Goodbye Perth

This will be the last post I make from Perth. There is little left in the flat but a whole lot of packing cartons, some semi-disassembled furniture, and a computer.

It has been a roller-coaster of a three years. There have been some terrible lows and some amazing highs. I have met some wonderful people, and I would like to say thank you to them for being such great friends. I'd especially like to single out AH and AM - you know who you are!

The removalists arrive at 7.30 am tomorrow and then we are in the car on Thursday morning for the next big adventure.

See you there!

Goodbye, it's time I sought a foreign clime,
Where I may find there are hearts more kind than I leave behind.
And so I go to fight the savage foe,
Although I know I'll be sometimes missed by the girls I've kissed.

In some Abyssinian French dominion I shall do my bit,
And fall for the flag if I must.
Where the desert sand is nice and handy, I'll be full of grit,
You won't see my heels for the dust.

...

Goodbye. Goodbye. I wish you all a last "Goodbye".
Goodbye. Goodbye. I wish you all a last "Goodbye"

Self Training

One of the skills generally required to get a proper job as a transport planner is experience in using one or more of the commercial transportation planning software packages. For example a typical transport modeller

" would be expected to have experience in multi-model studies & modelling software such as TRIPS, EMME2, QVIEW, SATURN, PEDROUTE or Microsimulation" (http://www.hsmp-services.co.uk/engineering_sector.html)

The only problem is, just about the only way to get the experience in these packages is to have a job that uses them. Your classic catch-22. There is a small amount training available for some of the packages involve flying to the United States or Canada for a 2 day workshop. This is something I can't really afford. None of the Unis or TAFEs in Australia teaches them.

So I am trying D.I.Y.

My current project is to teach myself something about the Cube Voyager transportation planning software produced by Citilabs.

I am using the Inner Peel region of the Perth area (Mandurah - Amarillo - Pinjarra) as a project site and bit-by-bit building up a model using the scraps of information I have available.

I have a demo copy of the software that comes with a basic tutorial. Apart from the help file, sample scripts and datafiles, I don't have any other resources. It doesn't help that one of the key steps in the tutorial doesn't actually work. If anyone knows of where I might find other resources - manual, course notes, CBT package - I would be very grateful.

To start, I jumped in at the deep end and put together a 35 zone region featuring basic highway and rapid transit networks. Now I have gone back to the beginning and am trying to synthesize a potential 2026 land use breakdown for each of the zones. This allows me to do the first stage of the model: trip generation. There are then 3 more stages to go.

Fun, in a warped sort of way.

Footnote: yes I know there are lots of objections to classic 4-stage transport modelling. I'm setting that aside for the sake of this exercise - and my immediate career goals!

Across Australia Adventure

Well, it has been decided. We are leaving Perth at the end of this month and have decided on Brisbane as a destination. Hopefully it will be a bit more interesting and have some real career potential.

We were talking with removalists and they said it would take 2-3 weeks for everything to arrive, rather than the one week we were anticipating. We then had a brain wave: rather than flying across and then spending those 2-3 weeks in a hotel, why not drive? We could "See Australia" and at the same time save quite a bit of money.

Yes, I know it is mad to cross the Nullarbor at the start of February, but the weather has been so atypical, and with a decent air conditioner in the car 35 degrees is really no different to 25 degrees, and with two to share the driving it should be fine.

So here is the tentative itinerary:

Day 1: Perth - Kalgoorlie
Day 2: Kalgoorlie - Eucla
Day 3: Eucla - Streaky Bay
Day 4: Streaky Bay - Adelaide (maybe stay an extra night)
Day 5: Adelaide - West Wyalong
Day 6: West Wyalong - Goondiwindi
Day 7: Goondiwindi - Brisbane
Day 8: nothing whatsoever.