A New Direction

Fuck Cash!

2009-06-16T22:00:00.005-06:00

I made a cash withdrawal while checking my account balance at an ATM at the cashino on the MS 150 weekend. Six fucking dollars in fees. I thought I learned my lesson withdrawing cash during a recent pub crawl down Lyndale Ave (at Mortimer's) where I was charged something like $4.50, but I guess not. From here on out I do not use ATMs that are not owned and operated by my bank. No wonder people don't use cash anymore - it simply costs too much.

Why I Ride a Bike

2009-05-04T08:08:00.002-06:00

A New Media War Brewing?

2009-04-03T16:40:00.005-06:00

Colbert vs. Beck? I hope so! And potentially in the vein of Jon Stewart v. Jim Cramer/CNBC. I've long thought Glen Beck to be a complete wanker, and now that he has moved his show to Fox News Channel it has all but confirmed those thoughts. How did he manage to keep a show on CNN for so long anyways?

Running through Digg the other day I came across this Colbert Report clip that had become quite popular. In it, Colbert makes a complete mockery of Glen Beck and his career posturing on 9-11: the fake tears, sad looks, wiping eyes, the 9-12 project and let's not forget the quotes about how Glen Beck hates 9-11 victim's families.

If Fox News and Glen Beck take offence to Colbert's piece the way CNBC took offense to Jon Stewart's rant from the other week, we could have another awesome show down coming up between Colbert and Beck.

This is taken just north of MN HWY 1 and Tettegouche State Park on the Superior Hiking Trail. Can't remember the name of the lake but I believe it is on the approach to WRELC.

Deflating My Spirit

2009-03-17T21:41:00.002-06:00

For the last 14 months I thought the distance between where I live and HGA was about 14 miles. I thought the distance to my girlfriend's house was about 10 miles. This morning I learned from google maps that my exact bike route to work is 10.5 miles. This makes the latter distance about 7.5 miles. So much fo thinking I was biking a lot furthing than I actually was!

One More Day

2009-03-17T00:10:00.005-06:00

I have now officially passed 200 blog posts. I took over 3 years to do it. I started in September of 2005, I think. It seems like a lot, then I look at the length of time this has been out there and wonder why there aren't more.

I have one day of 98% mobility left. I spent 3 hours adjusting the damn brakes on my road bike and tuning it up into a generally rideable condition. Now it's really late and I will be hard pressed for the energy to pedal in the morning =) I'll get 30 miles of biking in before I won't be able to bike at all for weeks. Guess I'd better enjoy it!

Wednesday is surgery and I'm not really looking forward to it. Hopefully, I will be glad about this whole ordeal in the fall. The pain will be gone, the physical therapy will be done with, I'll have been biking all summer and have a strong healthy knee on which I can play Ultimate.

Good-bye hard earned vacation hours! And Happy St. Patrick's Day. If you are into that sort of thing. I couldn't care less. Or actually I could: Easter is coming up shortly.
Lake Pepin at Frontenac State Park, November?, 2008. Looking across to Maiden Rock, WI.

Under the Knife

2009-02-27T00:07:00.002-06:00

March 18th! ACL reconstruction surgery. Can't say I'm looking forward to a week off work. Nor the physical therapy to follow.
Superior Hiking Trail. There would be these massive storm fronts that move in from the West. Sometimes they passed without a fuss, other times... we got wet. If they passed overhead without letting off precipitation they would break up over the lake and let the sun shine through.

Ice Flow

2009-02-20T00:55:00.003-06:00

Minnehaha Falls. Minneapolis, MN. I have no idea why a caterpillar machine is down there.

Pantry Fresh!

2009-02-20T00:40:00.002-06:00

This morning, as I sat on the train on my way to work, I noticed someone holding a cup of coffee that had been purchased from a place like Burger King or a Holiday gas station. The paper cup exclaimed that the coffee inside was "Pantry Fresh!" Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but the words "pantry" and "fresh" seem contrary to me. Almost an oxymoron. From dicionary.com we find a number of entries such as: "a small storeroom for storing foods or wines" and "A small room used for the preparation of cold foods."

When I was thinking about this, wine came to me as an example of something I would want stored in a pantry (cellar) because it is something that can sit there for years. I hope that coffee wasn't sitting in the pantry as long as the '94 Burgundy that has been sitting in my mom's "pantry."

In conclusion, claiming something as "Pantry Fresh!" is saying the cup contains cold, old coffee.

I've Joined Twitter

2009-02-20T00:28:00.001-06:00

and continued my descent into online social media.

www.twitter.com/ejbiederman

Water post: update

2009-02-17T23:09:00.002-06:00

An update, well more of an extension, to my post below on water issues in California is now posted at the Brudaimonia.

Waiting in the Morning

2009-02-17T22:55:00.003-06:00

Took this on the weekend when I was going to take some pictures for more campaign work. I usually ride to 28th Ave station but I saw the train, knew I couldn't make it and thought I might be able to catch it at the next station. The extra pedaling didn't bring about the result I wanted so it left me some time to look around at a station I normally don't give much attention.
Bloomington Central station on the Hiawatha Light Rail.

Where's the Water?

2009-02-03T23:49:00.003-06:00

California appears to be bracing for a serious and severe drought this year as only 1/3rd of the snow has fallen compared to the norm in the Sierras over the last two months (snowiest/wettest months). The Sierras feed 2/3rds of California water according to the article. What caught my eyes is the estimate that that it is possible only 15% of orders will be fulfilled by Californian farmers. Considering they provide roughly half the produce for the country we go be in for a veggie price shock shortly. Or possibly even none at all.

As this article is from Reuters and not, say, NOTW, it seems to be fairly non-sensational. When living in Sydney I remember seeing headlines in the free dailies proclaiming the Murray-Darling basin only has 4 weeks of water left and nothing would ever materialise. This isn't to say the water use/rights in Australia are peachy, they aren't. Try sustaining an entire country continent through decade long droughts and see if it isn't the number one issue. With California's case, everyone from the Governator on down to local water agencies is greatly concerned. Conservation plans are being implemented and rationing appears likely.

Given the state of our food distribution system and supply chain management, I am concerned as well. The MN growing season is short and home gardeners tend not to see fruit until July in normal years. One states water problems could be a boon for local farmers though. If prices are high, quality low and supply short on staple items like salad, melons, grapes and tomatoes then the area farmers market becomes a fantastic alternative.

My girlfriend got me 3 seed catalogues for the holidays and I've got my orders placed. I've been going round to Home Depot buying up cheap scrap wood to fashion into raised planter boxes and should have adequate space for a wide variety of products: several tomato types, peppers, kiwi, strawberry, 3 different melons, cucumbers, chilies, herbs, onions, 9 or 10 types of lettuce, carrots and on and on. As I've said before I learned a lot of things the hard way last year and have a lot of the ground work(pun!) done for this year. We've constructed a large trellis for vined plants to grow. I've been composting for a year now so should have enough humus to enrich a lot of soil. I think I've got an OK handle on timing but even if it doesn't pan out according to plan I will have developed my skill set that much more. It's not a process of straight economics --seeds+equipment+time must be = or < economic cost of purchasing from the store what I grow-- it's a process of having a valuable skill in the future.

Boobs

2009-01-30T22:02:00.002-06:00

Does anyone else find it funny that the world's biggest boobs belong to a woman from, where else, Texas?

Too Much Blue

2009-01-30T00:38:00.004-06:00

<---------------------How do I get rid of all this blue space?--------------------->
EDIT: Or never mind. If I visit on my desk top there is much less space at the margins. Never did much care for Internet formatting standards!

New Brudaimonia Post

2009-01-30T00:36:00.004-06:00

I've posted a short entry over at the Brudaimonia on a bill the Minnesota legislature introduced to prepare for the challenges of peak oil. Check it!

Worst. Weekend. Ever.

2009-01-28T23:13:00.005-06:00

I don't want to use this space to write out bitching sessions, but the events that came to pass this weekend have to be recorded so that I can look back on them later and laugh. Probably after I get this month's credit card bill paid at the earliest. Last weekend started off well enough with a happy hour Friday night with some coworkers and hanging out with some people I haven't seen in quite some time.

I went to an event Saturday night north of downtown St. Paul to take pictures for campaign literature. I asked to borrow my moms car as my Saturn was not running so well and I knew wouldn't make it. Drive to the event, do my thing and head out to leave. I stick the key in the ignition and it wouldn't turn. I realised I had stuck the key to my Saturn into the Mazda ignition. An hour later and the key still hadn't come out. It was well stuck in there.

So... WTF?! I get picked up and head to dinner to think about what we can do and to make arrangements to get this situation sorted (wrong key stuck in ignition, gear shift locked in park, steering column locked) so my mom has a car to drive come Monday morning. I google and find a board with someone asking about what to do when his wife stuck her Saturn car key into his Mazda tribute (ding ding ding!!!). Of course, there was no reply and the Internets didn't turn up much else.

My mom and I went back Sunday morning with tools and a few ideas (and a AAA card) to try getting this key out. I used some pliers, a screwdriver, pulled some fuses, disconnected the battery. Nothing worked. A couple hours later we were heading home in a borrowed car while the Mazda was being towed to a dealer in White Bear Lake. Forgot to mention - the AAA tow truck driver snapped my only key off in the ignition, so now my car sits locked on the street at my mom's house with snow in the forecast. Dealers of course aren't open Sunday. I continue borrowing this car while the car's owner carpools. I stay at my moms, get up early to drive her to work, then drive myself to work (for the first time I have worked at HGA this go-round!). Work, pick my mom up, drive to WBL, where the Mazda remains in disrepair, acquire a loaner, drive back to Bloominghood, get clothes, supplies and bicycle and go to lovely girlfriend's apartment in mpls so we can both get to work in the morning.

Today, the correct parts arrive at the dealer and hundreds of dollars later it's fixed. Well goody, the Saturn is still immobile. I get a lift in the newly repaired car to the Saturn dealer, title in hand, and have keys cut from the VIN. $15. That is about the only good thing that has come out of this weekend! I think (pray, hope) this chapter has closed.

But let's go back to before the beginning. Saturday afternoon. The Saturn was still sitting at the train station from the previous day. I had a flat front tire on my bike so walked to the bike store, bought a few spare tubes for my bikes and fixed my flat. I ride to the station to get my bike when I notice I have another flat tire. Shove bike in the car, drive home, inspect wheel, discover piece of glass on the inside of bike tire. Damnit! No time to re-do the flat as I have to go render two cars useless by sticking the wrong key in the ignition!

Fast forward through the bullshit to Sunday where I have to take care of the domestics and have a bit of time to kill (waiting for laundry, etc.) so I work on the flat front tire. Swapped tubes, started pumping, pump, pump.... BOOM! goes the tube. Sigh. 3 flats and 2 useless cars in a matter of days.

Everything I touched I destroyed. Had I known this about myself I could have had a key position in the Bush administration.

Am I in the United States?

2009-01-23T00:18:00.003-06:00

My president speaks complete sentences, and is of mixed race. There are orders coming out of said president's office closing down prisons that hold people without trial and check the wages of the highest earners on his staff. Word on the street is the war in Iraq is ready to enter a new phase: the beginning of the end. Pinch me, I am dreaming. For this is unreal.

My front tire went flat yesterday riding home - right as I rode up to Hennepin Ave station. I don't want to sully my road bike and have been rather lazy to walk over to the bike store by my house to buy a new tube so I have been using my car to get around. I hate the thing. Ice builds up on the inside of my winshield so that I have to use the scraper to get it off. And that barely works.

I signed up for a photography newletter that assigns a weekly homework assignment and offers tips, tricks and other ideas. I figure if I read about it and am reminded by it, perhaps I can keep up with my resolution. I was walking through downtown during lunch today through one particular building and realised I have to come back and shoot some photos - it has a rather unique interior (Butler Sq. Building). I remember walking through it with my dad as a kid getting to the Target Center via the skyways. It still looks impressive!

Here are some cool things I found on the interwebs today:
Obameter: Tracking Obamas promises.
Zip (de) Code fun!

Things to do this week: get my library card. I've been stalling on that for 2 months after not having on since junior high.

Wolf Creek Waterfall at Banning State Park, MN.

Pic O' the Day

2009-01-19T00:25:00.005-06:00

So far I'm doing rather terrible with my resolution to take photographs regularly. It may be due to the lack of space to bring my camera with me (all I have is a backpack, it gets quickly filled with clothes) and also because if I don't have room for my camera, I definitely don't have room for my tripod. Sadly enough there was a building down the street from me I wanted to photograph and there were two times that were perfect to go capture it (lighting, clouds, time of day, etc) but just couldn't get over there.

The Obama inauguration is this week. Sweet as! It will be warm that day too. A good thing as there are a couple of celebrations to attend. So many people have waited so long for this day. Bush will finally be gone. This is the biggest change to happen in my political life and I gladly await Tuesday.

Lakeside campsite on the Superior Hiking Trail. Bear Lake, near Tettegouche State Park.

Snow plow

2009-01-12T21:18:00.003-06:00

Not quite sure what I was thinking today when I woke up and looked at the forecast. I knew it was going to be windy -gusts up to 40 MPH- I knew it was going to snow -4 inches- I knew the windchill was going to drop -down to 30F below or more- yet I still hopped on my bike and made the easy ride to the station and then to work. I watched the snow fall and wondered why I did rode in. I knew it was going to be tricky getting home. I left work at 5 and had an ok time getting back to the station downtown. Nothing had been plowed obviously and my front tire was sucked into the mush created by car tires driving over fresh snow. My rear tire spun with any pedaling. I tried to find the shallowed parts to get traction and any sort of solid connection. I had to walk over the narrower bridges by the new Twins stadium. When I arrived at 28th st. station I made it a couple blocks before I was unable to go any further. I had to walk about a mile along American Blvd. as there was no way I was riding in the street with moronic drivers. I plowed through the snow with it eventually reaching the bottom of my fork (middle of the wheel!) and snow up to my shins. Riding past the airport plains the snow tends to drift and pile up. It just so happened to pile up on the sidewalk where I was walking. The last couple streets I take were OK to ride on without fear of death by auto. I was biking along Old Cedar Ave through the snow moving faster than people going south on HWY 77. It was a parking lot. That's my favorite part of the ride. In the end, my commute took about 15 minutes longer than usual because of the on and off walking.

Cullen and I at our start of the Superior Hiking Trail outside Two Harbors, MN. September, 2008.

Resolute in my resolutions

2009-01-10T12:02:00.005-06:00

Here we are well in to 2009. Happy New Year btw. 2008 went by awfully quick but it was by and large a pretty sweet year. I spent nearly half of it unemployed. I spent nearly all of it with a torn ACL but tried hard to let that not affect what I did with my leisure. It was a bad year for blogging. Looking back I was pretty god damn lazy with posting and content (as Dan rightly pointed out at the end of the year). While getting ready for the countdown at the party we went to, I thought about what I could do for 2009 resolutions. I don't make all those bullshit get-in-shape self-promises I know I'm not going to fulfill. Here was what I came up with:

1. 5000 VMT. The average car owner drives 12,000 miles. That's ridiculous, unsustainable and can't continue into a future of depleting fossil fuels. (I hope I have made my thoughts on that crystal clear over the last 4 years!) I won't put more than 5,000 miles on my car this year. That's 400 miles/month or 100/miles a week, roughly. I'll track them on a spreadsheet and everything. As of 1 January, 2009 there was 184,050 miles on my car. When 31 December, 2009 rolls around I should have less than 189,050 on it (if it even lasts that long!).

2. PotW. Picture of the day. I got this from someone else, who's friend takes at least one picture every day. I'm not going to be that gung-ho about it and probably knock it back to a picture of the week. I have a nice camera, and will be getting a better lens so there is no reason not to let it sit under my bed. This is a good reason to get it out and use it!

3. Limit the # of flights I take. There are a few places I'd like to travel to this year (L.A., London, Oregon?). I know a few years back I took over 25 flights in an 18 month period. This is also something that is not sustainable and won't be able to continue into the future ala resolution 1. I've heard both good and bad about long distance train service in the US but it can't be any worse than the Ghan in Centralia. And I think I can get a coupon for the daily out to Seattle with companion fares.

4. Fix my knee. Doable with my knewly acquired health insurnace.

5. Expand my garden to grow a good portion of food during the 2009 growing season. The only thing that really worked out last year was basil (which remains as frozen pesto and a slowly dying plant in the kitchen) and jalapenos with absolutely no heat to them and tiny, funny shaped onions. It was a steep learning curve in extremely poor soils with lots of rodents attacking my small garden at night. This year I will try my hand at square foot gardening, planter boxes for herbs, peppers and other small plants and a few stalks of corn.

A very low Gooseberry River. Taken from the Superior Hiking Trail bridge. September 2008. You can see the storm coming in from the West. It rained on us about an hour later as we hiked down to the visitor center for water and electricity.

Art: Circa Now

2008-12-15T23:20:00.004-06:00

Meow has a post on modern art and I've always been confounded by that section of the gallereumstitute. I usually walk away with different thoughts from each place. The Tate Modern in London was surprising spectacular. Elsewhere has been meh or "I gotta GTFO." So in the W-L-D column I would sit at 1-45-2. It leaves me with some things to say about the subject: Modern art sucks, even if it is art.

And that's about all I have to say about that.

A Time for Holiday Drink

2008-12-02T23:41:00.002-06:00

Eggnog + Kahlua = Ooooh!
The kahlua appears to be suspended in the 'nog when you pour it in. Next up, homemade eggnog.

CNN: Wyoming went blue in 2004

2008-11-11T19:00:00.006-06:00

On election night CNN was pimping their fancy high tech holograms and giant touchable election center screen. At some point in the night one of the analysts was doin 2004-2008 comparisons and contrasts. On the screen they had the electoral college results for Kerry v. Bush. The northeast, upper midwest and coasts were blue. And Wyoming. Apparently John Kerry took 3 EVs from that state. Our house was a bit ocnfused as Wyoming is one of the most republican parts of the country. We quickly went to Daily Kos to get election results from 2004 using their Electoral Scoreboard. We couldn't get a screen shot of the two windows showing the inconsistency, so I got my camera:
The election scoreboard is in the background and CNN is playing through Windows Media Center in the smaller foreground window. Our dog Libby is the spotted thing in the bottom left.

Message to the BBC

2008-09-03T13:26:00.000-06:00

Here is a short comment I submitted to the BBC regarding the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Since it was announced that the Republican Convention was to be held in St. Paul I have dreaded the day that the city would start going into lock-down. There have been thousands protesting with nearly all doing so peacefully. A few have caused trouble and have been arrested, rightly so, for breaking windows, etc. But the scenes of a police state are becoming more apparent. House raids, arrests of journalists and the tasering of people not resisting arrest is all well documented. Permitted events have been shut down as well. It is rediculous that the republican party needs millions of dollars and thousands of police, troopers and national guard to simply nominate John McCain as the Republican nominee for president."

