ocity

First – the reckless driver. Ms 98MEL-black-landcruiser-prado. speeding at probably 70 in a 60 zone, overtaking me to turn left when I was already at 60 and in the left hand lane to also turn left… and then, HAHAHAHAHAHA! You got stuck at the lights! SUCKED IN! And I pulled up right behind you. And you had a child in the car. Grow a brain and some responsibility.

Second – public transport. It’s pathetic. The trains run late, buses run late, or never show up, or run on a ridiculously stupid timetable like once an hour during peak times. Or the free city loop that only runs during the week. What’s the point?
And the translink website. I don’t think I’ve seen a stupider site. It won’t give you a list of buses that service a given stop, it doesn’t show you a map of the stop options it presents – just a list of names that really don’t tell you anything. God forbid if you’re a tourist or visitor from overseas and you want to get from A to B efficiently. The translink website will give you the most convoluted and time consuming journey possible, and then you have to dice with the possibility that the bus or train is late, or breaks down, or never shows up.

And finally – stockpiling. With all this panic about the H1N1 or “Swine flu” (which is actually a hybrid of human, avian -and- swine flu, not just swine flu), the QLD government has recommended that we stockpile food:

The Federal Government’s pandemic plan, a 132-page manual issued to medics, media and the public, insists that once the world reaches phase five, Australians should stock their pantries with food and bottled water to last 14 days, check on elderly neighbours and put emergency numbers by the phone.

and

Residents are advised to stock their pantries with drinks, including three litres of water for each person each day, dried and long-life food such as canned meals, toilet paper, batteries, candles, matches, manual can openers and water sterilising tablets. Analgesics, masks, gloves, a thermometer, disinfectant and prescription medications should also be stockpiled and people should have enough supplies to stay in their homes for 14 days.

Householders should also have plenty of tissues, alcohol-based hand-wash dispensers in kitchens and bathrooms, and soap and disposable towels near all sinks, the manual says.

From Queensland Health’s Dr Jeannette Young:

“Have it in your house ready just in preparation – some stocks of tinned food and frozen vegetables in the freezer, that sort of thing,” she said.

And from our Health Minister, Nicola Roxon:

“It’s very important that we don’t have a rush on products that people just during the course of their ordinary shopping might think about whether they have some of these extra supplies.”

Ok, so I’m not trying panic anyone here, but I see a flaw in the thinking here. Especially from the Health Minister. Most people can only afford their regular groceries. Now they’re suggesting that people should buy more just in case. And where will people get this extra money from? And how will they fit this stuff into their freezer? Most people I know have only the little freezer on the top part of their fridge. It’s not that big. And I’m sure people are not going to spend their RuddBucks on a new chest freezer and a stockpile of food. It’s alright for Ms Roxon and Dr Young – they’ve probably got a spare few thousand dollars in their back pockets to do this. The general population wouldn’t.