App My State Idea Entry

From App My State web site, “App My State is a competition to inspire Victorians to create web and mobile applications for Victorians. Entrants will be competing for $100,000 in prizes.” The gist of the competition is that the government has released some data, you go create something with it.

So here’s a quick mock-up of my idea (guaranteed not going to win any prize):

http://www.isvictoriamoreviolentthanlastyear.com.au ? YES

As a resident of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, I am greatly concerned with the increase of violence in the recent years. Gone are the days when people could feel safe traveling on public transport at night. Gone are the days when I could safely walk by myself on the city streets at 4am on a weekend.

Is it the government’s fault? No, even though I think that the law could be tougher, I still believe that the problem is with the people. Once I was on the train, I saw a group of youngsters arguing with an old guy. The youngsters got off the train at Caulfield station, but they kept shouting profanities at the old guy still inside the train. And when the train started moving, one of the youngsters suddenly kicked the train window right next to where the old guy sat. Is it the lack of respect? Is it the decline in morality standard?

Not many people know this, but I myself was once held at knifepoint. I fell asleep on the tram after a long tiring day, and I woke up with a knife pressed on my neck. There were two of them, and they got away with my wallet. An old guy, whom I later knew as Laurie, tried to help me that night (thank you Laurie from East Burwood). But the second robber held the knife against Laurie. To cut the story short, the police contacted me the next day, they caught both guys. Apparently I was the first victim that night, the fourth one wasn’t so lucky and was stabbed on the neck.

Rantings aside, the site itself could easily be built by comparing last year and this year’s crime statistic. Though unfortunately the result can be cached for at least the next 5 years. Melbourne is getting more violent each year, and there’s no sign that the situation will improve for the better.

Update (25/04/2010):

There was a stabbing incident at Clayton Station five days ago, at about 8.15am in the morning. That’s my station, I take the train to and from work every day, and I happened to see the dead body (already covered) later on that day after the commotion was over. Do I feel less safe? Hell yes. Will I vote in the upcoming election based on which party has better plan to improve public safety? Absolutely! More police patrolling the streets, more security officers on the trains, please. There’s no point in having a strong economy when one doesn’t feel safe in one’s own neighbourhood.

There was also a bashing incident the night before, at the corner of Swanston St and Collins St, which ironically was about a block away from a police station.

Bonus Update:

I just found out that Crime Stoppers Victoria has a page called Crime of the Week, yep, there is not a single week without a crime being committed.

QR Code Usage In Japan

Some of my friends must’ve been tired listening to my constant complaining about how slow it is for Australia to adopt QR Code usage. QR Code is what I believe to be the link between print media and the web. And contrary to popular belief, I think print media is not going to die anytime soon.

I spotted the first QR Code in Melbourne in July last year. Telstra has been campaigning the use of QR Code, mostly on their products and ads. There have been few magazines using QR Code to link to some pages on their own sites. I’m predicting that this technology will become much more mainstream in Australia within the next 2-3 years, providing steady adoption of smart phones with QR Code support.

During my trip to Japan few weeks ago, I was amazed to find out that QR Code was used everywhere (not literally _everywhere_ of course). I started taking pictures and videos of those QR Codes to the amusement of the locals, something that’s very common to them was very new to me.

Here’s a nice example. On one morning, I was walking to Ikebukuro Station via the underground pass, and I noticed a new Disney poster on the wall.

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Stitch. Notice the eyes and noses of each character are still visible within the QR Codes.

And here’s the weird scene I witnessed in the evening…

I saw passers by stopping in front of the poster, scanning the codes using their mobile phones. It was so weird for me, but I’m sure, again, it’s very common to them. At that point, I wondered if I would see a similar scene in Melbourne within the next few years.

And a few more…

McDonald’s placed QR Codes on the soft drink cup, burger wrapper, and paper bag amongst other things.

Snack food packaging.

Building guide.

T-shirt tag.

A poster at a mall. Ever thought that one day you would see a large garble of black and white dots just so you can scan it with your mobile phone?

On a magazine.

Ok, I’ll stop here, you’ve got the idea. The above pictures and video are only a few examples where QR Codes were used as links to web pages, but bear in mind that it can be used for many things other than for storing URLs, like nutritional info of a sandwich.

I’m excited to see more uses of QR Code in Australia. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll see one on a coffee cup at a cafe in Melbourne.

Ten Years In Melbourne

On this day, ten years ago, I arrived in Melbourne as a teenager to attend university. I never thought that I would still be here, ten years later, working at a company located about 2 blocks away from the university.

This picture was taken earlier this evening. The intersection of Swanston St and La Trobe St, right at the heart of Melbourne CBD.

Melbourne’s weather may not be the best in the world, but it is home :).