Friday 30th May—Ouch!

I can’t believe it’s Friday again, let alone that it’s already the end of May. At the moment, I’m busily researching topics on journalism and social networks, hence another trip to the library at QUT’s Carseldine campus this afternoon. I’m working on a couple of conference papers and a journal article. With the exception of the journal article, they will all be finished by the end of June.

More details on the conferences to follow.

Prices fuel rising tensions

The rising cost of fuel combined with a scant and unreliable public transport system in Brisbane will test the resolve of residents.

Yesterday the cost of fuel at my local was 138.9, today it’s 148.9—that’s an increase of 10 cents per litre overnight.

Surprised by the hefty increase, a drive through Brisbane showed that my local petrol station was actually one of the cheaper places to fill the tank—some servo prices were as high as 154.9.

This price hike creates a bigger problem for Brisbanites than the burden of an extra expense.

For those seeking a cheaper mode of transport than their trusty automobile, there might be more disappointment and grief to come as they turn to public transport to travel through the city.

The public transport system in Brisbane is appalling. It is minimalist and unreliable.

The sting of rising fuel prices in Brisbane is likely to be exacerbated by the inconvenience of having to use scant and unreliable public transport.

The bus service in my area, for example, is supposed to run every 30 minutes but it is often late and sometimes doesn’t arrive at all. Evening, weekend and public holiday services are extremely limited.

Some of the problems with Brisbane transport were reported in the Brisbane Times last year.

Brisbane is not the only city in the world to be affected by rising fuel prices—people around the world are affected in many different ways. It would be great to hear how this affects you.

Petrol Prices Brisbane North

I took a drive to Carseldine Campus today to collect a couple of books from the library. Strangely enough, the traffic wasn’t too bad. I don’t know if I’m imagining things but there doesn’t seem to be as much traffic about these days. It would be interesting to know whether the number of people using public transport has increased since the most recent rise in the cost of petrol.

Petrol prices have risen to around 140.0 per litre in Brisbane (prices vary—some areas have higher prices than others). My local is currently charging 138.9 per litre.

QUT City Campuses

I had to travel into Brisbane city to QUT’s Margaret Street and Gardens Point campuses today. Gardens Point is QUT’s main campus and is positioned between the Brisbane River and the Botanical Gardens. Margaret Street is one block away from Gardens Point and is largely occupied by researchers and administration.

I am located at the Kelvin Grove campus which isn’t shown here yet. The Kelvin Grove campus, like Gardens Point is heavily populated with students. This campus is part of an urban development, which means it is integrated with urban facilities such as shopping, coffee shops, restaurants, bars and apartments. It’s a fun campus.

QUT Gardens Point

QUT Margaret Street, Brisbane.

Brisbane River, Queensland

WELCOME!

Welcome to GLOBALly CENTRED!

This blog started out a long time ago as Deblog Central. GLOBALly CENTRED is a new face and focus.

I’d like to take this opportunity to point out a couple of things of interest on this blog. In the top right of the page, you will find links to particular information. The first link is a link to this page—the home page. The home page will contain items on news and events and… well, “random shiz”. The second link is “about”. The about page provides a bit of information about me. It also links to my other blog—The Dull Fig. The Dull Fig contains bits and pieces that are related to my work. I hope you will join me there as well. The third tab will link to news (eventually). I’ll post news stories in the news section (as often as/when I can). I’d like to test the water as a (randomly active) citizen reporter. More information about this will be posted as things start to roll. The fourth third page links to my contact page. My gmail address is posted on the contact page—it’s globallycentred.

This new project promises to be fun and interesting. I hope you will join me.

9th June 2008: changes were made to this item because I discovered that this particular blog application doesn’t have the capabilities that I thought it had.