NBC Olympic Commentary

2008-08-15T18:06:00.001-06:00

America America America Michael Phelps Gold Michael Phelps. Gold Number One Michael Phelps America. Beijing Low Tech China. America Number One Gold. Bob Costas Swimming Michael Phelps Gold Michael Phelps. Gymnastics Swimming Diving Gold Number One Michael Phelps America Michael Phelps.

These clowns should never be allowed to broadcast the Olympics again.

Knee Update 2

2008-08-05T23:07:00.003-06:00

Back in January I injured my knee playing indoor ultimate and made a big fuss about it in this post. Six months later and my knee was still not back to full strength. Whenever I cut hard I risked straining it again and having it swell up for 4-5 days and losing all flexibility until it finally got back to "normal." A few weeks ago I went to a sports medicine specialist, took x-rays and chatted with him a while about what has been going on. Turns out I have a torn (partially) ACL in my left knee and require reconstruction surgery. Crap. I've continued playing on my summer league team and have only one game left for the season. I will be resting for fall, winter and probably next summer until I can fully heal from surgery - about six months. First, I need to get a job with proper health insurance as the shit coverage I have now would most definitely not cover my surgery and recovery. And that won't happen until October at the earliest when I return from the Superior Hiking Trail.

Here's hoping for one finaly knee injury free ultimate frisbee game!

Commonalities between the US and Myanmar

2008-06-20T12:07:00.002-06:00

Probably one of the best maps ever. Linked: the countries shown in red do not use the metric system.

And the Floodgates are Open

2008-05-26T01:11:00.005-06:00

After Hillary Clinton's unbelievable comments at the end of last week, the gates are apparently now open wide for people to call for the assassination of Barack Obama. If unsure of what I am talking about, see Keith Olbermann's special comment and thorough haranguing of Clinton in the 10 minute youtube.com clip from Countdown. Not more than a few days later on Fox news we have people endorsing the idea that it would be "great" if Obama were to be assassinated. Holy Shit. Just think about that for a minute. It's OK for people to kill politicians they do not agree with. That is the idea endorsed on and by Fox News. I am completely floored. And the person responsible for this is a Democrat. One I have lost complete respect for, for the rest of my life: Hillary Clinton.

Crying wolf? What Is At Stake As We Reach The End Of The Plateau

2008-05-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

People have been shouting for years now about resource exhaustion but have been "wrong" for nearly the whole of human civilisation. I put wrong in quotes because we do live in a finite world, but past predictions never had the timing right. When whale oil became scarce the same concerns were raised, but substitutes were found. When crude oil becomes scarce, will substitutes be found? Why raise these concerns yet again over oil depletion? Finding a substitute for oil will be, in one understated word, difficult. The immediate response from almost everyone when reacting to first being informed of peak oil is "Well what about such and such?" inserting ones favorite technology or economic system inplace of "such and such." There are plenty of options: coal, nuclear, solar, wind, biomass, thermal, hydro, methane, tidal. I am not writing this post as a response to these alternative technologies and sources of energy. Instead I am writing it to extrapolate my thoughts from the technical complications of why peak oil is happening to how oil depletion is, and will, change our world.

Imagine this: tomorrow you wake up and the flow of oil and its related products have completely stopped. General chaos would ensue while the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is quickly rationed empty (probably to sustain the military). Life would get rather difficult if oil ceased production immediately. How would we get to work? How would many of us heat our homes? Would our electricity grid cope with the loss of natural gas and the small amount of oil fueled power plants? Where would plastic and fertiliser, not to mention an extraordinarily wide range of chemicals, come from? How would we get strawberries from Chile in the winter? How would I get to New Zealand for my next working holiday? This is of course an extreme example as it is most improbable that such an event would occur, but I use it because it clearly gets across just how much we rely and depend on oil for our modern society and quality of life. This is not the situation we face, but neither is reality a rosy picture.

I think that oil production has hit a limit in total month-average daily output. We haven't produced more oil in a month than we did in May 2005, nearly three years ago. (Or December, 2005, or in 2006... depends on what production numbers are used). I think we will ride a plateau until 2012 - 2015 and will then enter the period of terminal production decline. The production plateau will be characterised by volatile and ever increasing energy prices, global spot shortages, discoveries that are technically difficult to recover and the 3rd world being priced out of the oil market so that OECD countries can continue to operate. See Zimbabwe, for example.

There are above ground factors (war, politics, embargoes, etc.) that may well push the global peak out past 2012 - 2015, but there are also above ground factors that could cause havoc on the availability US oil imports. And once the US can no longer import other countries' oil, the timing of global peak, while still important, becomes less meaningful. So while factors outside of natural geology could alter the timing, I am fairly certain that "the slide" will happen in the next 10 years. Nearly everyone involved in the Peak Oil community has speculated on what life will be like post (peak) carbon so there is no shortage (ha ha) of predictions. Everything from resource wars to techno/free market fixes to mass die off and all things in between has a book written on it. At present the most one can do is look at the problem at hand, where we stand today, take a best guess and then plan accordingly.

One of the biggest problems I see when looking at PO as a whole is the interconnectedness of energy and economy. Our recent 90 year growth spurt has been predicated on the availibility of cheap fossil fuels, particularily oil and natural gas. When the global economy is hot so is the demand for energy - and it has been strong these last several years as a larger percentage of the global population has become more affluent, be it Indians eating more meat, the Chinese driving more cars or the inclusion of new member states into the EU. These resources are drivers of the economy and their depletion will signal an end to what was thought would be infinite global economic growth. Growth will peak along with oil and then go into decline triggering recessions and, depending on the severity, our generation's Great Depression. For whatever reason it seems the Market views current oil prices as a spike and not a long-term trend. Because of this, I believe the financial analysts and forecasters are over estimating growth (earnings) that will occur because they are undervaluing the cost of capital (debt and equity). An economy and economic system based on debt will buckle when growth, our even the prospect of growth no longer exists. I am not certain when something like this will play out(probably when we can see in hindsight that production has peaked), or if it will even happen at a large scale. Can it be compared to a teather ball where it starts slowly, unwinding in small circles around the poll before it picks up speed and covers a greater radius? Or does an economic collapse caused by the increasing scarcity of abundant and cheap oil simply bypass any economic safety nets that have been set up? I can't be certain, but I do know our economy cannot continue to grow in an era of declining oil production. I still maintain that the day the world (market) realises the full implications of peak oil, the repricing of assets will trigger a sell off that makes the Crash of '29 look like a walk through the candy store.

Our savings account of carbon-based solar energy has allowed us (the industrialists) to be an extraordinarily mobile society. Since its discovery, oil has been easily produced, transported and refined into a myriad of creative products. We have found countless ways to then use those products to the betterment of our lives. Oil is one of the main drivers behind today's convenience-based lifestyle as there are thousands of hours of work-energy stored in each and every one of the 20-22 million barrels of oil we use every day. All of this potential energy has allowed the "conveniences" (listed above) of the Western/North American lifestyle to happen such as the spread of suburbs, manufacturing bases where labor is cheapest, year-round fresh produce, hurling ourselves at 70 mph down concrete slabs, "green revolution" agriculture and so much more.

This isn't to say these things won't exist or that oil won't be produced in the future. As depleting fossil fuels face greater competition from across the world the equilibrium price (assuming no intervention) will have to rise. Economics 101: resources are finite and price will determine their allocation. The third world has experienced a this shock and many countries have been priced out. The increase over the last 7 years has rattled the first world but business as usual persists. As the shocks climb the ladder of affluence, so too will price increases but I make no attempts to predict how high and fast. $150/bbl by 2010? $500/bbl by 2015? I've said and posted numerous times that the current spot price is not the ultimate indicator of Peak Oil - what we have to observe is the rate of flow. Will my attempt at driving to work be hampered because of my inability to purchase the required fuel because someone with more money bid up the price so they could purchase it for themselves for whatver use? Yes, I find it very likely. As a comparison, much of southern (OK, all) Africa faces starvation yet food is exported because wealthy countries can pay more and... turn it into biofuels! It's the same as an auction - the winner will be the one who can pay the most. The losers of this auction -and there will be many- will face severe unemployment and have no way to pay for transportation, food, heat, etc.

These higher prices will force people to seek out alternatives. What other way do I have to get to work other than driving? Or: How else could I entertain myself rather than boating or ski-dooing on the lake? We will eventually have to substitue all the high energy, highly entropic systems that rely on and require prohibitively expensive fossil fuels with low energy alternatives. It is at this critical point where we will decide our path. Will we wage war over remaining resources to carry on business as usual? Will we wait to discover a tecno fix or new source of energy? Will we begin to powerdown and live within the balance provided us? I would not be surprised to see a great many countries fracture and divide into smaller, more regional governments (or comeplete lack thereof!). We in the Peak Oil community love to point and look at Cuba during the post-soviet-era collapse when oil became incredibly scarce. Cadillacs roamed the streets of Havanah while cheap oil flowed from Russian fields. The break up of the Soviet Union crashed that party. Cuba was able to cope but there was much hardship and living arrangements were completely transformed. As was agriculture, transportation, industry, economy. If the West were able to Powerdown even a fraction as well as Cuba I would call it a success.

But perhaps high oil prices will not force consumers to alter their petroleum based lifestyle. If, because of the recency effect, people believe that tomorrow will be much the same as yesterday and yesteryear, then perhaps the reversal from our current economy and a transition into a "renewable economy" (I'm not really even sure what this means, what it entails, or how we get there) or whatever future scenario we move toward is not possible. This idea has been discussed at The Oil Drum on several occasions relating it to Industrial Agriculture being affected by oil and natural gas depletion. This idea may also play out with society as a whole. We may well not be able to transition into a lifestyle similar to that which existed prior to the industrial revolution.

However peak oil plays itself out in the next 15 years, I am at least certain of one idea: there are gonna be a lot of people who are far less mobile tomorrow than they are today. Discretionary weekend getaways, 25 mile work commutes, cruisin mainstreet - eventually we will simply not be able and willing to pay for these activities. This is the exact reason why people like James Howard Kunstler believe that suburbia is doomed and the days of happy motoring are over. Looking at the situation at hand I tend to agree and would rather be located in a dense, walkable mixed use city or in a rural and self sustaining farming community. As we inch further along the line to the peak oil slide, life will have to become localised; be it entertainment, food production, school, work, etc. Waste will also be trimmed. Europe has just as good as, and in some countries a better standard of living while using half the amount of energy per capita than the United States. Soon enough it will be our turn to go down the peak oil slide and deal with all that comes with it. We can be proactive and at least attempt to mitigate the worst effects today, or party on and let it wake us up out of our oil-drunken slumber and smack us in the face.

MN Senate - DFL Endorsement: Jack!

2008-03-27T01:21:00.000-06:00

This has been cross-posted at The Daily Kos.

Every 4

2008-02-29T11:17:00.000-06:00

Happy Leap Year! Wouldn't it be sweet as if you were born today?

Back At It

2008-02-28T22:56:00.006-06:00

I have the internets once again and am slowly writing up some posts on energy. Thought I'd have a bit of time to write at work but it has become a slog that I no longer care for. From the time I started this job I would have to step out and look at the big picture of what I did/do, laugh about it and then go back to it, focusing more on the noise (I have a feeling that is what Metal sounds like to most people) emanating from my headphones more than anything else to simply retain my sanity. I felt way more stressed at work starting about mid-January than at any other time and its beginning to wear on me. This all means much less time for reading The Oil Drum and thinking about energy and economic issues. In summary, hey - someone else that hates their job... big woop.

In other news, my room is blue! There is no other activity that makes me more OCD and anal than painting - and I don't know why. It is finished and looks damn good IMHO though so I leave it at that. The house is still a bit of a mess - our lounge is more a storage space than anything else, and most rooms remain unfinished (read: need paint). But it is well livable and I look forward to the others moving in.

On Hold

2008-02-08T09:51:00.000-06:00

No Internets at the new house yet. Blog writings and readings on hold for the time being.

Knee Update

2008-01-29T22:09:00.000-06:00

I ~~blew out~~ injured my knee Friday night playing ultimate frisbee. My defender ran me over and after a tangle of legs and feet I twisted a bit too far and heard my knee go pop. There was maybe a dislocation, some hyper extension and a sprain. I really don't know. It hurt(s)! I gimp about here, gimp about there. Somehow, I was approved for health insurance effective today, and I went to the doctor. Over the weekend I assumed the worst and thought I had torn a ligament or damaged my knee in someway where I thought I'd have to get surgery (or at the least an MRI-$$$$) and was worrying about being uninsured (now underinsured) and what all this stuff would cost and whether I'd be covered. Bad knees run in the family and I kept thinking about what had happened to my dad when he was my age. The dreaded phrase kept coming up in conversations with my friends: pre-existing condition. After seeing Doc, it looks as though things will be OK. I have to wear a goofy brace around my pants to immobilize my knee. It's called a knee immobilizer (how appropriate!). Also keep up the icing and ibuprofen regimen. We'll see what happens after a week of that but my knee tested pretty strong. Can take pressure and can be flexed in all directions. Just have to wait for the swelling to go down and the fluid to drain to get my range of motion back and work through the soreness and tight muscles.

Whew! I thought I may have been out for the season but if all goes well I could be playing in a couple of weeks (optimistic?)! Just gotta be careful about re-injuring it even worse.

Well, At Least the Fed Is Getting What It Wants

2008-01-23T23:00:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago my AIM status message read something like : Are the declines in housing prices causing inflation to appear low, artificially? This was a serious question. Not something that would allow me to say "told ya so!" down the line. No one ever answered. Inflation and the CPI are things I'm not too familiar with. I understand that there is core and non-core and that food and energy can be stripped out, and that measurements and metrics were changed about 30 years ago and are revised now and again when a potentially better way of monitoring price changes is found. Back to my question. Not having spent a great deal of time in the US from 2005 - 2007, things seemed a bit more expensive upon returning. At first I chalked it up to differences in the countries I was living in. After a while though I noticed price increases in more and more products. In following peak oil, one not only watches energy prices, but other commodities as well. Five major grain crops were up, some over 100% (corn, wheat), oil continuing its upward rise (~75% in 2007), moo juice and gold reaching new highs. All happening last year.

Scanning through the daily posted drum beat (note that the first story posted mentions Mexico as having closed its ports that ship 80% of its oil exports!) at the Oil Drum the other day, I stumbled across this article that piqued my interest as a possible answer to my inflation/housing question. In short, the answer was yes.

Why is there no inflation? Housing. [...] Housing prices are down, at least if you are trying to sell.

We know that the credit crunch, sub prime mortgage mess and declining housing values are wreaking havoc all over the economy. It is also cancelling out price increases in other goods.

as far as the government's concerned, the 5 or 10 percent decline in the average value of your home is more than going to make up for a more expensive gallon of diesel or case of beer

Well, OK. It doesn't seem that way though. As the value of your home goes up or down, your property taxes follow suit, but not your mortgage payment. That might change every 10-20 years. With energy and food costs rising (not spiking, IMO) we feel the inflationary pinch in the things we buy every day. We do not buy houses every day. Not all commodities are up, i.e. metals (strange, as people are stripping foreclosed home of copper wiring!) but as the tireless industrialisation of emerging economies continues there will no doubt be higher demand and higher prices for those goods as well.

Perhaps this serves as at least a slice of proper evidence to my anecdotal theory that inflation is being understated, or under reported by the government. Change the metrics around and the numbers can give you a very different answer. As noted in the Brudaimonia post linked above, Many of the suburban, sub prime households are now spending a greater share of income on transportation than housing, while the gov't measures transportation fuel costs as 5% of a household spending.

Priorities

2008-01-21T16:00:00.000-06:00

Nearly all financial markets today are falling, crashing even, or at least massive losses are taking place. Some of the biggest drops since 9/11. India down 12%. The UK down 5.5%. DAX down 7%. Aussie markets lose another $43 billion. Canada down 4%. CAC40 and the Hang Seng also down big percentages. These aren't just emerging economies going through high volatility! Today is a trading holiday in the US for MLK day. Tomorrow will not be pretty. It will be painful (but it has been since 1/1/2008) though also interesting with earnings announcements and a fed meeting.

But you wouldn't know it from watching the television. Fox News was more concerned with the chemicals in lipstick increasing women's breast size. Only CNN International was carrying much of the global business activity. Political Candidate in fighting took up much blog space. So while the global stock markets plummet, America is off in McLa-La Land.

To Become A Bloomingtonian

2008-01-17T12:57:00.000-06:00

For all my ranting and raving about the suburban living arrangement, I will soon be living in one as well. I hope to be ending the suburb - suburb commute soon enough though. While my reverse commute isn't terrible, if I could find a job downtown I may well take that. I am a 5 minute ride from the light rail, so about 40-50 minutes to the city (sans driving or parking!) which, even though it is longer, is my preferred option.

Fred Thompson: Booo Teachers!

2008-01-10T11:21:00.000-06:00

Yay Fundamentalist Christians! On the way to work this morning I was listening to the radio (NPR) say that Fred Thompson is down in South Carolina trying to pry the evangelical votes away from Huckabee. The way he is doing this is to say that he had won the National Right to Life endorsenment and Huckabee only had the endorsement of the NEA.

Republican politics in this campaign are laughable. Thompson, the guy who got 1% in NH, the guy who was billed as the Neo-Reagan poster boy, came into this election thinking he would be the saviour of the Republican party. Best part is that he is no worse than the top tier candidates, but doesn't stand a chance. As I recently read on the Daily Kos frontpage, the front runners are a guy who doesn't believe in science, a guy who is OK with staying in Iraq for 100 years and a plutocrat attempting to purchase the presidency.

Equation

2007-12-27T00:29:00.000-06:00

Two quick things.

1. One cannot make claims about global warming and climate change based on the changes and differences in daily weather patterns. This makes anything a weatherman says about climate change approximately worthless.

2. One can neither confirm nor deny the reality of peak oil based on short term oil spot-price trends. It is pointless to scream bloody Mary about oil and other energy prices when trying to inform others about the potentially massive problems of peak oil.

We Will Never Run Out Of Oil

2007-12-17T02:24:00.000-06:00

What's that you say? You wouldn't ever expect such a statement to come from me? So you would say if you have ever had a discussion about energy with me. The following series of posts is my version of a peak oil primer.

First, a quick run down of the 5W1H:
WHAT is peak oil? Like gravity, peak oil is a theory and follows as such: Total oil production will, at some point during its period of extraction, hit a peak output (in terms of barrels per day). Once peak is reached, production will never be higher than that historic point. Production may plateau for some time, but will always enter into terminal decline. Less oil will be produced year over year until production becomes a net loser both economically and energetically - i.e. it costs $110 to produce a barrel that sells on the market for $100 or it requires two barrels of oil to pump out one barrel.

