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.

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 :).

We're Catching Up To Singapore

Spotted this sign at Safeway’s parking lot in Carnegie. It was the first time I saw such a ridiculous amount of fine displayed on a public sign in Melbourne.

With $4,000 littering fine, we’re catching up to Singapore jussst fine. Ok, sarcasm aside, I wonder what the council was thinking, do we Melburnians need to be threatened with fines?

Don’t drop any banana skin. It might cost you $2,831.

Moving To Carnegie

I recently moved to Carnegie, a suburb in Southern Melbourne about 25 minutes train ride from the City. After living at 7 different places within 8 years in Melbourne, this townhouse is definitely the best one so far.

Something different about my new place is the garden. Little did I know that…

winter is coming, and having a huge tree in the garden doesn’t really help.

With my family at the garden. My parents are visiting for my brother’s graduation.

Happy New Year 2006

Last night I went to Southbank to watch the fireworks, we found a spot on the bridge between Spencer St and Clarendon St. The fireworks show wasn’t as good as previous years, they also moved from Flinders Station to Federation Square this year so we ended up even further away.

Colourful fireworks over the Southgate bridge.

The highlight of 2005 for me was resigning from work at the end of April, packed my bags (all 3 of them), and flew to Singapore with the plan to work and live there for the next 2-3 years. Reality changed direction and I had to return to Melbourne after a month. I was disappointed, but it was a great experience nonetheless. It was humbling and eye opening to live in another country for a month. To this day, I still want to travel to some Asian countries later on in the future.

And here’s to 2006, cheers!

Live From The 12th Floor

I moved to a small studio apartment on Flinders St about 2 weeks ago. The place is very small, only 6 x 4 m², but the view is superb, overlooking the Yarra river, Southbank, and the Crown Complex. I’ll be staying here for the next 6 months.

At the moment there’s no phone and Internet connection, it pretty much feels like going for a retreat in a mountain. I have plenty of time for readings and TVs.

The view, on one fine afternoon.