There ought to be a law against public clocks that don't tell the right time. There's one in Roma Street that's been stopped for years and, if I was running the show, I'd make the owners fix it or take it down. AT the very least they could remove the hands.

A European Union report says between 50% and 80% of all emails are spam. If that's the average, who is getting all the legit email?

While we're still umming and ahhing about digital radio here in Australia, it's well established in the UK. In fact, they are just about to roll out what's described as a "killer application" that will allow listeners to download songs they like as soon as they hear them on air. Now that's got to be good news for the radio and music industries - who will both make money from the paid-for service. However, at the rate we're taking up technology now it'll be years before we have it here. Details here (requires registration).

More young people talk: using the wrong form of the preposition. For example, "My bad" instead of "I'm bad".

I'm generally in favour of cycling - it's a great way to exercise and a good way to cut down on carbon emissions - but I've seen some pretty stupid bicycle riders in my time. Today three guys on bikes not only entered the tunnel under the inner-northern Normanby Fiveways against a sign that clearly indicated they were not to do so, they also wandered all over the road. Nobody deserves to get hurt, but these guys were really pushing their luck and it would be hard to blame any motorist who might have accidentally hit them.

As The Sunday Mail reports this morning, Brisbane's Coronation Drive is to be dug up yet again as part of the controversial Hale St Bridge project. Is the bridge - which, in the words of someone in the know, will "completely stuff" the Queensland Theatre Company's relatively new $7 million offices and studio complex at South Brisbane - more trouble than it's worth? I'm a motorist but I'm, also aware of the damage driving does to the environment. Perhaps the council and the State Government should take a new tack - do absolutely nothing to help private motorists in the inner city and put everything they've got into improving public transport. Eventually, gridlock (and rising petrol prices) will force us to use it.

How American do we have to be? I want to wash the car, so I looked up "car wash, Brisbane" in Google and was directed to an Australian-based directory. What greeted me there? The message: "Oops! Did you mean: automobile wash"? No, I meant car wash. I then went to another Australian directory site and, despite the fact that I typed in my Brisbane postcode, the first match it came up with was a business in Melbourne. It's a long way to drive just to get the car washed.
If it weren't for the water restrictions, I'd do it myself!

A colleague of mine pre-ordered drinks at the Lyric Theatre last night and asked the bar attendant where he might find them at interval. "Will they be outside?" he inquired, gesturing towards the balcony. "I don't know," the attendant replied, "but I'm sure you'll find them."
There must have been something in the air last night. After the show, I was scolded by a waiter for attempting to take a mineral water off his tray - as I have done on hundreds of occasions previously (although, admittedly, rarely involving mineral water). I gather he wanted me to ask for it first - which pretty much defeats the purpose of having them freely on offer.

The headline screams: Gould, Hackett lead tributes for Thorpe and, as I write, it's still leading ABC News Online. Goodness gracious, he's only 24, he's just a sportsman (albeit a very good one) and he's not dead. Get a grip, people.

The world holds its breath. The tension is palpable. The future hangs in the balance. Is it Iraq? Is it the environment? Has Kim Beazley put his foot in his mouth again? No, it's Ian Thorpe preparing to announce whether he'll swim competitively again. If this really is the most important story in the world, or even in Australia, right now, I'll walk backwards to Bourke.

I went to buy an ink cartridge for my brand-name computer printer at a well-known discount store. The price for a single black cartridge? $49.88. I could have bought a printer - complete with ink cartridges - for $59! The ink cartridges are sold in plastic containers that can only be removed at the checkout. The operator told me that was because they were among the most-stolen items (along with razors, CDs and DVDs apparently). At those prices for some plastic, simple circuitry and ink, it's no wonder.

Not long ago, I received an email from EMI about the new satirical CD from The 12th Man, Boned, and I posted an item about it on my other blog. The email noted how well previous 12th Man albums had done and how well the company expected this one to do. Today comes news that EMI is threatening to sue the Australian sports supporters' club, the Fanatics, for changing the lyrics to some of its songs. Now I absolutley support an artist's right to protect his or her intellectual property, but I think it's funny how big corporations only have a sense of humour when there's money to be made.

I'm a huge fan of markets - both philosophically (because I like the idea of growers being able to sell directly to the public without a middleman taking his cut) and because they can be fun. But they can also be frustrating - especially when they are run by neo-hippies. Exactly how three people can stand behind a counter in a small business and yet only one one of them actually have the nous to serve the queue of five customers has got me stumped. Whatever they are on, they should abstain before market day.

The glitch in Brisbane's Translink transport information site hasn't been fixed. Today I need to travel to Nundah by train, so I keyed in "Nundah Station" to the site. It came back with a list of suggestions, the first being Nundah Police Station and the second being Nundah Railway Station. I ask you, which one is more likely destination for the greater number of public-transport patrons?

I'm terribly worried this morning that I'm very rich and don't know about it. No, I'm not thinking of last night's $13 million Lotto draw (although that would be very nice), I'm thinking about the Crossword instant ticket somebody gave me for my birthday and I finally scratched yesterday. I can't make heads nor tails of it and I'm afraid to throw it away unless it's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - and I, for one, am not happy about it. I saw a tree going up in Sydney and here in Brisbane stores are already playing carols and flogging gift ideas. There's the best part of six weeks to go before Christmas Day, which means almost an eight of the year has been taken up with this commercialised craziness. Just give me the peace and goodwill, and hold all the trimmings.

Should we listen when celebrities pontificate on issues about which they know little or nothing? I raised this question on my other blog in regard to Elton John's views on religion, now it's perhaps even more relevant given that Rachel Weisz has created a storm by saying it's OK for pregnant women to drink. Some of the people who've actually studied the issue beg to differ.

Some relatives of mine on the southside of Brisbane are rather concerned about the council's priorities - and well they might. Seems workmen have just removed perfectly good street signs and replaced them with new ones. I'm told the signs weren't faded or falling over. The new signs are just centimetres from where the old ones stood. Will someone please explain?

Leaving the theatre last night (after seeing the quite wonderful Private Lives), I noticed yet another irritating human habit. Why is it that when people file out of an exit, a good number of them just stop and congregate, thus making it harder for other people to get out? Surely is doesn't require too much brains and effort to move away to one side?

At afternoon tea with my extended family today, one of them asked in relation to my spots on 612 ABC: "Do you have to have a grumble about something every week?" I pointed out that it wasn't compulsory, but I usually found something about everyday life annoying enough to talk about. I soon realised I wasn't alone. We got on to the subject of bad service in supermarkets and discount stores. Complaints ran thick and fast, about:
+ How you can set out your things in a sensible order - all the cold things together, the vegetables and meat in one place - and then the person at the checkout will then just put them randomly in different bags;
+ How there's been a new staff intake at one major chain and everybody is hopeless;
+ How the checkout operators can't identify fruit and vegetables (I suggested that next time an operator ask what an item is, the respond with something like: "It's either a cucumber or a zucchini, depending on which is cheaper").