Your Park Is Worse Than Your Spite

How Many Metres Must I Travel To Find A Meter?

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I'm posting this to prove that even the most mundane sights can have an interesting visual effect for interstate and overseas readers. This shot, taken a year ago, simply shows a council sign on an old-style coin-slot parking meter. These are now a rare sight in Melbourne. Until about ten years ago, there were many of the slot machines, but now they're a rarity. Most street parking sites dictate that you put your money into a machine which gives you a ticket that you then display on your dashboard. (Remind me to tell you how the word ``dashboard'' came into existence - it's a great story.)

You see, this ordinary picture brings me to one of the really interesting things about blogging. A newspaper is read mainly by people who live in the geographical area where it is printed - and only on the day of publication. But blogs are read around the world. And I reckon everyone is keen to see what your little patch of the universe looks like. I've always encouraged bloggers to post pictures of ``everyday'' sights - because they hold interest to the wider readership that is the international blogging community.

I was also very gratified to see the amount of feedback that started cropping up in the comments section of my post Get The Picture. I'd barely published the post when the comments started rolling in. This is the best part about the interactive nature of blogs - the comments are often as entertaining as a blog itself. So if you have time, do read the comments and you'll see lots of advice as well as plenty of humour.

You'll also see a great comment from Joan, who says: ``Thanks for the advice. I am not a photographer but I just like beautiful photos and I take my little camera everywhere with me. '' That's the spirit, Joan. That's what gives a blog an extra personal touch. Take pictures. Post them on your blog. And you'll see that your photography improves as a result.

Everyone's enjoying themselves? Good, because that's my specific intention. This blog is a seven-day-a-week party, so just roll up, folks!