WHY and HOW does oil production hit a peak? Oil is a finite resource. A solar savings account built up over thousands of years in the form of, quite literally, liquid assets. Unless you believe abiotic oil is a real thing, there is nothing significant being added to our world petroleum account. Production tends to follow a bell shaped curve. Economics, industrialisation and the huge amount of growth over the past 150 years has resulted in constant, ever-increasing demand for oil. This explains the upward section of the bell curve of production. Industrialised growth has created a bottomless pit for the consumption of fossil fuels. There have (almost) always been markets willing and able to take oil and use it, so producers pump as much and as fast as they can to generate earlier cash flows from their fields. Basic capitalist markets at work. Eventually production hits the downward slope of that bell curve because of geologic limits (sometimes economic or political reasons as well). The characteristics of oil field geology are complex -just try reading a Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) technical paper- so I will try to explain in the most simple and basic way possible. Over time, as oil is extracted from a field, it begins to lose its natural pressure. It will eventually drop to the point where oil has to be pumped, then "swept" out of the field. There are tertiary methods of recovery as well, but I won't go into those. The above illustrates this point: the longer you produce an oil field, the slower the rate of extraction as it becomes increasingly difficult to move oil from its location in a geologic formation up the pipe to the surface.

WHO will be involved in the peak oil scenario? Aside from the tribal, pre-industrial peoples, it would be fair to say that everyone uses oil in some way, shape or form. There are a lot of players in the Who question as well as lots of ways to categorise them. There are consumers and producers. Importers and exporters. International Oil Companies - IOCs (BP, Exxon, et al.) and National Oil Companies - NOCs (Aramco, Pemex, etc.). There is the OPEC cartel which produces a bit over 30 mbd (~3/8ths of global production) and there are energy watch dog groups like the International Energy Agency -IEA (AIE en francais) and the U.S. based Energy Information Administration, which monitor production, supply, demand, consumption, inventories, technology, etc for the U.S., OECD countries and the West in general. The cast of characters and supporting roles is diverse. Energy and oil are quickly becoming some of the biggest and most global issues to face humanity. Because oil is such a global commodity, policies designed around its future will affect everyone, except Eskimos.

WHERE is peak oil observable? More importantly, has peak oil been observed? That answer is yes, on local scales. As stated above, production tends to follow a bell curve (unless we are talking about Russia - they are just plain goofy). Whether you are looking at an individual well, an entire oil field or a country, the production profile remains approximately the same, no matter the location. Oil is discovered, production begins and increases (usually at a steep rate) a peak production is reached and production enters either plateau or decline. Have a look at these graphs from the EIA that show the production profile for the United States. You can see that both the lower-48 curve and the Alaska curve on top both had their peaks and are now in decline. The above is a very simplistic explanation of where peak oil occurs and what that shape looks like, so it is a bit ostensible for me to state that production looks the same for all locations. Field management, reservoir characteristics and above ground factors will greatly influence the productivity of an oil field or even country (Iraq!). Another main idea I am trying to convey here is that production is not linear. A field cannot be produced at an ever increasing rate until all recoverable reserves are produced where production then falls immediately to nil. All oil is not produced equally. Where we have not seen a definitive peak, yet, is on a global scale; and this is one of the most hotly contested issues in the peak oil activist and energy community.

WHEN will we reach global peak oil production? This is where all of the oil players enter the picture. There are geologists, watchdog groups, bloggers, CEOs, governments, corporations and professors all opining on the timing of peak oil. The date ranges anywhere from 2005 to 2100 and beyond. Geologist Kenneth Defeyes controversially stated we would reach peak Thanksgiving Day, 2005 (+/- a few standard deviations). Chairmen and board members of Saudi Aramco claim the world will be supplied for the next century. The EIA offers a cheerful picture as well but warns of short and medium-term price and supply volatility. I have my own inkling of when production will peak, though this will come up later; and I readily admit it is only, at best, a semi-educated conclusion. Two of the biggest problems in attempting to predict the timing of peak oil are the complete lack of data transparency (OPEC!) and an uncertainty of how much oil is still yet to be discovered. Just by saying it was so, OPEC member nations in the 80s increased the proven reserves of their country, some up to a 3 fold gain. How is this possible? There is no certifiable external auditing of remaining and proven reserves; we simply take their word with blind faith. Petroleum geologists also cannot be exactly sure how much recoverable reserves the earth holds, though Geology and Statistics can make us fairly confident. I have no doubt that large discoveries will continue to be made for years to come, but they will be made further and fewer between. World oil discoveries peaked in the 60's and for a long time we have been producing more oil than has been found, in any given year. Our petroleum account is being drained. We are spending like a newly-divorced-gold-digger who thinks she still has a sugar daddy. New discoveries may well delay peak (by months, not decades) but this is no where near a mitigation of peak oil.

"I don't get the title of this post, can you elaborate?" Fact is, we will never "run out" of oil; billions of barrels will remain underground because we do not have the ability to recover them. People who concern themselves with peak oil are not the end-of-days type claiming oil is going to instantly disappear at some point in the future. Well, most aren't. We deal with somewhat more tangible things: supply and demand, engineering, finance, environmentalism and not apocalyptic prophecies. We use these tools to gain some idea of what the effects of a post peak oil world -a world of diminishing resources that face increasing demand- may look like in terms of social-political-economic structures, government, demographics, technology, transportation logistics, agriculture, etc. The list goes on.

I hope that this gives you an idea of what peak oil is, if you are hearing it for the first time. There are a lot of terms and concepts to deal with straight away (acronyms galore!). I am already writing the next post of the series about why on earth this matters and why we should care about it, and how it affects us. Aside from the excessive links to Wikipedia, I am not going to "cite" all of the above. This (and much more) is what I have learned over the last couple of years in my research into this topic. I typed away off the top of my head. Rather, I will list some of the best materials and resources that have been most enlightening to me. "Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock" by Matt Simmons. www.theoildrum.com www.energybulletin.net "Powerdown: Options for a Post Carbon World" by Richard Heinberg. A peak oil documentary and how it will affect Ireland. I recommend seeing Heinberg speak. I also recommend checking out the daily posted "Drum Beat" at the Oil Drum and the discussion that follows.

Feel free to dis/agree with me. Yell at me. Think I am, and call me, crazy. Ask questions (I can answer them in the next post!). Thanks for reading and sorry for typos and grammatical errors.

Suburban Fantasy

2007-11-25T22:40:00.000-06:00

While driving around Carver County (where I work, Shakopee, Savage, etc.) during my lunch hour one day this past summer I turned off the highway to look for some places to get food. I was greeted by a huge development of BigBox and flashy chain stores: a new Best Buy, Panera, Wal Mart, whatever the hell those new DQ restaurants are (grill and chill?) Sam's Club, several gas stations, Chilis, Flingers, and whatever else goes along with these types of developments. Yes, there were the typical housing developments off in the distance where every single unit looks exactly the same with a slightly different tint to its paint but still no trees. The landscape is a funny mix of newly built precast buildings that can be put up in a week with freshly paved parking lots completely engulfing the building making it an island in the maze of distributor roads blended with yet to be developed parcels of land (overgrown-prairie-grass-and-dirt-fields) that serve as excess parking during happy hour.

Scanning the surroundings at a stop sign I thought, why does it have to be this way? Why do we have to create our living environment that forces us to move vast distances to arrive at any particular destination. Aesthetically, it is downright ugly. Sameness, in a word, is what makes it physically unattractive.

So I come off as this urban elitist, bitching about the burbs in all its awfulness. And well... I am. The way cities were built during the post WW2 era was completely unsustainable, but it took 50 years for even a small fraction of people to start realising this is not the way to expand. So we end up with traffic congestion, pollution, health problems, expensive maintenance costs - just to list a few. The fact that I participate in all of this just adds to my detest of the burbs.

It has gotten to the point now where rings of suburbs are swallowing up what were once rural towns creating a strange mix of cardboard housing developments down the street from real small-town civic cores. Its a fantasy, an unreal living arrangement between big city and small town/rural setting.

*It took me 3 weeks to write this cause blogger kept deleting my drafts! Gah!

My Version of Luck

2007-11-21T09:02:00.000-06:00

At work and in different groups I am constantly being entered into contests to win things (3 iPods are up for grabs at the moment) but I have never won a prize like this. I still throw my money away on the lottery, but $2 for a 60-80 ticket pot just seems worth it. I think luck for me happens like this: luck doesn't occur by me winning prize drawings at work, luck happens by my vending machine selection not getting stuck in the metal spirals. It isn't about something going right, it's about something not going wrong. I'll take what I can get.

Dropped

2007-11-05T22:07:00.000-06:00

It only took me 4 days to be proven wrong about the Colbert presidential run. I'm gonna hang up my political punditry hat for now.

ED

2007-11-05T21:46:00.000-06:00

Why do the networks continue to give Ellen Degeneres airtime? Now she is on TBS. In 6 months she'll be on the CW and thats the bottom rung. After that, poof, gone!

Materialistic Buying Spree

2007-11-04T23:13:00.000-06:00

I am typing from one of those computers that fits on your lap. I've never had anything like this before - was always a huge fan of the mega fast desktops - so it's taken some time to get used to. I say I've become a bit materialistic over the few weeks, but I really haven't. It started months ago. On returning home from OZ there were three big ticket items I wanted: a digital camera, a laptop and a road bicycle. In the last two weeks I have bid and won the first two from eBay. I should have bought a nice digital SLR camera years ago. Since shooting on my A-1(which was awesome) I have probably spent just as much money on film, developing and accessories (goddamn batteries) as I have on the new camera and one starter and one decent lens. Plus there was no flash on my 35mm - annoying! And no photo review, which if you have seen my flickr page, there are quite a lot of "experimental" shots that would have been nice to take a look at right after, not 8 months later! So now I have fancy electronic gizmos to keep me occupied for the next few weeks - just to figure them out. And so far there has been no cognitive dissonance in regards to these purchases! Next big purchase will be closing out the whole of my student loan. Debt free! I've worked my ass off all summer so I deserve this =)

Colbert Run is for Real!

2007-11-01T00:26:00.000-06:00

This could quite possibly be the greatest piss taking of the MSM-picks-the-candidate presidential campaign ever. While the Daily Show's Indecision '04 and Clusterfuck to the Whitehouse are funny and satirical on a high level, Colbert is coming close to genius every night on his show and in his run on the South Carolina ticket (to/on which he has officially applied). The top tier dems were asked about Colbert in a recent debate and Obama responded that he didn't even know he was from South Carolina and challenged Colbert to a grit off. When the camera came back to Colbert he was shovelling grits into his smirked mouth. There was also a nice snubbing of the republican party when he said he"just can't bring myself to write a $35,000 check to the republican party." It costs $2,500 to apply to the demcratic ballot.

I am well looking forward to seeing where he takes this campaign. I hope he cranks it up a notch or two (if that is possible) because there is a lot of work to do to combat the influence on the major news networks.

Bad Halloween Costume

2007-10-29T22:50:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I stumbled upon a Halloween party already in progress and wound up partaking in some festivities, sans costume. At first it felt a bit weird being the only person there without a costume but I really didn't care. Halloween: not my thing. After numerous drinks and being asked several times either "What are you?" or "Why no costume?" I decided to start replying: I'm a serial killer. I was in jeans, t-shirt and baseball hat. Apparently, girls find this creepy as hell. Go figure. Whatever, I had the scariest costume at the end of the night, after scaring everyone off.

The Biggest Red Sox Fan

2007-10-27T13:56:00.000-06:00

While dancing around the living room in my pajamas over the Iowa Hawkeyes 2nd OT victory over the MSU Spartans, the next ESPN sporting event began immediately. When I began to pay attention to what was being said I heard, "and now we go to *some sports pundit* who is with one of the biggest Red Sox fans ever" and so I thought, what's Rudy Giulianni doing on ESPN?

Petrol, Gas, Fuel - Call It What You Will, We Are Its Hyper-Consumers

2007-10-26T01:12:00.000-06:00

This about sums up my head scratchings of the last couple weeks/months (and years). This chart is based on 2003 data. At that time the U.S. had under 300 million people and consumed nearly 1.4 million litres (368,906 gallons) of gasoline each day. On the other side you have a sampling of countries that add up (by my quick estimate) to almost 3 billion people. Thats practically half the worlds population using less gasoline than the whole of the United States. This includes other western nations where it could be argued that standards of living and quality of life are better.

Four years on I would not be surprised that the bar on the right has overtaken the US indicator due to increases in domestic demand in countries such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, China, India, Russia and Iran - several of these countries subsidising gasoline to its citizens thereby alleviating the effects of increased per barrel oil prices.

The stats are no less shocking, however.

*Image is originally from the economist and taken from the oil drum.

Time Flies

2007-10-24T22:57:00.000-06:00

In addition to being a sweet hardcore band on Indecision Records in SoCal, this is pretty much what has happened over the last year. The last time I experienced an October 24th was in 2005. Last years was gobbled up by the flying spaghetti monster who lives at the International Date Line. A year ago yesterday I was on my way to Australia for my second working holiday and just the same as London, a year later seems only a few weeks later. I can constantly remind myself with memories, products (ginger beer!) and photos from this era, as well as getting ready for Pat to come visit soon enough. And facebook, sweet sweet facebook.

A time to catch up. The first weekend in October is Marathon time for the Twin Cities. I ran the TCM for the first time and had an absolute blast. While not being able to sleep in on a Saturday isn't the best way to start a weekend, all was made well while 7 thousand people ran screaming underneath the Gov't Center building in downtown Minneapolis. I saw my family and friends, live bands and spectacular views of the TC. I had trained all summer (and had been running in London and Sydney) for this. I finished! That was the utmost goal. And with a time of 5h20m. I thought I would do a bit better, but given the conditions of that day, I am more than happy. Upper 80s and 88% humidity. It seems that everything that could go wrong during the race did, and a lot of it happened for the first time: the top of my left foot hurt like hell, I developed massive blisters on the balls of my feet at my 13, I cramped up at mile 16 and walked almost the entire length of miles 17-25. Once I hit that last leg down John Ireland Blvd. I had the biggest, goofiest smile on my face and could not have been happier.

The next weekend took us down to Rochester, MN to visit a friend. What can I say about this? We watched MTV and went home. Gossip Girl! Like OMG LoLeRz! OK, there was surely more than just that. Hit up some bars, went out, played soccer, talked sports, politics, people, etc. I had the opportunity to get pregnant. I think it happened at the Aquarius when I was dancing on one of those elevated platforms above the dance floor with some girl. Pure sleeze fest... but fun! One other interesting anecdote: my very own automobile made it there and back without breaking down! I'm beginning to even out the number of times broken down outside the city vs. made it back in one piece.

Last weekend saw me at the other end of the state: Jay Cooke State Park. Went camping with some friends and had a weekend of high fives, beer drinking, hiking, sleeping on the ground, camp fires and trail mix. We had been intending to go all summer but never made it. An open weekend for all of us came up and away we went. I've recently read in the paper that the Superior National Trail is nearing full completion of its 239 (?) miles. After walking the Overland Track, walking from (basically) Duluth to the Canadian border has its appeal. As does the Appalachian Trail. (And many, many walks in Aotearoa =))

One of the bits about the post summer/fall season is league ultimate. I play on a fantastic team I wish I could take with me wherever I went. For three years it has been awesome watching us grow from a mostly inexperienced group of people struggling to even have a full line in bottom brackets to an athletic and focused team. While we have less than a winning record (3-4) we have played like a team 7-0, competing against the top flight teams this year. There have been weeks where all I wanted to do was make it to Sunday and play, then spend the rest of the week going over that weeks game and thinking about the next. Frisbee-centric? Maybe.

Now my options grow rather than shrink. As previously blogged a few months back I was thinking NYC or NZ as the next move. Perhaps I will stay around in the TC? Maybe start planning those walks mentioned above (they have been in the back of my head for years now). Perhaps back to Australia with the new Visa laws in effect? What an amazing quality of life there. (Never mind the increased coal and uranium mining, wheat harvest shortfalls, petrol shortages in Victoria, severe drought, water shortages for 98% of the people, etc.) Vancouver? Somehow back to London? We recently took Myers-Briggs tests for work, and while not having changed personality preferences since the last time I took the test (college), one particular pitfall/weakness caught my eye. It basically said something that I fail to "close the book" on my decision making process. I keep things open too long as I gather data to make decisions on plans of action, and therefore may pass up potential opportunities. I am also poor at setting goals and at making plans of action to achieve a goal I do happen to set. I read that and think it is spot on in all aspects: work, life, relationships (girlfriend(s)!). So there is a goal. Figure shit out! But do I really have to? I've got it pretty cushy (though not ideal in terms of my beliefs) at the mo. Aside from the lack of health insurance.

Did not expect to ramble on this far, so good for me! I do eventually intend to get around to following up on some of the other items from below. Soon!

The New Candidate

2007-10-17T22:20:00.000-06:00

Stephen Colbert for President, 2008!!!

Lazy and Unmotivated

2007-10-06T02:56:00.000-06:00

I've been really bad about posting ever since returning to the US. Not that there hasn't been anything I have wanted to put up here, just that there has been a long-term lack of posting motivation all spring and summer.

So instead of trying to write up individual posts one after the other I'll just throw out a few ideas of what I have wanted to post in the last 2 months (and in one case, 2 years) and maybe I'll get around to writing more substantially later on.

-An epiphany I had driving through the area near where I work looking for lunch one day during the period that I had to use my dads car because mine was broken (and still is).

-Why TSHTF* in 2015. Causes and effects. And why the time between now and then will be volatile, chaotic, destructive and uncertain. Conclusions I've come to after 2+ years researching PO + GW**

-My anger/frustration over peoples' refusal to acknowledge and pay for the true cost of things. And to define "things" I guess the best word would be lifestyle, or maybe infrastructure. One day at work I just started writing on a yellow post-it note, most of it stemming from staring at my computer screen of sales tax rates and numbers while I thought about the 35 W ridge collapse.

*The Shit Hits The Fan
**Peak Oil and Global Warming

Marathon Info

2007-10-01T23:53:00.000-06:00

Less than 6 days until I push my body as far as it has ever gone! I'll be running in the Twin Cities Marathon Sunday, October 7th - 26.2 miles / 42 kilometres through what has to be one of the most beautiful urban courses in the US. Over the last week I've had a lot of people ask me if I am any of the following: nervous, scared, anxious, pumped, excited, ready or any other similar feeling one might have a week before his or her first marathon. The answer is d. all of the above. Right now I am ready and waiting but I can feel the anxiety growing each day. It kept me up last night. A bit over a week ago I ran 22 miles, so I know I can do it, barring any surprises (injury, illness, etc.) and it is just a matter of when I finish. My heart says just over 4 hours, head says just under 5. Though I do look at the route map and think "that is a long ways!"

