Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Has anyone noticed how unusual the weather is in Melbourne today? There's a low pressure cell centred over Echuca, with the rain bands being driven from east to west over Melbourne south of the divide. 350
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 02/10/2026The interim RAIB report into the rear end collision at Bedford has dropped. The driver of the second (colliding) train tragically died in the accident. An interim report doesn't consider why the accident happened, just what happened... (1/n) assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6abd31... 110
Reposted by Andrew WaughOldRailwayAccidents @rwldproject.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Space age railway! It turns, since the outset of electro-mechanical engineering (of course): Did Space Weather Delay the 10:05 p.m. Train Departure From Exeter on 18 October 1841? #RailwayHistory agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.comDid Space Weather Delay the 10:05 p.m. Train Departure From Exeter on 18 October 1841?A reported 1841 train delay in England attributed to geomagnetic disturbance is inconsistent with the opening date of the railway affected The integration of contemporary observations and archiva... 021
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026The scifi dystopia ‘Robocop’ was set far in the future… 2028 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026We did go to Manly but by bus (the Freshwater’s weren’t runningand the queue was very long). Walked to North Head, back by bus, and then fast ferry. S knew the’7 miles from Sydney’ but not the rest, nor that it was a Manly ferry advertising slogan 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Not what springs to my mind when Moree is mentioned, but apparently it is still a thing 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Dr Who’s other Tardis. I was keeping a wary eye out for aliens 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Hydraulic crane. Water pressure pushes the piston up and the chain is dragged up with the crosshead. The direction of pull is changed by the fixed pulley at the base 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Bit of a wait on this platform, but I am impressed by the confidence about their train running 130
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026How can you ignore such a cliche? I think that’s a barkentine (fully square rigged on the foremast, including the foresail, for and aft rigged on the main and mizzen. Without the for course it would be a topsail schooner) 150
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026View out of the first hotel room. We had the cheap rooms but they ‘upgraded’ us to a harbour view because the overnight road works could have made it less desirable. Note the light railway 011
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026This is not just a decorative feature of the second hotel room. 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Spent a couple of days in the northern city last week 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Speaking of rundown… The toilets on the concourse at Southern Cross have morphed into demountables. Three for women and two for men 001
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 08/09/2026In good news though, two out of the three escalator upgrades at Southern Cross have finished. And don’t they make the rest of the station look a bit rundown 141
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I used to sometimes feel like I was living in a social satire movie. Now it’s all the time. And the satire is getting more extreme. 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 08/09/2026One of the stranger bits about being a gunzel is that you've walked around places that others think that most people have never been to. I recognised most of the places mentioned in this article, and certainly the lead photo... www.theage.com.au/national/vic...theage.com.auI don’t live in my suburb, which is just 8km from the CBD. Then again, nobody doesThere are only two other suburbs like mine in Melbourne, and the others are nowhere near as close to the CBD. But then again, it’s not really my suburb. 110
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Xtrap2 on the Down at 1205 today at Bentleigh apparently carrying passengers… 010
Reposted by Andrew WaughDreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 03/09/2026"Rate this translation" 711312
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The Ig Nobles have been awarded again. I think they're doing academic studies right - little questions, but often important. Look at the Ig Noble prize for economics and tell me that it isn't a more important result than any recent big recent economic prize. arstechnica.com/science/2026...arstechnica.comMeet the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize winnersThe annual award ceremony features miniature operas, scientific demos, and "24/7" lectures. 012
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 02/09/2026*All* of the students at Scotch are male. *None* of the students will ever make a decision about whether or not to have an abortion. So why the fuck are they being lectured (let alone negatively) about the ethics or morality of abortion in religious education? Is this school teaching misogyny? 110
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 01/09/2026The rot is well and truly underway. AI hallucinated references in submissions to parliamentary inquiries. Note the fun feedback. The submissions were published on the parlimentary website. Google then picked up the bogus references as if they were real... www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...theguardian.com‘Scary’: how misinformation and AI hallucinations are infiltrating Australia’s parliamentExclusive: Guardian analysis reveals that dozens of policy submissions from across the political spectrum incorrectly summarise real research and invent or wrongly cite sources 220
