I've been a big fan of cars for nearly as long as I can remember. I can squarely blame Lego and Matchbox for that. It used to be, Dad and I would watch the touring cars when I was little. Then, once my Uncle had taught me to weld, my mate Matt and I decided we would build a car, for the 1992 Shell Mileage Marathon. It was the first step towards my career as an engineer.

So I spent a few years toying with cars. First came the rebuild of the family V8, a real bonding moment with my Dad. After that, GT* purchased some Minis from Robo. They sat in the backyard for 3 years due to various liquidity crises. I've replaced clutches, gearboxes, diffs, heads, radiators and motors. I've even built 3 cars to date. To call me a petrolhead would be fair. In typical snorks fashion I managed to find a dichotomy with my passion.

It is this simple: cars are enormous pollutants. I want to work to making sure that cars become less polluting. This does not really work very well with my desire for speed and corners (Thanks to Charlie, I recently got to drive a Lotus!). So, just recently, I sold my little car:

I am priveledged in Sydney, the public transport system here is pretty good, despite the flogging it gets in the press. My trains are usually excellent and the buses are frequent. Having said that, I caught the buses in Canberra recently, when Robo had a cylinder drop out. Wow, how shit are they? Sure, they traverse large distances, but really? The Action buses make vehicle ownership nearly essential. I'd be particularly unhappy having to live (and drive!) in Canberra with the price of petrol soaring.

I guess I am heading towards the lifestyle of New Urbanism. The other little thing is that my working visa has been processed, I am away, UK first!