Here is some info you might want to know if you are planning on coming out to cheer us all on. First, a map (PDF) of the route. The race officially starts at 8 in the morning. I start in wave 2 and am aiming for 10 minute miles or less for most of the course. I will be wearing my white running shoes, black Adidas shorts with white stripes and my purple ultimate jersey (purple reign). Bib # is 2899. There are 10,000 people running and even more spectating but there is plenty of curbside for all of the action. Post here, facebook, txt me, whatever if you are gonna come cheer. Let me know where you will be so I can maybe keep an eye out for you. Though with an 8am start time I might be just waking up as I come into mile 15 or so.

I don't know my splits, I am just going to run.

Let's Do This First

2007-09-08T00:48:00.000-06:00

I'm all for the things Bru has just suggested we start moving toward in the beginning of his latest post. Thing is, there will undoubtedly be a period of transition between moving from a high entropic society that motors about, happy as, living in 4,000 sq. ft. homes while buying things from around the world brought to your corner of the earth via 12,000 miles supply chains, to that which is summed up by Bru's three main recommendations.

We have to understand and realise that each and every one of these things is part of a transition period and not the end solution to our energy/PO/global warming crisis: Ethanol (and all biofuels), carbon cap and trade schemes, CAFE standards (really, this is a huge joke: what is it.... 35mpg by 2020 or something? reality will solve this one for us long before 2020! though I'm sure neo liberal economists will chalk it up to the free market.), bus rapid transit and rail electrification (these actually continue past the transition perios) and yes, nuclear power, even with its long lead time.

Here is another action we can take during this transition period: drive sane. Due to my car breaking down, I am driving the car my dad was planning on selling. It has one of those fancy gauges that tells you how much further you can drive on your tank of gas, average speed, instant fuel economy, etc. When I started driving it I was getting an average of 17 mpg (4.2 litre V8). A month later, under my driving habits, I am getting 23.4 mpg, a 38% increase. I've achieved a better fuel economy increase that what those stupid news stories run every time gas prices spike (inflate your tires!) just by driving in a sane manner: gentle acceleration, smooth braking, staying within the speed limit, cruise control. Because I don't have a propensity to drive more because of these changed habits, I have reduced my fuel consumption by 38%. A couple of the contributing editors at The Oil Drum have raised the notion that we could be a lot more effective in conservation by focusing on more efficient uses of our current transportation system. An immediate and massive redesign of cars, for example. I fully maintain we will have to move beyond personal automobiles (around 2015), but realistically the things listed above are probably a lot easier to achieve with the population we have, both in quantity and quality.

Here is the caveat. We only have a few years to start with this transition. The longer we wait to start change, the more likely we will have to make the switch to walkable and bikable communities, electrified rail transport and rethinking how we live in terms of location and proximity. To make an immediate conversion will be rediculously expensive. It will be very difficuly and it will be met with great resistance from the general population. As our good friend Dick has said, "Our way of life is not negotiable."

Let's NOT Bomb Iran

2007-08-30T23:02:00.000-06:00

That would just be really dumb. That's it, I'm out.

Instant Karma

2007-08-20T23:33:00.000-06:00

About 10 days ago, on a Saturday, I got up early to take the car in to get new brakes and rotors. As I turned 'round the corner onto Oakland and drove to the other end of the block I noticed police cars, a big crowd, a fallen tree and some smashed up cars. One of the biggest trees on the block had been felled by a storm the previous night. Oddly enough I was out with some friends until 230 and didn't even realise there was a storm coming! A couple of days later this story was on the front page of the Strib.

Naturally I parked the car and gawked in amazement with the rest of the neighborhood at three smashed up cars in a row from one side of the street to the other. And forwhatever reason the staff writer of that article had left a message on our voicemail over the weekend asking for our account - we live on the other side of the block!

While it really sucks for the true owner of the car, it is still cool to see karma dished out straight away!

Silly Office Policy

2007-08-18T23:27:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we had a building-wide meeting where some high level execs flew in to yack at us about our division, goals, profitability and concerns. It went on for about an hour and a half I suppose, and I probably nodded off for about 25 minutes of it. Actually, there was a lot of talk about sustainability and "green" awareness. As I work in the chemicals business it piqued my interest, though most of it was blah-blah rhetoric and empty statements. Somewhere in the middle, Rich(ard) Whiteguy started speaking to us about our injuries and accidents rate and how it compares company wide. June had been our big safety month where just about every morning we received an email (OK, I didn't because they never gave me email to start with) giving us safety tips. At the end of the month a reward of sandwiches was given because of our clean record. We have a chemicals lab in our building, so it wasn't only about how not to give yourself papercuts. After an incident-free June, at our meeting, the office head congratulated and complimented us on our safety month success. Immediately following him, the division head yelled at everyone for our poor performance in the safety realm of our workspace. He got rather flustered and seemed very frustrated that things were not being complied with. Honestly, I didn't really know what was going on. I had been there for about 3 or 4 weeks at that time. When he finally stopped, two points came out to round up his conclussion: 1) if you injure yourself or happen to involve yourself in a recordable accident/incident, you may be subject to termination. 2) if either of the previous two things happen and you don't record it, you may be subject to termination.

During question time I thought about putting forward the idea that to achieve a zero incident rate for the division they could just fire everyone. I didn't think the mood of the meeting room was sarcastic enough though.

Same ol', same ol'

2007-08-13T22:44:00.000-06:00

If you haven't been to the Brudaimonia lately, go have a look. Its been a hot summer and the posting has been off and on, but Jeff and I have put up a few decent posts lately. A lot of the time I read articles, op ed pieces and other commentary and think that an issue doesn't need to have another post written up about it. I've realised this is not so! So I'll get on that and just maybe there will be a few more posts on our quality rag.

I've finally gotten my Australia photos, developed, scanned, uploaded, tagged, titled and described on Flickr. They are pretty much in completely random order. I appreciate comments on them! So let me know what ya like and what ya don't like. There are also Europe pictures and some from around the states too, but those have been up for a while.

I settled in quite well over the last three months. Still feeling a strong urge to leave again, but not in the near future. So for now I go to my boring job, train for the marathon in October, try and find my ultimate skills that disappear over winter and working holidays, paint my dad's house when it isn't hot and humid (so, never) and flush my money down the drain on automobile expenses. One day I think I'll move out to live on my own and find a longer term job in Minneapolis and the next I'm thinking head to New Zealand come April '08 and the next day, who knows where, or what. NYC? So that's what I'm up to.

Things You Learn

2007-08-05T23:37:00.000-06:00

Even at 23 you still find out new things about yourself and your identity. For example, I'm Jewish....err, well, not quite. Just keep reading. It's not in the religious, practicing and racial sense. When I lived in Sydney I had a Jewish flatmate and he told me my last name is a very Jewish family name. Not long ago I talked with my dad and also learned that while none of my immediate ancestors (going back 3 or 4 generations) were Jewish we do indeed come from a pretty strong German-Jew heritage. His side of the family was Catholic and didn't have that "look" people think of when people talk about who is Jewish and who isn't. So, obviously I am a long ways removed from direct connections, but it is interesting to learn new things about my lineage and ancestral past from generations ago.

Anyone got a recipe for some good kugle?

Pop Cultural Terrorism

2007-07-17T00:02:00.000-06:00

definition:
to seize control of the news media and its broadcast content through acts of extreme and deliberate notoriety. this generally results in hysteria amongst pundits and Main Stream Media news-persons who feel they are obliged to report -motivated by a) profit/ratings and b) the belief that the public must know- on such events as they occur (BREAKING!). water cooler conversations are dominated by statements and conclusions from Senior Hollywood Analysts, leaving little room for anything else to be discussed. results in an end effect of events that are normally newsworthy being washed out, buried or simply ignored.

synonyms:
reality TV, usurpation, commandeer, water down, infotainment, diversion, distraction

antonyms:
reality, news, essential, relevant, useful, information

see examples:
Hilton, Paris; Fox News; Lohan, Lyndsey; CNN; Hollywood; celebrity gossip

Minnesota Fuel Shortages?

2007-07-12T01:15:00.000-06:00

Wednesday evening is about the best time of the week to swing by the petrol station and fuel up. Thursday is the day to increase prices for the weekend. I went to the gas station and found paper signs taped up to the pumps saying the 87 octane was out of order and to fill up with mid-grade at low-grade prices. After doing so, I quick jumped onto Google and perused the energy sites. I already knew the Dakotas had been experiencing very real shortages since early July, and that the refinery in Kansas that was flooded had really tightened up the supply of refined products. A week and some days later the effects have "spilled" over into our state. This short article is a good round up of why it is happening. Here is an odd bit though, it says that people who will really feel the squeeze

"are the small mom and pop (gas stations) ... The Holidays and Super Americas have contracts and will get their fuel first."

I got my fuel at SuperAmerica - they were out of the cheap stuff and having to sell a more premium blend at a cheaper price (most likely below cost; you have to compete). No station, from the mom and pops to the big chains can afford to sell product below cost for for even a short time, if it consistently/frequently runs out of 87 octane fuel.

“It’s driving us little guys nuts. For me, it’s been tens of thousands of
dollars this summer I’ve had to eat"

Some day this cost will start being passed along to us consumers. I imagine if this carries on, at some point you simply won't be able to buy fuel at low-grade prices. You will be forced to either search for alternatives or pay a higher price. Essentially it is market induced rationing of certain blends.

So when does this all get smoothed out? When will we get our tightly supplied (expensive), yet reliable deliveries back on track? Sure, there is the supply side to look at. When all the refineries of the Midwest get back up and running our supply will increase. Take into account the demand side as well:

"Refineries across the country say they have been pushing their plants to the limits to keep up with demand in the past year or so..."

Rightly so. Our own thirst for petrol is also partly to blame for high pump prices. It doesn't help that oil has sneaked up on its record high from last August either. So this is only the start and volatility should be expected. You can quit waiting for Supply Side Salvation now and do something more pragmatic.

Guilty by Association

2007-07-11T00:45:00.000-06:00

George Bush and the last 6 years of his presidency are what got me into politics, or at least knowing about what is going on in Washington and around the world. All of it made me politically opinionated on the things I care to be opinionated about. During Bush v. Gore in 2000 I sat on the fence -not caring, not understanding- and while I sat on the Gore side of the room during our Gov't/Econ class debate it was hard for me to see a difference between the two. Not being able to vote was also a reason, but what had a bigger influence in my attentiveness to the candidates was the booming economy and where I sat in life. In short, I had a pretty cozy middle class life. I knew there were problems and issues that needed to be dealt with but that was for when I entered the real world. Social security what? I reckon most 17 year old kids don't care. We were just mad it took money from our paycheck.

Enter Bush, 9-11, the short war and long occupation and everything else that has come to pass. Bush had his campaign, somehow got into office and completely flip flopped on just about everything. Now whenever I hear a politician speak, particularly a republican, I honestly cannot take him or her seriously. From when I started paying attention, what would cause me to believe in a single word they say? Lies have destroyed any meaning words might have. Nothing is taken seriously, and this is only reinforced by right wing talking points, presidential "debates" and bullshit pundits who are seemingly paid to be wrong.

Now it's all starting to spill over in the general field of all politicians. There is the meme that all politicians are corrupt, immoral, unethical, cheaters and liars. Ya can't trust 'em! Almost every night I watch the daily show and laugh at the bits where they take a soundbite of what someone said today and compare it with what they said whatever period of time ago, jesting all the way (tonight's was an EPA director claiming it was OK for ground zero workers to be at the site, and now she is saying she never said that - serious implications here!). I can't help but be cynical as hell when I hear any politician (read: candidate running for President) asking for my vote, err, money, or making claims about what they will do on any number of issues.

Two things have maybe brought this line of thinking about: capitulation to Iraq occupation funding. There was such high hope for real and immediate change after November 2006 and its still: "wait until January," "wait until June," "wait until SEPTEMBER," and I can see the machine gearing up for the new talking point "wait until -insert future date here-." The other reason is that, just about, only one guy in congress seems to care about my #1 issue, while the rest yak about our god given right to cheap petrol and unlimited driving. In the end, if they aren't going to concern themselves and the country with what I and a small but growing group of people believe to be the most pressing issue over the next 20+ years, why give them the time of day?

Dear God

2007-07-02T23:17:00.000-06:00

Is this for real? Have we finally reached the breaking point? Does it completely piss you off that the Vice President's staff member can obstruct justice, perjure himself and threaten nation security and get off mostly scott-free? Talk about special fucking treatment! A deal with Libby was probably set up all along: he stuffs up the legal process, protects the hegemony of this administration all the while knowing that he will receive a get-out-of-jail-free. Next thing you know he'll pass "Go" and collect not $200 but $250,000 to pay off his fine. All that remains will be a little black mark on his record, the one little piece of accountability for the White House transmuted into a black X on a piece of paper. Not that this will matter much to the republican culture of corruption. No doubt this whole fucking mess will be a stand out piece of work on his resumé.

You know you are guilty when, as a republican, you are found guilty by a bunch of other republicans! But really, this sort of brazen audacity should come as no surprise; we have been conditioned over the last 6 years to just be resigned and accept the actions of this administration. When the last guy got a blow job everyone was up in arms! Now when something happens that ACTUALLY MATTERS no one seems the least bit surprised: it's the norm! we should've expected it! You know what....

Impeach the motherfuckers.

Circa 1999

2007-06-10T01:34:00.000-06:00

8 years ago I was in high school and making plans for the weekend was done by dialing your friends on your parents house phone a few days in advance. Less than 3 years ago I got my first mobile and phone service -years after everyone else- and caught up to the "revolution" and new way of communicating. Plans were able to be made on a whim and in an instant no matter where you were! The mobile became a permanent resident of your pocket (or handbag) along with your wallet and keys. Can't leave home with out it - never minding that you left home without one until you actually got one.

When I come back to the US I keep struggling with the decision on whether or not to go back and get a new service. I've gone as long as 2 months in between not having a mobile and while sometimes it's annoying it's not all together inconvenient. Except, now that everyone has a phone, it is assumed that I am like the rest of the masses. Plans are still made on a whim, but when I am unreachable 75% of the day, I usually miss out on whatever my friends end up doing. And on some days, I've gotten calls and then have had to end up waiting by the phone for the rest of the day for a follow up call (and sometimes they don't even come)! On the one hand it's nice to not shell out 40 some bucks or more (and all those bloody start-up fees!) each month for a device that has for the most part lessened our ability to communicate as a society and also to not feel locked to yet another electronic gadget. On the other, I need to stop being a Luddite and re-enter the mobile world. It's time to cave in (again) and get mobile service. Good bye 1990s!

Bi-lingual Countries Do Not Work!

2007-06-05T21:56:00.000-06:00

As I said in my previous post, the republican debates ought to be awfully funny. Or perhaps just awful depending on how you look at politics. Rather than watch the entire charade I went for a run and lost a few fat cells rather than brain cells. I did watch the last 30-ish minutes and here is what I thought.

Everyone: Sucks!

Not quite, but listening to Giuliani made me sick to my stomach. Same with Tancredo and Hunter. McCain is kinda turning into the bumbling idiot that Bush always has been. Ron Paul! I want to see more of him. I don't know why. But for real, Tancredo scares the shit out of me.

Democratic Debate

2007-06-04T01:58:00.000-06:00

Because I am both lazy and have nothing better to do I watched the Democratic Presidential Debate. It was on CNN, and they are yet again transmitting to us under the assumption we are morons by reminding us that the Senators running for the Democratic nomination are indeed democrats (they put the little (D) next to their name). From the blogs that I read I only get views and positions on Obama and Edwards mostly, with a few snarks at Clinton and the rest of second tier candidates. So i wanted to see a bit more of the rest of the field and HRC too. From the moment I saw them standing straight and composed behind their podiums I couldn't help but laugh at the pony show I thought would follow. Here are a few thoughts:

Gravel: Who is this guy!? In his 4 or so chances to say something all he did was turn to the rest of the candidates and bitch, whinge and moan. He really is a generator of democratic infighting. I read a comment about Gravel on Dailykos - " Meanwhile, Gravel is eating a pizza at stage right... " So very true! He just sat there the whole debate... with 5 minutes of talk time! Just does not seem serious in his candidacy/campaign. Though every now and then he smacks someone down and keeps people in their place a bit.

Kucinich: Everybody writes this guy off as a legitimate candidate for POTUS, and he he pretty much is. But he probably got the most applause for when he did speak. Never mind he couldn't directly answer the question asked to him - and neither did most every other candidate up there. He does have a hot wife though. And his positions are superb: against Iraq war from the beginning, end NAFTA, end PATRIOT act, Universal Healthcare, is a vegan, etc. Kudos for slipping in GWB is a war criminal!

Clinton: This is pretty much the first time I heard her speak in public. I don't pay much attention to her as I've concluded that she is too much of a hawker. Really inconsistent on Iraq - she trusted Bush! Not admitting she was wrong on her vote to use force. It's hard for me to support her. I'm sure she has good ideas and positions on other things, but I've yet to hear them. I do applaud her for taking it to Wolf tonight with his ridiculous "raise your hand" bullshit along with the inane hypotheticals. THAT was refreshing!

Edwards: On the attack! Right on Iran, right on different types of democracies. Also liked him on his views of gay marriage, as they come pretty close to my own (from what I could gather). Ending public subsidies to oil companies! If I had to decide tomorrow, he is probably the person I'd vote for. But he did vote to use force in Iraq. Hrmmm... Really though, I'm in the -not a clue- category.

Richardson: Snoozefest...zzzzz. He has this stellar resume and pretty much flopped tonight, failing to live up to it. He must have used half of his talk time to explain he is a) a governor and b) from New Mexico. He makes really weird comments too, or maybe he just has a lot of brain farts? "I'm a pro growth democrat!" Or his comments about Roe v Wade and Supreme Court Justices. For now I've lost any interest in him.

Biden and Dodd: Have trouble discerning these two; they look the same and are both east coast senators. Glad to see Biden getting loud on genocide! But he is military action this, military action that. Seems hawkish like Clinton. Dodd had a good response on the English as official language question - that being "no." Also, Dodd seemed to get longest response to the "gas prices" question. He went on and on about long term goals, yada yada and never really answered the question; so I'll assume he would do nothing to ease gas prices - right answer! He also linked energy supply/dependence to national security - a plus. He definitely piqued my interest from these debates.