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Listened to '9 to 5' all the way through (for obvious reasons) for the first time in a long time. Dolly Parton said in a short catchy tune what it took Karl Marx a *very* long and heavy book to say. And in a way that was acceptable to Americans. 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Super interesting analysis of what different countries class a crowded. It’s unlikely to be what you think! 020
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 27/08/2026This article says that the Oz Commonwealth was intended to be a 'competitive federalism' where the States compete against each other. What do people think? IMO that wasn't in the Federalism debates. theconversation.com/from-gst-to-gambling-to-gun-buybacks-australias-federation-isnt-working-290428 110
Reposted by Andrew WaughNina Baker @ninabake2.bsky.social · 26/08/2026She was an absolute hero in every way and had a really pretty hard life despite having been born into the aristocracy. She was well enough known in that era and later to feature in kids' magazines. 17512
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 22/08/2026If you want to know how stupid some people are… I just saw two people walking in the 6 foot between the standard gauge line and the west line between Corio platform and the level crossing. About 100 metre distance. 020
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Can anyone explain why the planned disruptions page published by transport.vic.gov.au doesn't include the Craigieburn or Upfield lines? transport.vic.gov.au/plan-a-journ...transport.vic.gov.auPlanned worksView scheduled disruptions to public transport timetables. 001
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Was lying on an operating table today before being put under (minor investigation & cleared) when the theatre nurse, making small talk, asked me what I did. After clarifying what an archivist did, she asked how AI was going to affect the records. 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 16/08/2026World's smallest violin. They can absolutely afford it. 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Hrading south towards Frankston. Passed rwo Xtrap2 heading north 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 14/08/2026That buckle is almost certainly due to the derailing train - note the opposite rail hasn't been affected. But look at the buckles in the track stretching from 100-200 metres behind that... (From the BBC coverage www.bbc.com/news/live/cl...) 100
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 11/08/2026The celebrity endorsement that tells you that it would, in fact, be a very good idea indeed. 001
Reposted by Andrew WaughOdd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Happy 48th anniversary of the accidental emptying of the Chesterfield Canal... 615636
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 10/08/2026New weird new story in the mainstream media today. Did I just not notice these before or have we passed some alternative reality threshold? 100
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 10/08/2026JFC, today just gets weirder and weirder. Who could seriously think that a royal commission - reporting in 11 months - is going to say anything timely about dealing with AI? 100
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Tell us what's the important news story about the wild weather we've been having 100
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 09/08/2026The eyes follow you as if you were a potentially interesting worm or bug 030
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 09/08/2026The VR turns up in odd places. An alley in Seymour shopping centre 020
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Hard rubbish in our neighbourhood produces some interesting things (someone clearly took it). And for the avoidance of doubt, i have never looked like this in my life 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Seriously, the only thing you can say about your product that will convince more people to buy it is that you have a new (naff) bottle? And you mount an expensive ad campaign around this fact? 000
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 09/08/2026The Australia Post receiving pillar and its superseded GPO one. How long has the post office being collecting from this corner? 010
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 06/08/2026This study of NZ freight resilience focuses on road and coastal shipping. It mentions air. It ignores rail completely, except for an incidental mention that the Cook Island ferry carries rail. theconversation.com/how-would-nz...theconversation.comHow would NZ’s vital freight system handle a big earthquake? Our study sounds a warningNew research reveals a magnitude 8.5 earthquake is likely to trigger a cascade of problems for NZ’s freight networks. But how many are avoidable? 010
Andrew Waugh @mandrewwaugh.bsky.social · 02/08/2026This article by George Brandis correctly notes the heavy lifting by the Liberals in getting rid of the White Australia policy. He lauds Menzies, but there is one Liberal PM he conspicuously doesn't mention at all. Which one do you think? www.theage.com.au/national/ton...theage.com.auTony Abbott recalls a whiter Australia than I do. Menzies rejected his version, as do many LiberalsAbbott upset a lot of Liberals by pronouncing multiculturalism a failure. Our party’s founder ridiculed the notion that we should be a “species of drab uniformity”. 110