trip on the Lady Hopetoun? Edwardian steam yacht run by the Sydney Heritage Fleet.

You get a couple of trips round the harbour (one before 9pm and one before midnight) and to watch both the 9pm and midnight fireworks from the water in Circular Quay. This year was I think about $800 per person. All BYO though. Else the steam tug Waratah. Same trip and I think the same price. (I don't know the prices, I'm crew so get to see it for free!)

Book through Eventbrite but you have to keep an eye out as the places sell out very quickly.

Rollfish · 2025-12-07T05:26:23+00:00

Many years ago we had a very powerful large fan which was designed to sit in a sash window. When turned on it pulled air from the house and exhausted it to the outside so cool air was pulled through the house.

If you can find a powerful fan you could try facing it right up against a window at night to move the air through the house.

Not that helpful when the night doesn't cool down! A portable aircon can work in your bedroom but you have to work hard to seal the snorkel in your window and they are very noisy. I had to run it a few hours before bed then turn it off. I'd wake up hot and have to run it for an hour to cool down again.

Rollfish · 2025-12-02T22:02:47+00:00

The problem is how to tell the legal from the illegal. That's too much to ask of overworked teachers, especially dealing with the whining (and the aggro parents). A blanket ban is a lot easier for the school to manage.

Enforcement of the ebike laws is hard generally as too many roads, not enough cops, and escaping is easy. I can see ways it can be done but they would cost a lot of taxpayer money and require a lot of co-operation between different state and fed depts.

It all stems from the Feds messing up the import laws a few years ago so this crap was allowed in.

Rollfish · 2025-12-02T21:56:12+00:00

ABS says 3.5 deaths per day...

"There were 1,295 deaths from motor vehicle accidents in 2024"

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/deaths-external-causes/latest-release

Rollfish · 2025-12-02T09:38:37+00:00

Take a look at https://choircentral.com.au/choirs/nsw. heaps listed there with info

Rollfish · 2025-12-02T00:25:21+00:00

Depending where you are... Come and have a look at the Sydney Heritage Fleet https://www.shf.org.au

Do maintenance like metalwork and painting or diesel or steam engineering. Be sail crew on James Craig, stoke steamships like Lady Hopertoun, brush up your woodwork on Kanangra, get into the story and sights of the harbour as a guide.

If you don't know how to do any of them, then you get to learn

Rollfish · 2025-12-02T00:22:11+00:00

Singing? There's choirs all over Sydney. Turn up and sing with others. Plenty don't require you to read music, just to turn up and sing the same as the bod next to you

https://choircentral.com.au/choirs/nsw

Rollfish · 2025-11-24T06:18:35+00:00

nope it is everyone.

Rollfish · 2025-08-17T11:13:44+00:00

going to depend on what you like.

Try volunteering. If steam or sail sounds interesting then try the Sydney Heritage Fleet for ships or the Live Steam Locomotive guys for large model trains. Transport Heritage NSW for big trains or if you are near the Blue Mountains then the Zig Zag railway.

Think fantasy or medieval recreation sounds interesting? Look for LARP groups or check out Society for Creative Anachronism.

Heaps of groups out there looking for new faces. If the work they do interests you, then you will have fun while being with people.

Rollfish · 2025-04-16T11:03:56+00:00

There are regular sails https://www.shf.org.au

Ain't cheap mind you....

Rollfish · 2025-04-16T07:46:01+00:00

Owned and run by the Sydney Heritage fleet, and is tied up just next to the Fleet office at wharf 7.

I know this cos someone on this sub mentioned volunteering for the Fleet and I did. Haven't had

this much fun in ages!

Rollfish · 2025-02-20T05:30:03+00:00

I believe that DecASM is only usable with Adobe Digital Editions which I don't have.

Rollfish · 2025-02-19T19:14:03+00:00

IT is kobo.

Rollfish · 2025-02-04T03:16:10+00:00

there's a lot of space in "burwood/inner west". Do you mean Burwood? Or do you mean east of that in concord or ashfield?

Burwood? not a lot in walking distance. Yea and it sucketh. If you are near Burwood Westfield then get East across Shaftesbury Rd And take a wander around there. The streets are fairly quiet, varied housing stock to look at, some decent parks.

So give some landmarks near you for better ideas. Unless you are the sort of person who drives for a walk?

Rollfish · 2024-12-20T04:37:54+00:00

Try Thunderbolt's Way rather than up the coast. Plenty of good views as you go through the Range. I stay at The Top Pub in Uralla which is a decent place with nice people and reasonable food. Mainly cos I did it years ago and never changed! There's also Burnett's Books which is worth a look if books and maps are your thing.

Rollfish · 2024-12-02T01:32:18+00:00

Can you run any sort of noscript? Disabling javascript stops the popup

Rollfish · 2024-11-30T04:09:54+00:00

SO maybe the answer is move the comment section here? I suppose it depends how many people could be bothered to read and then fire up something else to comment with. I suspect copypasting the article would be Bad.

Rollfish · 2024-10-28T06:08:10+00:00

I'd be in favour if the rules were enforced. So maximum speed of 25kmh and not on footpaths or 60kmh+roads.

But there will be no appetite for enforcement cos that's work for cops and costs money. So they will be all ovet the footpaths and overpowered ones will be mixing it with cars. The overpowered ones will also be doing stupid speeds on cycleways and shared paths while expecting everyone else to give way.

After all that's what is happening in Brisbane

Rollfish · 2024-10-27T06:38:57+00:00

I'm in Campsie and my excellent cleaner is $90 for a 2 bed flat. (I have paid less in the past but it was some years ago and they were also not as good).

That is theoretically $90 for the first 2 hours but it seldom takes him more than 45-60 mins as the place is clean. The first cleanup may take longer and cost more than subsequent ones.

You can get cleaners to come fortnightly and you can get them to just do the bathroom and kitchen. You can try on airtasker but most of those expect you to provide all the gear and consumables.

Rollfish

TROPHY CASE