Obama: I've seen him speak before and his style just won't work with the minute long answers for these so called debates. Saying that he got pretty good treatment. He had the most talk time of everyone but a lot of it was umms and ahs. And he got first response to a lot of questions - the GOOD questions. Kudos to him for attacking the framing of one of his questions (question is meant to divide us). I want to see more of him...he should come to Minnesota! Because even with all that talk time he still didn't really impress me all that much.

The Republican debate is coming up... think of all the comedy and great drinking games! Chug a beer each time evolution is denied! Take a shot each time the use of torture is advocated for! I wonder how much hand raising will be done with them? Man Wolf Blitzer is an ass.... and were those questions from the people really their own? Ha! In the end it was OK, it was far better than the Kerry - Bush debates that were nothing more than prepared speeches. There was too much bias: lower tier candidates got terrible questions, ie: Gravel - What would you do with Bill Clinton? C'mon! And the Kucinich/Osama Bin Laden hypothetical.... pathetic. I was and still remain a bit worried about the Dems candidates but this has made me a bit less dissonant; any of these people running are a welcome change to Bush and are miles ahead of the Republican army of old white guys. Are there any Independents running yet?

The two or three people who I actually want to run have all declined, or most likely won't. Damn!

On Travelling Solo

2007-06-03T01:20:00.000-06:00

Writers Block! Sometimes I have all these ideas for posts and then the moment I sit down to get going on them, nothing comes out. Usually it's when I start and finish. All that shit in the middle is pretty easy to hammer out. I want to find a good way to jump into a topic so that anyone who might actually read this blog wants to keep reading beyond the first paragraph. At the end, I like some sort of all encompassing conclusion that makes me look incredibly intelligent. Ever noticed that about my writing (at least in serious posts)?

I'll abandon this format for once, maybe twice or more and jump straight into it:95% of my travelling the last two years has been independent. Just me, a map and a guidebook. The thing is I chose to travel this way rather than find a travelmate and hit the road/seas/rails. Maybe it was all the drama during family vacations, or that longing to get away from someone other than my own self to be responsible to. I can remember being on our quick tour of Holland, Belgium and France before studying in London, 50 of us snaking through the streets of European cities with our big college sweatshirts as we half listened to our guide about when and where to meet. It was quite the scene - one I never want to participate in again! Its far too controlling. Then there is the issue of compromise. Even if you are with just one other person, every decision has to be agreed upon by both. To get to the point, all I really ever recall when I think about group travel are all the exasperated sighs and then finally a feeling of glee as I fled the group and was by myself. Certainly, there are good things to travelling with others, but I'll come back to those(that?).

What I have concluded over these last 18 months is that there is no greater level of freedom than travelling by yourself. Left to your own devices, you alone make all the decisions. I've heard some horror stories from more than a few travellers: I met this girl in Norway who used to travel around with her boyfriend at the time. He controlled the budget and handled the money. He was such a tight ass that in the 2-3 months of travelling she never once was able to buy a coke or snickers. Or go beyond the bread, meat and cheese sections of grocery stores for meals. Well, that sounds more like a bad relationship, but you get the point yeah? Because you make all the decisions, you have no one to blame but yourself if you don't have fun. That gets you pretty motivated - if you do nothing, nothing gets done.

Now and again, travelling solo gets a bit boring. You haven't said much in a while if you've had lots of travel days in a row. A bit of company looks appealing. One evening in Riga I wound up looking for dinner with a random guy who was staying in my room - my idea. I regretted this decision within 5 minutes. He wanted this, I wanted that, I wanted to stop at a bar and watch World Cup, he wasn't too keen. Eventually I told him to just go do what he wanted and I'd catch up later.

You can stop every 10 minutes for photos, you can spend a day relaxing rather than doing activities, you can eat anywhere, go anywhere, randomly change your itinerary, take naps, sleep in, get up early and so much more... all without ever having to consult/discuss/argue with someone else. That is what I am trying to get at with this post, but it is happening in a very convoluted way. You might think I just don't get on with people when I travel. Not true I say! Certainly there are people I like to travel with - I'd put the number around 5. Everyone has their own unique style, or preferred method of travelling and mine just doesn't match up with theirs.

As I said earlier there are pros and cons to solo travel. I've gone through all these experiences and only I am able to remember and retell them. Every time I was at a high point I wanted someone to be there with me. There is nothing better than reminiscing with friends about frozen night trains through Eastern Europe, about reckless driving on deserted highways on route to crazy weekends up north or trying to put into words the tumble you have just taken out of a plane above the alps.

It's good to have someone be able to understand an experience I had, perhaps because they have done the same, or even similar, thing . It is better to be able to relive an experience with someone because they were there. Now that I've had my fill of independent travel, I'd like to start doing a lot more with people (mostly people I like travelling with!).

Let the Training Begin

2007-06-02T03:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was 1 June - the date I set for myself to begin marathon training! I started it out well enough with a 5 mile run. I hope to get into the habit of consistent exercise, proper hydration and healthy diet. Compare this to running when I feel like it, the occasional glass of water and smores poptarts for brekkie, chips and salsa for lunch and counting one banana as all I need for fruit each day. I hate to even mention all the alcohol and sweets I consume throughout the week. Though the former lifestyle is harder and takes a lot more commitment, it feels a whole lot better than the latter one described. Unless I wanna watch my entrance fee go down the drain, I'm committed to the run. Gotta stick with it!

x-Post

2007-05-24T02:50:00.000-06:00

I've made my first post on the Brudaimonia! Clicky clicky for ways to green up your lifestyle.

FNQ - The Tropical North

2007-05-11T03:13:00.000-06:00

15-19 April, 2007
I arrived back in Cairns on a rainy night. We had waited around all Saturday to get a ride, thinking we'd leave early afternoon, but no, we got in to town around 21.30. The place I planned on staying was closed til morning and I had no where to go. No worries as I found another place quick enough (my guess is that there is always a spare bed somewhere in Cairns). Aubrey and I immediately went to the bottle-o and after quickly polishing off the sixer we headed off for the bars with the rest of his travel mates, after I borrowed a pair of pants. This was the first time in a long time that I gone out for a big drinking session, over a month infact! Don't remember much about the bar... only that I talked to some cute Finnish girls cause I was wearing the Suomi shirt... or was it my good looks? Hours later I found myself falling into bed. Before my head hit the pillow I knew I would not be looking forward to morn... zzzz and I was out. Checkout was at 10; usually hostels will charge a fee or another night if you aren't out by then. I was able to get out of bed at 9.45 and get myself organized. Problem was, during the night after coming into the room and before falling asleep, I had misplaced my wallet and hostel key, as you do. I was in that hungover-panic mode. Not a good operating mode to be in whilst attempting to check out. I didn't know what to do. By sheer luck I found them stuffed deep down in my big backpack. What drove me to put them there?! Alcohol! I decided that would be the end of my big nights out in Australia.

With the check out sorted, I waited at the bus stop for the shuttle to take me to my preferred hostel. As I waited the other hostels' shuttles would come and go. Wouldn't ya know it but that cute Finnish girl went by in the back of one. She saw me hungover, unshowered and straight outta bed and into dirty clothes and gave the "oh my god was that really the guy I was talking to last night? I was sooooo drunk" look. I'm sure I looked like a complete wreck. I shot back with the "I remember you too" nod-smile-and-wave and returned to my lounging at the bus stop. When I am at the bar talking to girls I always think it's OK and not such a bad thing. Upon reflection of the previous night the next day I find the whole charade to be.... just that. Well anyways, I got to Tropic Days and found that it was chock o'block. Fortunately since I was sleeping outside it didn't really matter. As long as I could fit myself in the back yard area I could stay there. Success! The goal for that day was to sort out my journey back to Sydney - I was going home in 6 days.

There it hit me, it was as though I was back in London with little time to spare and too much to do. I knew I wanted to do a Cape Tribulation and Daintree tour, and also I wanted to go out to the Great Barrier Reef. The only problem was picking a tour operator. For every activity possible in Cairns, there are as many operators to choose from for each tour. The hostel doubled as a travel agency so I had them sort it all out. I told them what I wanted to do and when and they told me where to go. Within a few hours I had the rest of my time in Queensland planned and a flight back to Sydney - somehow Qantas was the cheapest.

The next morning I was off to Port Douglas, Mossman, Cape Trib and the Daintree. The drive up north from Cairs was simply stunning, no doubt one of the best in Australia. I'm sure it rivals the Great Ocean Road, but I wouldn't know cause I didn't go (harumph) but this drive was a great alternative. All day long was filled with wildlife, rainforests, mountains, rivers, hiking, mangroves and beaches. I saw a tree snake, crocodiles, a cassowary and more wallabies (or wallabus). I also got to see the location of where Steve Irwin died. It has been a while, but you can still tell that Australia is taking his death pretty hard. I was well shattered on arrival back to my hostel. I did a bit of journalling as I had lots to catch up from all the WWOOFing and called it an early night. I had to get up early the next day as well. After the Daintree it was time for the Great Barrier Reef! We set sail (literally) and motored out bright and early. It's a two hour ride out to Michaelmas Cay. I hadn't been snorkelling in ages so I opted for just about everything I could get my hands on. Due to extreme laziness I wore this big yellow floater belt. None of that water treading for me. I wasn't sure of what to expect, but the reef itself is rather, how do I say... dull? The corals I saw were more brown/gray/white/orange. Every now and then a red or purple or other brightly colored coral would come into view. I have a feeling that a lot of this is due to the huge amount of tourists going out to the reef in conjunction with rising ocean temperatures. I've read from a couple of sources that the reef could be completely dead in as quick as a decade. So if you want to see the reef, hurry up!

So here I am, snorkelling on the reef on a gorgeous day. Swimming around with hundreds of species of brightly colored fish, turtles, sting rays and all the other marine life. I get back on the boat and think OK, ready to go back now. That sensation of marvelous awe was no longer sticking to me. I realised I had started to burn out on travelling. Ever since then the whole "what do I do next" question has been on my mind. For my last day in Cairns I had to choose between relax in the sun or go bungy jumping. Since I wasn't feeling the exhileration anymore (and because it cost 100 bucks) I passed on the jump. I want to do it in NZ anyways. A quick flight down to Sydney and it was goodbyes to all my mates. After loading up on ginger beer and tim tams it was time to leave.

I really want to go back to Australia. I can easily spend another two months there and want to road trip around the continent. I even have the route planned out and know what I want to do. It's a great country to travel. Finally! The end of the Australia blogging. And there is so much more that isn't scribed here.

Dogs Bark, People WWOOF

2007-05-09T13:43:00.000-06:00

1-18 April, 2007
The tropical north! Rain, rain forests, reef and a relaxed life. I spent a couple of days wandering around the city, shirtless, shoeless and clueless. I had an idea of what I wanted to do -Cairns is the activity centre of Australia. Bungee jumping, sky diving, white-water rafting, SCUBA and snorkeling on the reef, Daintree tours, tablelands tours, Kuranda skyrail, 4WD tours up to the tip of Cape York and crocodile tours. This list is by no means exhaustive. All of it could wait though; the reason I came up to Far North Queensland was to work on an organic farm. I picked up a WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) membership for a number of reasons: educational, financial, logistical and of plain curiosity. My method of picking a farm/WWOOF host was of the close-your-eyes-and-point variety. Your membership is a book with a description of 1200+ organic farms in Australia. If the one I pointed at had a good description, I decided to call the place and see if I could start immediately. The first person I called was keen so I arranged to head up the next day and that is when disaster struck: I got sick! In between arranging my stay and hopping on the bus I came down with the flu or some similar illness. I postponed my arrival and spent the day lying in bed, useless and miserable.

When I woke up next morning I was only slightly less sick than the day before. I decided to get outta the hostel and make my way to the bus stop and get to Atherton. I had 5 hours to kill so I slept on the grass in the park a few blocks down. Along with the Ghan train ride from a few weeks before, this was another low point. I rarely get sick -once every few years- but when I do it is harsh... I go down for the count. Waiting to board the bus a random comes up and asks me: "Are you Eric?" Slightly baffled, I failed to respond so he repeated himself. The wheels in my head slowly turned and it all came to light. Turns out because I had asked to come up to the farm a day later, another WWOOFer would be joining me, that way Bood (our host) could pick us up in Atherton together. Enter Aubrey from Blackpool. I would be able to review my northern England slang and pronunciations for the next two weeks! A slightly dramatic bus ride popped us out around dinner time at the bus stop in Atherton. No one was there, so we waited a while. No worries as Bood, Julia and Grace (Another WWOOFer from Germany and her 7 week old baby!) took us on a grocery shopping trip and then out to dinner. It would have been a great start to things, had I still not been sick as a dog. 48 hours of consuming nothing but a little bit of water had left my stomach unaccustomed to standard fare. I was not exactly up to the task of eating Malaysian at the restaurant he had booked us in to. Nonetheless I ordered, took about 6 bites and gave up. I forgot to take the food with me! I felt pretty bad (Bood paid) but I pushed it behind me and just hoped I would feel better the next day when I had to start earning my keep.

This bug I had would just not go away! It lingered for about 4 or 5 days, giving me headaches, muscle aches and the like. The work routine went something like this: wake up about 09.00 and have brekkie, work from 10.00 - 12.30ish, eat a delicious lunch Julia had prepared for us and spend the afternoon lounging about on the Veranda, another two hour session in the field and head in for the night. Dinner was done on a rota basis, which kept things interesting. The only way I was able to motivate myself into the fields was by popping pills ( I really hate having to do this, I avoid OTC drugs at all costs). Boods farm operated as such: he bought the land some years back and agisted it for a few. A couple years ago he started re-foresting. 100 different species - 8,000 trees - 82 hectares. Our job as WWOOFers was to walk the rows of small trees, weed them, pull up the encroaching grasses and use that grass as compost. There was also some planting but most had already been done as well as the re-planting from Cyclone Larry the previous year. When I say "grasses" don't think of your lawn or the local park. Think deep-rooted, head-high praire grasses. So anyways, because I needed all the drugs to get through the sessions, halfway through my stay Bood asked if I wanted to do something else. I said sure... I wasn't going to object really, he was feeding and sheltering me! I spent the rest of my time cleaning the houses and watching his 5 and 7 year old kids. Huh..... I thought it was only going to be for a day, but then Julia left with her partner so there was no one to watch the kids. They were too young to come out in the paddocks with us and couldn't stay inside on their own. So I guess I got that job. I found myself wanting off that farm rather quickly when I got this job, but I stuck it out to hang around with Aubrey, get a free ride to Cairns, relax in what truly is a beautiful part of Australia and not spend money.

This may be a bit of an oxymoron, but even though I went in to this WWOOFing deal with no expectations, it didn't exactly meet my expectations. I do have reason to feel grateful (for getting put on domestic duties) though. When Aubrey would come in from a session, I had just spent the last few hours in a clean and dry house. He had been getting rained on, getting his hands dirty and attacked by bloodsuckers which had been "the most soulsucking work ever." I guess I got to sample both sides of farm life: outside and in. Weird though, as here this experience was seemingly a bit of a let down but not in the most important aspect for myself. The main reason was to get an idea of what organic farming was. Bood was awesome at educating about organics and so much more. I learned heaps about farming in general, organics, bio-dynamic growing, permaculture, holistic farm management, global food supply problems and astrology. Also, I really appreciate what he is doing, based on his vision and what he sees as the coming problems in the world. The goal for the farm is to be self-sustainable. His trees will produce bush tucker, timber and other products to generate revenues. He has cattle. He has a creek on his property that supplies all the water (completely unfiltered, and is some of the best I have tasted). Eventually, a hydro power generator will be constructed so he can go completely off the grid. He is building himself a lifeboat. I wish I could climb aboard. By 20-something (2050?) the Atherton Tablelands and the Kimberly in WA are expected to be the only two places left in Australia that will be able to support traditional agriculture due to effects of climate change. Read that again, it is shocking. Food, water, electricity and shelter - sustainably. Plus he has this game from NZ called Cathedral that's sweet as! All the entertainment you need is right there, as long as you have an opponent.

Bood also had a lot of what I would call conspiracy theories to share, though to him I've no doubt they are gospel. Just to tick off a couple: Arnott's brand timtams are dodgy, "global dimming" and climate change is probably not caused by human co2 emmissions. There were also some claims about China, Democrats and Peter Garrett that I found intriguing. Very rarely would I directly challenge him on his beliefs. Unless I have all the facts and know I can make a persuasive case to potentially change someones mind, I am happy to let them believe whatever they want. If I challenge someone without facts and logic the argument usually ends up getting emotional and you can't fight those with your own opinions. Either way I found it amusing and interesting to listen to and it stirred up lots of good conversation. Lastly, I don't know what I would have done if Aubrey and the other WWOOFers wouldn't have been there. If it were just Bood and I for the first few days before his kids came up during school holidays, it would have been well awkward! I'd definitely WWOOF again, and in other countries as well! You get the chance to see a side of the country you normally wouldn't have as a tourist and meet some fair dinkum Aussies while you're at it.

From Peaceful Mountains to Footy Madness

2007-05-04T02:30:00.000-06:00

23-31 March, 2007
I already noted my arrival into Melbourne (b-o-u-r-n-e does not sound like "born") when I actually arrived in Melbs. To be honest, there wasn't much going on so I shipped out two days after getting in. Well, there was heaps going on, but I wasn't interested. I took a train, a bus and then a smaller bus to Halls Gap, Victoria. This is the town for the tourist centre of the Grampians, the southern end of the great dividing range, which starts in Far North Queensland. Halls Gap has a single road running through it, with one grocery store, one bakery, one petrol station, one...well you get the idea.

I had read about the hostel I wanted to stay at in my guidebook as this "eco-lodge." It had solar power and water conservation practices in place. This place turned out to be one of the best hostels I've ever been to, and not only that but is probably one of the best places of accomodation as well. Solar power heats the water and provides electricity (not completely off the grid though) and a first of its kind water recycling system re-uses the gray water from sinks and showers to flush the toilets. There are free range chickens roaming the hostel grounds so every morning we get fresh eggs to use. There is an herb garden. The owners put out baked goods. The facilities are first rate. There are bicycles available for free use. What pushed me over the top for this place was when I showed up without a booking and there were no dorm beds left, the owner opened up one of the family rooms so I was able to have a bed, at the cost of a dorm, and I wound up with the room to myself and a double bed. This place, Grampians YHA Eco-Hostel is first rate, and I'm done plugging for it.

The point of going to the Grampians was to do more bushwalking. Little did I know that a massive bushfire from the previous summer burnt out all the trails. So much for that. I hiked all the trails that I could in one day and set off to camp for the night about 9km south of Halls Gap. Since the trails had all burnt out I walked along the side of the highway. Fun times.... After camping out I wandered down a 4WD track in hopes of finding a new way back to Halls Gap. It didn't happen, however, I did have a huge group of Emus run right infront of me on this expedition. That was pretty cool. There were also some large animals hopping around in the forest. I'm pretty sure they were kangaroos, but the fur was black, and I never got a very good look at the whole animal. Maybe it was a rock wallaby? I don't even know what those look like. Either way they scared the shit out of me because they would only hop away if you walked right past them, and they weren't quiet about it. I also saw lots of colorful birds and had great views from the mountain tops.

After 4 days in the Grampians I was ready to get back to Melbourne, AFL season was about to start after all! The only reason I went to Melbourne in the first place was to see an Aussie rules match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Here are the basics: started in 1858 as a way to keep cricket players in shape during the winter. My how it has evolved! Football, or footy, is an ambiguous term in Australia. In New South Wales and Queensland it refers to Rugby (usually leage, the NRL) In Victoria, South and Western Australia and Tasmania it refers to AFL. There are 16 teams and most of these are located in and around Melbourne, specifically the suburbs. It is a major sport in terms of attendance, but not on a global scale. Gaelic football is the only sport that is similar- hence the International Rules matches played between Ireland and Australia. It consistently draws 30,000+ people to matches, putting up it there with English/European Football Leagues and American Football. It's life for a lot of people in Victoria. As a spectator sport I would rank it as one of the best. There is a reason it has the nickname Aerial Ping-Pong. I won't go through all the rules and scoring system so I'll say that watching the footy match while eating a 4 and 20 pie and drinking a Carlton made me feel very Australian, or at least Victorian. What I like about AFL most is that you are immediately pulled into barracking (rooting, just don't say that) for a team. It makes the entire game exciting, and understanding the rules and what makes a play spectacular (a spekkie) is even better. I saw two games: The Melbourne Demons v. the St. Kilda Saints and the North Melbourne Kangaroos v. the Collingwood Magpies. Both games were very intense and each team kept going ahead of the other. AFL and the trams are probably the only things that would draw me to live in Melbourne.

I saw my second match on saturday afternoon and afterwards went straight to the airport to fly up to Cairns. I didn't arrive in the city centre until about 1 am and seriously considered sleeping in the park. As it was a new city to me I decided against, though in hindsight it wouldn't have been a problem. I had just gone from the state most affected by drought to a tropical rainforest where it would bucket at the drop of a hat, and sometime for days on end. Cairns and the Atherton tablelands are coming up.

Adelaide to Uluru and Watarka

2007-05-02T11:53:00.000-06:00

15-23 March, 2007
After Tasmania and the Overland Track I flew to Adelaide. Almost everyone I met in Sydney takes the piss out of Adelaide but I found it's a pretty nice town. It is a lot smaller -SA only has about a million people whereas Sydney alone as 4 million- so there is an older feel to the city. Shops close earlier on the weekdays and aren't open much on the weekend, Thursday night shopping is more pronounced, pizza and kebab shops haven't replaced the bakeries and markets. On the weekends though, the students (there are two major universities) and the rest of the local populace come out and the city goes crazy. People spill out of restaurants and bars and eventually meet in the streets. It's a nicer atmosphere than Sydney where if people are on the streets they are either passed out, drunk or fighting or on their way to do any of those things. It's less chaotic.

The one reason I went to Adelaide was to drink wine straight from Australia's most famous wine region, the Barossa. From what I remember the tour guide telling us, the grape vines here are actually some of the oldest in the world: around 150 years. European and North American vine stocks were devestated by phyloxera years back and had to replant. Our first stop of the day was a giant rocking horse. I didn't pay any attention to it and made a bee line for the animal thingy. Not a zoo, not a cage. Not really sure what it was. Anyways, I pet some roos and talked to some talking birds (parakeets?) Our first winery was Wolf Blass (started by Wolfgang Blass!), probably the only name on the tour you might recognise. We stopped at 4 wineries in total and tried whites, rosés, reds, tawny ports, muscat ports, late harvests and sparklings at just about every one. We were all pretty trashed by the 3rd winery and all I remember about the last one was drinking this frozen port concoction, like a slushy. On our way back to Adelaide we stopped at this dam (it even had water behind it!) that allowed you to talk to people at the other end of the dam without the use of electronics or a cup-and-string setup. It was pretty cool to have conversations with people 150 metres away in a voice you'd use with people a few feet away. All the red wine made it easy to sleep on the way home and that made me glad I wasn't driving. One of the funny/sad (take it how you will) bits of the tour is that half hour after petting the kangaroo, I was eating one for lunch. Well tasty!

It was finally time to catch my train out of Adelaide to the centre of the continent. They run all of twice a week, which leads to lots of waiting around time and explains why I was in Adelaide for three whole days, rather than only the one that I needed. The train I took is called the Ghan, named after the Afghan camel trains that first went out into the deserts when whitefellas were exploring the country. I remember reading in Bill Bryson's book about the rediculous amounts of supplies hauled into the desert: hundreds of pounds of flour, etc. During the train ride I longed for British or Swiss Rail. This was the worst train ride I've ever had in my life. The only good things were the sunrise and sunset. It was the most bumpy, bouncy and loud journey I've ever had. At 2am a woman two seats infront of me started throwing up from motion sickness! This section of train is billed as one of the great journeys through the desert on rail. Now I think I know what riding a mechanical bull is all about. The strange thing is that it seems to be isolated to only the stretch between Adelaide and Alice Springs. I talked to my mates in Sydney who had done the Indian Pacific (Sydney to Perth in three days) and they had none of the problems or conditions I did.

I stumbled bleary-eyed off the train into the blast furnace that is central Australia the next afternoon. In half an hour I was maneuvering a right hand drive standard shift vehicle down the wrong side of the road. 400 kilometres and 3 oncoming cars later and I was camping at Curtin Springs Roadhouse. Towns in the Northern Territory amount to a dirt paking lot, petrol station, motel, general store and bar. The next morning I got up early to get to Uluru (Ayers Rock) to beat the heat (even though I figured I'd be hiking all day). I drove and drove, thinking I'd see it from a distance but the sand dunes that cover the red centre prevent you from seeing very far. It was not as flat as I thought it would be. I gave up after a while and focused on driving and not killing kangaroos. Even though they are nocturnal, roos are still pretty active through midmorning. Then I saw it: a glowing red lump in the distance! I practically drove off the road as the sight of what is just a rock blew my mind. I can't really describe what it looked like at 8am sunlight and never did find a photo that puts my memory onto a photograph. Though if I tried, it would resemble a glowing lump of ember from a campfire. The color was simply extaordinary and it looked like nothing else. After driving for hours and hours through desert I was stumped as to how a glowing red rock can exist in a sea of sand dunes. I spent the morning walking through Kata-Tjuta (the Olgas), which is another rock formation as brilliant as Uluru. The afternoon was spent circumnavigating the rock. I opted not to climb because 1) it was closed. 2) I chose not to out of respect and 3) didn't see the point. Think about it, 35 people have died climbing this rock! Most of them due to bad hearts and high temperatures (the climb is now closed on days with temps forecast over 36ºC or rain), and for what. You climb over 1,000 feet to see.... nothing! Flat desert! More importantly, I learned in my guidebook and during my stop at the cultural centre that climbing the rock is disrespectful to the local Aboriginal people, the Anangu. It is the equivalent of climbing the alter and other sacred places of a church. You also are known as a "Mingu" by the Anangu: when lots of people climb the rock, from a distance it looks like ants marching up their hill. By the time I was almost done with my 10K walk around the base, it began pouring! It was great, I experienced heavy rain in the desert of a country in a severe drought. I drove around the rock while it rained and watched as the rain formed waterfalls. The water also brought out lots of very subtle features you don't notice in dry weather. The clouds hung around during sunset, destroying my chance of the über-touristy sunset viewing. The clouds hung around all night yet again blocking out the stars! Since I landed in Sydney I heard the best part about being in the outback was being able to look up at the stars with zero pollution or interference. Turned out everynight I was out there the clouds blocked my view. The rainclouds/poor view trade-off was worth it though.

The next morning I woke up pre-dawn to catch the sunrise viewing but the clouds managed to stuff that up as well, so I took off to Watarka (King's Canyon), about 6 hours drive north of Uluru/Kata-Tjuta. When I arrived I prepared for the rim walk around the canyon: 3 litres of water, hat, camera, sunscreen, protective clothing, etc. At the start of the track a shaded thermometre read 40ºC. Bloody Hot. I set out and climbed to the top of the canyon and two hours later found myself in the garden of eden. In two days I went from a low point (the ghan) to a another high point in my travels. Some geological fluke causes all the water to accumulate at the top of the canyon and form a billabong where you can swim and cool off. This is one of my best swimming experiences in Australia. Fresh, cool water in 100+º heat and you can swim over to the waterfall that looks out and down the canyon. Pretty spectacular.

The only bit of excitement I had on the 7 drive back to Alice was going around the corner and having two kangaroos leap infront of me! Finally. After 5 months in Australia, I got to see a kangaroo in the wild. And I almost killed them, but not really. It's as if I had a curse of kangaroo sighting, but now that it had been broken, I started seeing them all over the place. I spent a day in Alice before taking off to Melbourne catching up on the internets, journalling and sleeping in a bed. It was really expensive for me to get out to the middle of the country and transport myself around. I reckon I spent well over US$ 1,000 on those 5 days of travel. I probably could have done it for a lot less, but at the expense of the freedoms I had: rental car, open schedule, my own itinerary. Every now and again that freedom is worth the higher price paid.

The last month in Australia

2007-05-01T02:16:00.000-06:00

Melbourne - Grampians - Melbourne - Cairns - Atherton - Cairns - Sydney. Los Angeles. Plus Catch up from Adelaide. There is a lot of blogging to be done. And to be honest I've been lazy with my time in L.A. I slept in every day so far, rarely weeking up before noon. I'm sure I needed it with the wild time and day changes. I go home to Minneapolis tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. I started writing a mass email to basically everyone I know in the slightest, but when I got into it I didn't know what to say. I thought there might be some meta/grandiose moral of the story I could type out that was a culmination of the last year and a half but I am having a hard time thinking of something that isn't really corny. So maybe I will or maybe I won't finish and send it out. It will be nice to go home for an indefinite amount of time but to be honest, there is nothing there I miss that much that would stop me from continuing the travels, if I had the resources. Sure I miss people and things while I'm on the other side of the world, but they won't be anywhere I can't get to when I get home. For now though, I'm stopping.

I probably won't go work in Vancouver, but if anyone is up for a roadtrip I'd head that way, then south. I have a 3-5 year plan in my head that is very susceptible to change at the moment. You can ask me about that when I see you. For the next 3-5 months I look forward to: summer in Minneapolis (one of the greatest combinations ever), playing ultimate (because they'd rather get pissed in Sydney), catching up on world news and politics, resuming my studies/rantings on peak oil calamities and catching up with everyone.

The Longest Day

2007-04-22T02:47:00.000-06:00

Saturday, 21 April, 2007. It started (think 12am) like this: Pat and I met Adam at the pub and we drank some beers. I think around half of my nights in Sydney started this way, might as well do it again one last time. We left and went to get some pizza with Pat, said my goodbyes to him and told him he better come up to see me in August some time. He probably will, he wants to see the Mallrats filming location. And the Mighty Ducks.

I took a quick sleep on Adam's floor and then went shopping at Woolies for TimTams before my flight to LA. Adam helped me lug all my stuff to the train station where I caught a train (as you do) to the airport. 4 stops, $9. Reason number one that privitisation of public infrastructure and services is not always the best. I cheated them anyways by claiming a concession fare, so I guess I had the last laugh. The check in and screening process went by without much of a hitch, only that now Australia has started enforcing the no gels, liquids etc over 100 mils in carry-ons. So I was asked by just about every security attendant in the airport if I needed a plastic bag to put my things in. The advances in airport security.....

By 11am I was drinking free Bailey's in the duty free shop fretting over U.S. alcohol quotas. For US$40 I could have had myself 2 litres of the stuff! Australia had been good to me and I already had too much alcohol in my bags, though in hindsight I could have waltzed into the country sans problem with as much as I wanted. 20/20 The flight was chock 0'block and I was in the middle seat. I wouldn't have the luxury this time of 3 seats to myself and 8 wonderous hours of sleep on a plane in economy. I got maybe 4, watched some movies, read a book and listened to my iPod (something I didn't have on my 2 months of backpacking). You know, all those plane type activities. You'd think after sitting next to someone for 13 hours you'd know there name and lifestory, but I didn't know his until he filled out his US customs and immigration cards. I think "tea please," "chicken," "yes," and "hot breakfast" were the only words that came out of my mouth the entire flight. Funny how that works, but unsurprising when each passenger has there own distractive world of on demand entertainment to fall into at the push of a button. I myself watched a couple of Aussie movies I wanted to see.

After napping a bit I woke up it was ready to start the descent. Touchdown and I was in Los Angeles. The plan was to txt Ben with my Australian phone when I got there but to my surprise it wouldn't hop onto another network. Fuckin' Vodafone! So I had to use a payphone. When was the last time you used one of those? I left Australia at 13.25 Saturday. By 13.00 Saturday I was eating lunch in LA. God bless the international dateline. We took a scenic drive back to Ben's apartment and I got all my stuff unloaded. LA is not exactly what I expected. I think I was only thinking about all the bad things you hear in the news or see in movies. It is an OK city from what I can gather after only 2 days here.

I've discovered Wii! How fucking cool is this little box! It's halfway to virtual reality. A new gaming system that uses sensors on the control pads. So if you are playing a golfing video game, you actually take a golf swing with the controller in your hand to hit the ball. Or you can box each other. I'm hooked and delighted. After playing that for a few hours we headed off for my first meal back in the states. In and Out Burger! Cheeseburger, fries and a vanilla milkshake. Delicious. Ben had movie coupons so we went to see Hot Fuzz. I highly recommend seeing this film in the theatres while it's still popular. It is a riot! You will clap, cry from laughing so hard and give standing ovations at the end of the film.

Afterwards it was late enough to take a drive up into the mountains to watch a meteor shower. We lied in the car with our heads poking out the window (too cold and windy to stand outside. I know, we're total pansies) and watched the stars with the lights of LA spread below us. It's still Saturday. Only saw a few meteors because the clouds eventually moved in and covered our view. Somehow this day has gone on for 30 some odd hours in each of the 4 hemispheres. I fell asleep on the short drive home and when I woke up it was finally Sunday.

I'm not quite home yet, but I'm getting close and American culture has given me a good beating these past two days. And if anyone was wondering, his name is Tony.

Bundaberg

2007-03-24T21:43:00.000-06:00

Their rum is shit, but their Gingerbeer is extraordinary! I will bring some home so you can try it. I'm leaving Melbourne tomorrow and head off to the Grampians tomorrow, I'll be back at the end of the week for some footy madness.

Admin

2007-03-23T20:33:00.000-06:00

OK, I've updated some of the links to the right, either they don't go to blogs, or names and locations. I've also added a link to my flickr account. You do not need a subscription or need to sign up to view pictures the way you do for kodak or photo bucket, etc. The problem is I can't remember how to login to my account, so it'll be a while before I get new pictures up. Even if I could login, I don't have a digital camera. All my film is sitting between my feet in my camera bag right now. It's been a long way already, so it should make it back to the States safely enough. Also, there are upload limits so when I do start putting pictures up, they will come somewhat slowly.

And! I figured out what my shoes smell like. It's welding. My shoes smell like welding.

Melbourne!

2007-03-23T20:18:00.000-06:00

I arrived in Melbourne last night from Alice Springs with no idea where I was staying or even how to get to the city. I got the last bed in the first hostel I went to. See, it all works out when you travel. That was only for last night though. So when I checked out today, the guy infront of me in the queue decided to check out early, so I was able to pick up his bed (at a cheaper rate!) and I don''t have to move for a couple of days. Just now I was looking online for AFL tickets -the entire reason I have even come to Melbourne- and discovered the premiership doesn't start until next weekend, which is when I leave! I thought I had fucked up big time but turns out the first game of the season is Friday night at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) so I am off to find myself a ticket before they vanish. I believe it will be a derby between Melbourne and the kangaroos (North Melbourne). I also need to figure out what to do for the rest of the week. I'm thinking the great ocean walk but the logistics for this are a bit difficult at the moment. Ya never know, it all seems to work out in the end.

I'll try to get posts about Adelaide and the Red Centre up in a few days and I need to do some Admin work too.

My Shoes Smell

2007-03-14T23:24:00.000-06:00

This is sort of an adendum to my previous post. On Sunday the 4th, both Ethan and I were stung by a jellyfish whilst surfing at Manly beach. That wasn't so fun and made the session slightly painful. Also, my shoes still have a funny smell, not because of my feet, but because of all the junk I tramped through on the track. I hope it goes away. I also bought a hat, and times was wearing two hats at once on the track. I'm sure I looked rediculous. We will find out with the pictures.

Wombats Poop Out Cubes

2007-03-13T21:05:00.000-06:00

Hello! I've just spent the last week dominating the overland track. Those 6 days and 7 nights of 100+ kilometers, 2 mountains, 2 gaps, eating off a small camp fuel stove, sleeping in below freezing temps on hard ground or wood planks, fending off possums from my food, getting freaked out by large tiger snakes and rubbing ointment on obscene looking blisters have been some of the best ever. I'm having trouble grasping that I have actually just completed the track. I've also had trouble describing what I saw and how I felt sitting on top of mountains and tramping across windswept alpine plains. Dumbstruck awe is what it would be I suppose. The bus spat me back out into civilisation the other day and I sat on the footpath scratching my head wondering where I go (to the hostel ofcourse) and what do I do now that I don't have to wake up at 7.30, pack up camp and start trekking through the bush. Last couple days have been quite lazy and I've been indulging into all the "good and bad" things of modern society: BBQ chicken pizza, light past 20.15, fish and chips, long hot showers, bed, coke, refrigerators, the Internets et al. Now that I've had my shower and clean clothes, I want nothing more to be thrown back out into the wilderness on my own. I've found something new that I enjoy very much and while the memories of this most recent adventure fade after being catalogued by my brain, I can only start to plan and prepare (or not prepare - did you hear about the guy that did the Overland Track without a sleeping bag?!) for the next one. Maybe the Milford Track, or the Misty Mountains, or the Appalaichan Trail, or, or, or. I ate tuna and pasta 5 nights in a row and every night it tasted better than the last.

I'm an idiot. I forgot about two hidden straps at the bottom of my pack that make it so my incredibly heavy pack doesn't kill my shoulders. So you might say the track dominated me, but I ultimate conquered. I remembered those straps for my last 11 km section of the track. Live and learn and then keep going. And I'll keep going to Adelaide.

BBNT

2007-03-02T21:19:00.000-06:00

I am sitting in an orange walled restaurant waiting for a chicken burger and order of nachos. I have a backpack and coles go green bagto last me two months. Hey the nachos just came so I gotta wrap this up! I've moved out of 25 albert and will be in Tassie in a few days. It's Mardi Gras (in Sydney at least) so it'l be one big party tonight. One big Gay party.

Carry on.

Last Update from Sydney?

2007-02-21T03:36:00.000-06:00

Jeez folks, sorry about the novels lately.
This will probably be my last blog post from Sydney, though there may be another in between Surf Camp and flying off to Tassie. Anyways, tick off another 4 months of living abroad. I think I’m done, at least for now; certainly not in the future. I’d like to come back to New Zealand at some point (we get an entire year!). I have two days of work left, and I can see the light (2 months of holiday) at the end of the tunnel. Hmm, that metaphor doesn’t really fit for my work experience down here, which has been really good. I’m not quite sure how exactly I ended up here (through an agency of course), but the inner workings of client-agency-candidate relationships continue to mystify me. The light at the end of the tunnel metaphor would be more appropriate for the last few weeks of the living situation. Getting out of the bug infested house where food goes missing, the sex is loud and the dishes are never done will be a mostly liberating experience. Mostly, in the sense that I am very glad to have met Pat and Ethan and continue my friendship with them in a different hemisphere. Mostly, in the sense that Newtown is a pretty cool place to live. Completely, in the sense that I will be going back to my old backpacking/aimless wandering ways where my biggest responsibility is figuring out which bus or train goes to the airport and what time breakfast closes at the hostels. How I do love it.

I’ve explained my travel plans over the next two months to so many people that I’m sure you’ve heard about it by word of mouth, but I don’t mind laying them out one more time (in a bit more detail than previous posts) for you, Dear Reader, if you have not yet heard the word. The last week of February going into March I am heading to the south coast of New South Wales to take surfing lessons, live next to the beach and BBQ every night. A frantic weekend in Sydney and then I am flying off to Launceston, Tasmania to gear up for the Overland Track. After spending the week trekking 80 kms across Tassie I’ll arrive in Hobart for a few days. It’s off to Freycinet to have a look and hike around Wineglass Bay. Before you know it I’ll be in Adelaide for a short couple of days to tour about the Barossa Valley and drink copious amounts of wine (and Guinness, hint hint on the dates). A long northbound train ride through the desert will dump me in the middle of the continent. I’ll spend the next 3 days driving through the middle of nowhere to look at some rocks (really, really fucking big rocks) and hopefully some roos! After the red centre, it’s back to the urban realm of Melbourne to figure out what Aussie Rules Football is all about. I’ll be there for a while with no idea what I’m doing, but I’m sure I’ll figure out something. Melbs will be the end of my big Australian cities as I fly up to the tropical north – Cairns. I’m going to work on an organic farm and hope to learn about, well, organic farming! A few tours into the Daintree rainforest and it’ll be time to start the long drive down the east coast back to Sydney, hopefully with some friends in their car, though I may end up having to take the greyhound, which takes about 4 days. A quick goodbye to my mates still hanging around in Sin City and it’s off to LAX and I can complete this chapter of my life. If shit hits the fan somewhere along the way I’ll make my way back to Sydney and be a dosser for a while.

Last Friday was the going away party for my boss and I’m happy to report I wasn’t thrown out of a single bar, had 0 scuffles with glass doors and was pissed beyond my wildest dreams. To give you an idea, the following txt message was sent from my phone:

Hey not sayin I’ll be walk Fucking trashed, but Shit mate…yeah. See ya in a while!

What the hell does that even mean?! The brain and fingers were not moving in concerto that night. The Malaysian food I had for lunch was also among the best ever. On the other hand there was no pinching the bums of local sports heroes. Another member of our party was not so lucky: at one point there were no fewer than 4 coppers and 3 bouncers surrounding him at the entrance refusing him entry, his pink shirt flailing wildly.

Aside from that, life has been rather laissez-faire. Go to the beach, go to BBQ, go to the bar. Aussie life is pretty good. I was asked the other night what I would tell people about Sydney when I go back to Minneapolis, and I think it’s this- beach culture, drinking culture and for being the busiest of Aussie cities, it is pretty relaxed. Also, even though it is however many thousands of miles away in a different hemisphere, it’s very Western, but a blend of Europe and North America. There are cities in the States older than Sydney. It’s a city that lacks a long history, not that it makes it bad, but history gives rise to great culture and I appreciate that. It’s beaches were what kept me happy and satisfied while I lived here. Even though I did not live out there, I think I had a bit of a life out there. Just last night I went to Bondi to cook dinner, take a walk around the neighborhood and watched skaters tear up the pool to the background music of the ocean – all in a typical Tuesday night. I’ll miss swimming and surfing in the ocean, lounging on the beach and picnicking in the parks on the days of big festivals. I’ll miss having to decide what sort of ethnic food to eat, literally just a few steps from my doorstep. I’ll miss walking everywhere. A 45 minute walk somewhere doesn’t faze me in the slightest. I’ll miss the views of the opera house and Harbor Bridge as it is quite simply spectacular. I’ll miss getting thrown out of bars with Pat, or watching as Pat gets thrown out of bars. I’ll miss Istanbul on King – the local kebab and pizza shop. Those 4 months went by in a blur, so if the old adage is correct, apparently I did have fun down here.

Check youtube for this: I went to Tropfest on Sunday. It is the world’s largest short film festival, with about 50,000 of us hanging out in the Domain all day and watching 16 short films at night. It was broadcast all around Australia so everyone sort of sat in the park and watched them together. A film called “An Imaginary Life” took top honors and, along with being quite funny and creative, probably had the lowest budget of the lot. Another good one was about the Cronulla riots. An Anglo and a Lebanese show up and are the first ones on the beach, but they don’t quite know what the pre-riot etiquette is. Hilarity ensues; titled “Between the Flags.” Completely unrelated, I met people from Malta and Nepal that day. Two small countries (the former has a pop. of 400K or so) from which I wouldn’t expect to meet people.

One last note before I finish up: Watch out North America, Pat is coming!

Stay The Course, or Cut And Run?

2007-02-09T03:42:00.001-06:00

From the above title I can understand why you might think this post is about Iraq, or US policy in the Middle East, but remember that I’m living in Australia where every day is a slow news day and most Aussies could care less about Iraq even though Australian forces are stationed over there. No, I have my own battles to deal with that span the political, cultural, historical and socio-economic spectrum of life at 25 Albert St. Well, OK, not quite, but here is what happened, or is happening as it’s an ongoing story.

The other day I was the first to arrive home from work (of the people in the house that actually work) and went about my get-home routine, as you do. I find a note taped to the wall that basically says that Ella’s things from the kitchen that she bought are no longer able to be used by the rest of the house. I went into a state of shock (what had I done to deserve this?!) and then quickly realized that I knew this moment certainly had the potential to happen but didn’t think that is actually would. I am still not quite sure about the reasons behind this action. The note said it was “because of the talk with Pat” from the previous night. I didn’t hear much of the argument as I was not around but learned later from Pat that it was in regards to previous flatmate dramas. The TV also disappeared and we now entertain ourselves by giving performances out of the complete works of Shakespeare, or “The Importance of Being Ernest” or, we just play cards and drink beer. I’m pretty sure that the clothes pins for the line outside and the lighter we use to start the stove have also vanished. Haha, oh dear….could be a long couple weeks!

Well anyways I shot the others a quick txt letting them know what had happened and this is when the mood of the house went into Defcon 1. Our facilities were down to a few pans that I had bought for Thanksgiving, a knife, a potato masher, my camping cutlery, some Tupperware and a spatula. We were gonna do this MacGyver style! Thursday night was no problem as I had planned to wander off to the bar anyways to meet Adam and others. Friday night Pat and I ate à la carte: bacon and cheese rolls with extra cheddar and devon (Australian version of low-grade boloney) cooked in the microwave, and ate on, plastic Tupperware lids substituted as plates. Classy like Ron Burgundy! Saturday evening I ate out of a baking pan and a couple hours later, Pat showed up with plates, cups, cutlery et. al. Hero of the day.

One of the more positive outcomes of all this was that for Ella to separate her dishes from what “us three had contributed,” she had to actually wash her dishes. Bowls and pans used for baking a cake, trays and plates for pizza and all her other daily dishes had been piling up for over a week by this point! Well almost another week has gone by since then, and all of her dirty dishes and wine glasses have regrouped at, in or around the kitchen sink once again. The house has very much turned into a 3 vs. 1 type of mentality. Ella barely comes out of her room when the three of us are in the lounge; the house is just a little, hmm what’s the word, tense! In less than 3 weeks however, I will be off to surf camp, and then Tasmania. The lease on the house won’t be renewed and we will part ways. Some of us will be just fine. I don’t know what the other some of us will do – be in a fine mess I suppose.

Even with all of the house dramas I still carry on as normal, happy as can be. It’s summer, I’m almost done with work and I start travelling very soon. Plus, I’m having a pretty good time down here, even with the doings of one odd house mate. So I suppose I should somehow make a reference to the title of the post eh? My question is what does Ella hope to accomplish by taking away all of the kitchen things? Are we supposed to break down and realise now that we need her? Was she trying to bring us in line? In what line? Well, we won’t cut and run. We will stay the course, but I’m withdrawing troops on the 26th and going surfing.

2007-02-02T20:21:00.001-06:00

I am writing this from work (where I have no blog access) and emailing it to myself and it has been so long since the last blog update that I am not quite sure when it was from or what was in it. I will assume that the last post was from before I went on my two week holiday for Christmas and New Year's, so I will start from there.

While on the one hand I wanted to work the days that weren't holidays so that I could at least earn money for rent/food/entertainment, it was really nice having two weeks off on the other. I was able to get out and do a little bit of travelling, though not as much as I had planned initially. I spent my Christmas eve at a BBQ out at Bondi Beach and wound up catching a taxi home about 3 or 4 I suppose. Christmas day I slept in, took a run in the afternoon and had some leftovers for dinner. As you can see, I don't really celebrate much if I'm not back in the US with family. It really doesn't seem like Christmas when it is sunny hot and green, thus it was just another day for me.

After xmas and Boxing day had passed, cool Ethan and I took a train out to the blue mountains for some hiking. We arranged a tour with an aboriginal guide who met us (small group of 10) at a train station that was sort of in the middle of nowhere. We spent the day hiking up and down the mountains. In the end we did about 8 kms (5 miles). Our guide was an archaeologist of sorts and had spent quite some time searching for aboriginal meeting places. He lead us around to all of these sites and showed us old rock carvings and cave art. He taught us about Aboriginal Dreamtime spirituality and culture. All very interesting as they are the oldest continuous surviving culture on the planet: 50-60,000 years right now! We stopped for lunch at a billabong and waterfall and got to use the ochre paints that are so characteristic of the aboriginal body art. We learned what all of the symbols mean: squiggly lines, dots, U's spirals, circles and all that. After thoroughly tattooing ourselves we carried on to where the tribes used to hold corroborrees (from where the English corroborate comes?) and demonstrated some dance for us. All along the way we learned about bugs and insects and animals as well as munching on some bush tucker. We shoved eucalyptus up our nostrils and chewed on sarsparilla. At the end of the walkabout he took out a wooden block on a string and started swinging it around. It made an awe-inspiring sound - it was a bull roarer. We tipped back a couple of schooeys at the pub while we waited for the train to haul our weary selves back to Sydney. This is definitely the kind of experience I had come in search of. Not hopping on some tour bus that bandies camera snapping tourists around all the big sights in the mountains. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone up for a physical challenge and an interest in Aboriginal life.

A few days later and it was time for New Year Eve celebrations! I went and met my friends at Mrs. Macquaries chair, which overlooks the harbour bridge and opera house. We picnicked for the day and watched the fireworks -and they were the best fireworks I've ever seen- before heading back to Newtown for a house party. I made an early night and went home about 4. New Years day I headed over to Coogee beach to watch the Barmy Army play the Aussie cricket fans (Australia had won back the Ashes by this point), which is tradition when the Ashes are played in Australia. After seeing a few wickets taken by the Aussies I headed up to Bondi for another BBQ. By now the weather had finally got back to normal (after being out of season since I have been here - colder than normal). I spent the next week I had off just hanging around at various beaches and surfing. Just before heading back to work I had 4 of my friends leave Sydney and Ethan moved out to Bondi, so a fair bit of change went on. I have a new flatmate now and for most of January went out a lot less. New flatmate - Liz from Richmond, VA- is good and I have been able to save some money for travelling as well as focus on my new year's resolutions.

January has been pretty low key. I've been eating much healthier food and running faster and for longer periods of time (and more often), so I feel pretty good about that. A few weekends ago I went out to Bondi for an international short film festival. I wasn't really that impressed, only a couple of the films were even worth my attention. Next day there was a massive Brasilian Jazz (bosanova) concert in the Domain (big park in the city) so I ambled on down and hung out with Ethan and Tulio. We tried to find a house party in the rocks that had no address... didn't really happen. Next day I went out to the Taronga Zoo with Barez to what you do at a zoo: see animals! It was a bit expensive, though as backpacker new to Australia I left quite impressed. I was able to get up close with kangaroos, koalas, emus, crocodiles, blue tongued lizards, komodo dragons, wallabies, echidnas, and just about any other Australian creature that might exist. Some of the cages had double sets of doors, so you could actually go inside with the animals. I stood 5 feet from a roo with nothing between us! Well I thought it was neat. It's also a good idea to have gone there because now I know what creatures I DON'T want to meet in the bush look like! Taipans and brown snakes and the like. The one downside is that the zoo is really expensive. I think the zoo should be part subsidised, so long as the animals are given the proper habitat and little kids can learn about environmental issues.

After the zoo, it was off to Bondi for yet another BBQ. I think I have had a proper Aussie summer whilst living here! What started as a few snags and beers turned into a 10 hour drinking session with multiple runs to the Bottle-O for compari and sambuca. Barez got really drunk and became hilarious. Tulio and I outdrank him and were just fine. Silly Canadians. I finished off the night by calling the police (000, not 911) on this bloke who was assaulting what appeared to be his date in the middle of the street. I yelled at him first, then told him I was calling the cops. He wouldn't stop so I did. He basically had this bird in a head lock and was dragging her down the street. She was able to break away at first and run away but he ran after her and yanked her arm and started draggin her along again. Then he stole her purse and she was crying (to me I think) that I should call for help. We waited around for a minute and things kinda settled down so we carried on to the bus stop. I guess domestic abuse is pretty common here, but it sure gave me enough excitement and adrenaline for one night!

The following weekend everyone quietly disappeared so I had the house to myself. It was well over 40 so I took it easy and just relaxed - quite literally did nothing of interest at all (aside from watching Twin Peaks). I've learned how to make sushi! Cheap easy and delicious, but I'm pretty bad at it so it ends up being slightly messy. Tomorrow is Australia Day. You could sort of equate it to the 4th of July in the US, but not quite. 26/1/1788 commemorates the landing of the first fleet at what is now Sydney. There will be lots of beer and fireworks tomorrow. I think that about brings me up to date with what I have been up to since mid-December. I've got the bulk of my travel plans laid out; at least I know where I am going and what to do once there. How and when remain unanswered.

I have to say I am kinda tired of Sydney. I don't get the same feeling of wonder and awe I do from London. Don't get me wrong, I am loving it down here, the beaches are great and I have made a ton of friends. But in a way that I don't quite know how to describe, I have a much greater affinity for Europe. It really hit me after I read Bill Bryson's "Notes From A Big Country." I could easily live here longer than 4 months, but I am ready to come back to the US, and start to think about "settling" there. I use quotes because I still plan on moving out to NZ at some point. But I have until I am 30 to do that. New York City is definitely in the near future, after a summer in the Minneapple.

One last thing before I complete this novel: I was once again refused service at a bar last night! And this time it was for being, get this, from the United States. Seriously. Just another bar to add to Pat and I's list of places we have been thrown out of, banned from, asked to leave, refused service, etc.

It only took me 6 days to get this posted! And now there is so much more to update about. Fuck not having a computer!

Right Then

2007-01-28T02:36:00.001-06:00

Been a while. I've got three minutes and a huge amount of stuff to post. I've been having some problems with blogger but now have them worked out. Since I am about to get booted from the internet cafe I will leave it here. More to follow later in the week!

Happy New Year!!!

2007-01-01T19:55:00.000-06:00

It's finally here: 2007. The year of the pig (come February). I tried sending lots of people messages, but the mobile networks here in Sydney started crashing around 8pm new year's eve and didn't come back up until around 4.30 the following morning. The fireworks over here were awesome. I sat right on the water on a little peninsula that sticks out into port jackson and watched fireworks go off from darling harbour, off the skyscrapers in the CBD, off the harbour bridge and from little islands in port jackson. 180 degrees of "feu d'artifices" as our Swiss companions would say. It is also the 75th anniversary of the harbour bridge so there were light shows throughout the evening. Normally I simply enjoy fireworks on holidays, this time I was thoroughly impressed.

I failed last year's resolution which was to go to Brasil, so maybe I'll shoot for something easier like eat a bit healthier, run more (read: train for the TC marathon) or perhaps figure out what I'm doing with my life.

I hope you all had an enjoyable night and morning as well and that new years day wasn't spent in recovery mode.

The Following Week

2006-12-23T05:39:00.000-06:00

Monday found me at work conversing with colleagues trying to piece together the previous Friday night. It took quite a long time =) After work I headed back up to Watson's bay for dinner with Ethan and his colleagues. The following is what I love: E told me to show up at 8PM. I arrived, knocking at the door at 7:59 with another girl invited to the dinner. I timed the buses perfectly! A few hours later I was speaking and listening to French, talking to people from Venezuela, Italy, Mexico, Australia and the US. Us francophones were probably the majority, with about 5 of the 14 of us there. Many beers and a giant meal later and I was on my way home via bus from good international conversation with people from 4 differnt continents. I love it. Monday night reminded me so much of London, yet so different because it is Sydney. I am coming to realise that i am having a much different experience here than in London. I'll post more on that later.

Tuesday night I was pretty tired and wound up on my bed most of the night. I got a random phone call and 20 minutes later was meeting my friend from Vancouver, Barez, at a delicious Vietnamese Restaurant. Hold on, I have to go get some more Wine. OK, killed the bottle. I had Pho soup for the first time. I don't think this is has reached the US because I never see it at the Vietnamese Restaurants when I go. It's nothing more than glorified ramen when they bring it to you, but after that they bring piles of vegetables and sauces you dish in and wow, is it good stuff. Cheap as chips too.

Most of the rest of the week is a blur except for going out for Mexican food, which is a novelty thing down here = expensive and not much for your money. It makes Chipotle look like the real deal. I miss Pepitos and Lake st. but am inspired to start making my own Mexican food at home.

It is Saturday night, and I have obviously just had a bottle of wine. I'm not out getting crazy because I am getting tired of it (only took a year and a half of drinking...). I went surfing today and that is just such a much better use of my time. Adam, you are reading this: we are going surfing at Bondi when you first arrive. I can't wait to show you Sydney like you and I can't wait to show people London. I can barely stand up at the moment but am completely hooked on surfing, and I don't think there is a metropolitan city more suited for the surfer lifestyle.

On the way home from Bondi today, Ethan, his colleague Gian (John?) Carlo and I had a long conversation on LEED certification, the moral responsibilty of architects and sustainable design. Sweetas. (I hope you are enjoying my incorporation of Aussie and Kiwi lingo into my posts). I need to stop typing in the blog.

Hot Holidays

2006-12-21T22:48:00.000-06:00

I haven't had access to a computer to update my blog or check my email in a couple of weeks - Ethan has been house-sitting for his boss so my access to email and internet communications has been severely lacking. Nights of debauchery and days of sun and surf have taken place over this time period. Just the other Friday was the company holiday outing. The group kicked off about noon and went down for a day of drinking with lunch. Too bad it was raining because we got to sit outside on Darling Harbour and nice weather would have made for a good ambience. Eleven hours later we had all split and I was wandering to the next bar to meet up with my backpacker mates. I finally got home about 3 or 4 the next morning and miraculously woke up without a hangover (I credit the pizza and ice cream I ate on the way home).

The stories from the previous day came out over the course of the next work week. It all got pretty sloppy! Once we abandoned our lunch table for a position closer to the bar, the Sydney Swans walked in. Imagine an NFL football team walking into the bar you're at and just going about their business. Does this happen? I have not seen it. The Swans are the AFL (Aussie rules footie) team up here. AFL is mostly a Southern sport and RU (Rugby Union) is the Northern sport, but the two are starting to venture into each others geographic territory. Whilst at the bar, my colleagues pointed out a player to me named Barry Hall and said I should go talk to him. Normally I don't walk up to national sports icons who are 6'5" weighing 220" and built like a brick shithouse to strike up a conversation. But I was slightly pissed so I did. After some chaotic dancing and handshakes (I've got new moves) I pinched one of the players' bum. Twice. My sight level is right at these guys' biceps. Fucking massive! Weird how this is probably my most Aussie experience so far: chatting with AFL players at King Street Wharf. Not every day that happens!

Next we were off to Star City casino. This is where the two bottles of wine and 5 beers really hit me. I threw my last $20 at a colleague and the next morning I found $30 in my pocket. Guess we won? Not really sure what happened between entering and exiting, all I remember for the next hour was wandering around the casino holding something. We made a graceful departure with the aid of security after one of my colleagues, when asked where his bet was by another player, that it was "shoved up your ass mate." HA! At least we thought it was funny. The large woman behind the counter was not impressed and got on her high horse and let loose with some bogus spiel, pissing me off in the process. A few minutes later we were (once again) asked to leave. On the way out I got in a little squabble with a glass door. The door won. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to figure out why my forehead wouldn't quit bleeding. During that time we made several attempts at getting our extremely intoxicated colleague (not me) into a cab to take him home, but everytime we got a taxi to stop he would run off and hide! This was solved with a head lock and a shove into the next available cab. More bars and more alcohol, which I somehow managed to not pay for, and I was striding home.

Sunday -the day of meat- was a perfect day so I met up with Ethan at Bondi for a surf, went to his coworkers house for a massive BBQ lunch, went in to town with Ethan to buy his surfboard and went back to Watsons Bay where he was house sitting. We BBQ'd again that night and I finally made it back to Newtown, cut, bruised, banged up, salty and tired but not hungry just in time to hit the hay for work the next day.

This is the life. Only made better by having the next two weeks of work. Fiji's recent coup has left its tourist economy crippled, so it is cheap now. Perhaps I will go after new years? 4-5 days lounging in the South Pacific sounds great to me.

Merry Hannukah, Happy Christmas and Jolly New Years everyone.

A Revelation

2006-12-21T01:29:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago I found myself attempting to surf for the first time in my life. This is what I thought after a few minutes of struggling in the rip: Fuck drinking. I'm going surfing!

Since then I have drastically cut back my alcohol intake and mornings spent sleeping in and have been out at the beach a lot more. Choice.

Summer

2006-12-02T00:55:00.000-06:00

December 1st officially marked the first day of summer. Sweet. I get two weeks off work to do whatever I want for the holidays, so there will be much sleeping in, beach trips and possibly a camping trip. That's two weeks of lost income though. Two weeks is more than enough for a week in NZ or a trip to the south Pacific. Damn! I will look for someplace to work halftime I think. A bar or cafe or whatever. Most likely just end up sleeping a lot though; and being incredibly lazy just as I have been today. Hard to work up any motivation when the weather is shit house. And the washing machine took 20 hours to wash my clothes. Fuck that piece of shit! Ahem. Pardon my outburst, I'm good now =)

Not much new to report. Life has been treating me well, but I still can't find an ultimate game (at least one that is more on the competitive/athletic side) or a league to pickup with. Bugger. I wanted to get down to Melbs this weekend for a hangover hat tournament, but it is a long trip for just two days and no planning. World club champs took place there last week.

England is 6/537 during the first innings in the Cricket. One of their batsmen was batting for over 9 hours. What the hell.

Blue Mountains Burning

2006-11-27T01:04:00.000-06:00

There has been a bit of wild weather the last couple weeks: snow on the East coast from Victoria all the way up into Queensland. It is the start of bushfire season, so large areas of forest have been burning in New South Wales (between Queensland and Victoria). Giant icebergs have been sighted about 80 km off the coast of New Zealand, but I believe they melted before they hit land. To put it into perspective, the icebergs would have come from Antarctica, which is at least a couple thousand km away. For whatever reason they sent a crew out on helicopter and they jumped out onto this floating, melting and cracking iceberg so that they could, I dunno, tromp around on it and look like adventurous Kiwis.

The weirdest environment I've experienced so far was the other Wednesday when I walked out of my office to wait for my shuttle ride home. It was about 38ºC (100ºF) and a strange smell was in the air. It smelled like a really strong campfire and sure enough that is what it was. The Blue Mountains just to the west of Sydney had gone up in a blaze. This is the closest I have ever been to a forest fire, and with the strong smell, heat, humidity and haze I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I didn't know how near or far it was from me either; coulda been 5 miles or 50 miles. So I got the idea that I was right at the edge of the fire (one can see the Blue Mountains for the rooftops) because of the conditions above. 25 minutes later when I got home, the temperature had dropped 20-25ºF and the sunset was amazing that night. What an odd place this is.

It took three years....

2006-11-25T00:24:00.000-06:00

... but I finally understand cricket. The sport, not the bug that makes funny noises. The sole reason for this is so that I can watch the Ashes and understand why people are cheering or jeering as we watch during lunch hour. I still do not understand or even know about all of the customs, traditions, rules (there are 42 laws of Cricket) or the massive amount of terminology. To give you a rought idea of what happens, think of it as baseball, except: there are only 2 innings per team per game rather than 9, in a test at least, which is what the Ashes are. Instead of 3 outs per team per inning, there are 10 outs per innings (innings is both singular and plural) per team. So when ten people get out, that teams innings is over, and it is time for the opponent to stand infront of the wicket. There is only one base, rather than 4. This means you have really high scores! You do not have to run if you hit the ball. So there you have it: a ball is "bowled" at you, you take a crack at it, if you hit it you can run, or not. You are up to bat until you are "dismissed" and then the next 9 people do the same thing. Ten people get out and the teams switch. If you are really good at batting you can bat for over a day straight. Then you have the bails that fall off the wicket, a maiden over which is really good for the bowler but not the batsman, and edge to the wicketkeeper with his funny looking gloves, a change of bowler every six bowls which is called an over, the "square leg," tea time, lunch time and so on. Confused yet?

Anyways, it's the Ashes right now, which is Australia vs. England. It happens every 18 months. It started Thursday and the series consists of 5 tests. A test is about 5 days of cricket. The name of the series comes from the trophy you get when you win: a tiny little urn that is believed to hold the burnt remains of the two wickets from the second series between England and Aussie. It is the only sport that happens between now and the holidays. Aside from First Division Footie and NBL.

For hilarity I recommend reading the section of Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country" where he describes listening to a Cricket match on the radio. Once you have a decent understanding the game takes on a new meaning. I actually like it a little bit. And it is even more exciting than baseball! Sorry Bru.

Or you could just use www.wikipedia.org

Strangest thing that's happened

2006-11-24T23:36:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I went out for a housewarming party in Bondi; it was for my friends friend. If that makes sense. It started off a bit awkward as most parties do as I didn't really know anyone there and it was a bit "clique-ish" but as the time went on everyone loosened up a bit and everyone was enjoying themselves, as working holiday makers tend to do when alcohol and a good atmosphere are combined. My friend Barez asked everyone what the strangest thing was that had happened to him or her since arriving in Sydney. He shared his story (being felt up by an old Asian crackhead while eating a hotdog) and everyone had a laugh. I thought a bit and had nothing to say, everything had gone smooth with no outrageous moments occurring as of yet. Ahh the power of foreshadowing! Hours later, near dawn my friend Polly and I were just sitting on the couch chatting away when some bloke (I think he lived at the house) came up to me and told me to drink some wine (it was white). I obliged him and thought he would go away. But he hung around and kept talking to me, and it got a bit hostile. At this point I thought he was just playing around and taking the mick because I didn't have a drink. To be fair I was already well drunk and had been up for 20 some hours, and was the end of the work week. Two can play at this game I thought so I shot back a response about he was drinking white wine at a party (seriously what guy does that?). Turns out he had been quite serious and had some issues with me throughout the entire night and "bitched me out" I guess. By that I mean he just talked out of his ass for a while as I sat there with a confused -and drunken- look on my face. He then proceeded to, I kid you not, slap me twice, ask me to leave and tell me to put my feet up on the couch. Anywhere else that is a fight, but as an invited guest to someone else's house, me being really pissed and tired, I couldn't be bothered to get worked up over it and then get kicked out. I had met some good people that night and took the high road rather than doing something stupid. All of this came out of nowhere! And the slaps were, I don't know how to describe them, well they were weak as fuck! In the end I just ended up laughing in his face saying "Did you just slap me?" We left a few minutes later to greet a rising sun and caught a taxi home.

Few days later I ran into Barez on my way to work and explained to him the whole chain of events that occurred after he had left. He told me that apparently that guy was on ecstasy and had a thing for Polly. I guess that explains but I didn't think E made people aggro like that. The rest of the party was great, but that wanker killed it.

So that would be the strangest thing to have happened, yet.

Australian Place Names

2006-11-13T01:54:00.000-06:00

These places actually exist:

Wooloomooloo
Kirribilli
Wagga Wagga
Monkey Mia (there are no monkeys!)
Borroloola
Manjimup
Oodnadatta
Coolangatta
Warrnambool
Wollongong
and believe it or not - Lake Disappointment

There are lots of others too and I can barely pronounce almost anywhere in this country. Australia's most famous beach is arguably Bondi. Pronounce it - it's not Bon-dee. Pretty much anywhere in Sydney is like this for me. Asking for directions or talking about where I went gets a few laughs =)

Proper Update

2006-11-13T01:26:00.000-06:00

Hello all. Today marks three weeks that I have been in Sydney. I spent a week hanging out and doing some touristy things before starting the job and flat search. I had my first week of work last week at a company called IPMG. It is pretty much a big Print and Media company that is family owned. I work in the Treasury/Finance department with a couple other people. Most of whom are not Australian. There are lots of poms (is this term deragatory?) and kiwis working here. Aside from a few other people in my program, I have not met too many people from the US. I am pretty excited to have this job because it is definitely much more along the lines of what I want to do career wise than what I have been doing the past 2 years. It will look really good on my resume and the pay is pretty good to boot! Basically what I do is handle a lot of banking tasks and responsibilities for the company as a whole, plus a bit of foreign currency work as well. I have a big office and it makes me feel important =)

A bit over a week ago I moved into a share house in a subrub called Newtown. It is pretty hip and trendy and I'd compare it to Uptown of Minneapolis or Grand Ave in St. Paul. I live with two Aussies and a dude from Boston in a terraced house on a pretty quiet street. It really isn't all that quiet though. Not only do I live about 100 metres from the train tracks, I am right under the flight path for Kingsford Smith airport (the big one here). It really is quite nice though and my flatmates are cool. I live in a tiny little room that is completely unfurnished. I have been sleeping on the floor for the last 8 or 9 days! It isn't so bad, especially now that I know a bed is coming in a couple of days - 80 bucks delivered! My rent is incredibly cheap and I have almosst no transportation costs because I can catch a free shuttle to work not far from my house so this means lots of disposable income, meaning more travelling! I think maybe the oply complaint I have is that the washing machine is shit. And I guess this is common in OZ. You put dirty clothes in and you take out somewhat cleaner clothes that are completely soaked (no spin function?) have fuzz and detergent residue all over them. It also rained on my socks that were trying to dry this afternoon.

Ive started running again finally and have been searching out where the pick up ultimate games are but with no luck. I think most of my weekends will be spent on or around the beach. Or at the bar, but the beach is a lot cheaper! The address to my house is now on my facebook profile and my mobile number is there too, if you ever need to reach me other than by email - which I don't check that often anymore.

So there you have it. I have settled into a routine pretty quickly and am really enjoying myself down here! I think I am incredibly lucky to have everything fall into place the way it did and so quickly as well. Apparently this is not the case for a lot of people who move to Sydney.

Keep the emails comin! Go Democrats!

This Weekend

2006-11-11T20:55:00.000-06:00

It is early Sunday afternoon. The weekend has been hot and sunny, probably upper 70s/lower 80s. I am going to the beach.

On My Way

2006-11-02T12:05:00.000-06:00

I think I've been enjoying myself a bit much the last week and a half. Most nights are spent in the bar(s) with all the people I have met. Most days are spent wandering about Sydney or sitting the park or sitting on the beach. It is all very nice. I do however have a place to live now! And am quite happy about that because long term hostel living is not for me, even though I enjoy meeting other travellers.

I was told before I moved to Australia, that when I get to Sydney I would have a very British experience. The person who told me this was not wrong. I have met so many English, Welsh and Scots the last 2 weeks that I've come to realise they are all over here and not in the UK. There are ofcourse Dutch and Germans in large numbers too.

Still no job. Meh. That will come soon enough. I do look forward to working again though. Earning money and planning my travels (and then doing said travels) is just as good as getting pissed and sunning on the beach. A few long hiking treks through the bush, a few islands, NZ, surfing and a white sand beach holiday look promising. If I only had more money and another month.... so much to do here!

I have seen my first few bits of wildlife too! Loads of Blueys (blue bottle jellyfish - not killer) were washing up on shore when I was at the beach wednesday and yesterday I saw hundreds of giant bats hangning out (hahaha!) in central Sydney. As long as I don't see any snakes, or spiders that are the size of my hand I should be OK.

Arrived

2006-10-25T14:23:00.000-06:00

I came into Kingsford Smith Monday morning after a series of problem free flights. Infact the 14 hour haul was probably the nicest flight I've ever had in my life. I had absolutely no jetlag - amazing! It has been sunny and 70 the last few days and it will only get hotter as the summer months get closer. I had my orientation today so am now on my information overload mode. The last couple days have been spent wandering around the city and trying to figure out what is what. I have not really done any flat or job searching yet. I should probably do that instead of updating my blog! In short I feel overwhelmed with the possibilities of what I can do in terms of work, fun, travel and living.

Initial thoughts on Sydney after a couple days are that it is very much like both the US and UK, but also distinct on its own. The city itself is beautiful, sitting on the harbour, surrounded by beaches and lush with green. It reminds me of London/UK because of its multiculturalism, the place names, and certain cultural icons (union jack on the flag, the queen). It reminds me of the US for the most reasons though. Suburban sprawl dominates the country and thus most people rely on cars and highways. They have huge pollution problems (and have not signed up to Kyoto like the US). I read that almost 60% of the population are overwight or obese, though no one in Sydney really fits that descriptor (Brits are getting close to this too, though). The Aussies past and present relations with the Aboriginees are nearly identical to ours and Native Americans. Every single aboriginee from Tasmania has been wiped out of existence because of British and Australian policy. Today there are huge chunks of land that have been given back, though it is all in mostly Uninhabited and remots areas of the country.

So for now everything is cool. Just have to think about what I want to do in the short time I have here.

And I'm Off!

2006-10-20T23:42:00.000-06:00

In 11 and a half hours I will be flying to Denver, then LA and finally onto Sydney. It is more of a 2 day time-warp. It only seems a few days ago that I arrived home from London and the rest of Europe wrecked, disheveled and completely misplaced, wondering how I was to pass the next 2 months. It went fast and I got to see people I hadnt seen for about a year. One of my goals was to relax, refocus and get ready for Australia. I can tell you I am no more prepared to move to Sydney now than compared with 2 months ago. Oh well, at least I got my bags packed.

Yes, there are butterflies in my stomach, I am scared outta my mind (just a bit) and have been a bit jittery the last two days. That all leaves me wondering how I will get to sleep tonight; and I probably won't. The only planning I have going for me is a voucher that gets me a shuttle to a hostel - and that is for two nights. Past that the rest is unknown. I have no job and no flat. So in a sense it is quite similar to London, but I knew London incredibly well before moving back there. This is new and naturally makes me nervous, but I am doing it anyways and everything will turn out fine.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Sweeney's tonight, I definitely appreciate it. See you in 6 or 7 months!

Also, don't be shy and email me your mailing address.

The Overlander

2006-10-05T23:57:00.000-06:00

During my stay in Kilronan on the Aran Islands in Ireland, I met a guy named Mark. Upon seeing him and what he was doing I asked the question I am now positive everyone asks him whilst travelling (he has a big camera and various pieces of equipment): "Are you making a movie?" Turns out that he was. Mark is from Australia, outside Melbourne in the south I believe and works and travels the world as an independent film maker. He told me about his projects; he goes all over a ocuntry looking for people with interesting stories to interview, basically asks why they live there and what they like about it. He has covered Australia quite extensively and when I met him was filming for his Ireland series. Spain and Vietnam are next - ambitious! It is a neat project and also gives me a better appreciation for travel. For if I had not wandered about to random places such as the Aran Islands I would not have met this guy and not been able find these new things. Here is the website where is Doco's are hosted. I highly recommend watching at least intro video to Australia. After that you will probably sit infront of your computer and watch everything else, same as me! Enjoy.