Things have been quiet here for two main reasons. 1: I recently moved to Australia and 2: most of my posts have involved some analyses that take a while to run. Those posts are going to have to wait for the time being. My setup is currently being held hostage by the Aussies and it doesn’t look like I’ll get it for about a month. In the mean time I’m getting by on my deskbook (netbook with no battery) and prepaid wifi hot spot.  The Crunchess is at work most days so I’m left to fill time while I look for work.  In the week that I’ve been down in Oz, I’ve really enjoyed myself. Finally beat the jet lag and am getting settled around the house. I’m going to do a PCS wrap up at a later date but want to get my stuff before I pass final judgement on the process. Instead, here is my obligatory post about the weird things I’ve found Down Under:

Coffee: My standard order is a “long black”. It’s espresso and hot water that’s got the consistency of regular. Since I don’t usually drink my coffee with sugar/milk I haven’t tried a flat white (basically a latte) or any of the other combinations. At home, it’s really hard to find drip ground coffee. Currently using some espresso grind through a paper filter.

Air travel: Things I did not do and Kingsford/Smith Airport

1. Remove my shoes
2. Get porno scanned
3. Pull liquids out of my bag

Guess what didn’t happen? My plane didn’t blow up! Shock! I though I need someone to look at me half naked in order to make sure there weren’t any dastardly devices and plots on board my plane.  On the other side, Quantas, while hella expensive to fly, does have some nice planes. On the equivalent of a DC to Lexington flight, I had my own TV, got to watch 2 movies and was fed a half decent burrito.  Why, I ask can a US airline not do the same?

TV: I’m surprised at how easy it is to get NFL games here. It’s 930 local time as a I write this and I just finished watching the Jets lose to the Pats in OT.  I completely doubt I’ll get college basketball but hey, I’ll take what I can get.  Tons of American shows (Burn Notice, The Mentalist, etc.) are on here plus the obligatory local remakes of things like Glee.  I am looking forward to watching Househusbands. The only strange thing is that the McDonald’s commercials are way better here. Haven’t validated the food yet.

Birds: I happen to like birds.  It’s nice to have them around and who hasn’t wanted to have wings?  The birds in Sydney were interesting, even if there were a lot of seagulls and pigeons.  At our new place we’ve got a bunch of cool birds. The most common site outside of my window are Galahs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galah). They’re noisy but so much cooler than anything we had back in the states. I’m sure the locals think they’re annoying but after a week, the charm hasn’t warn off.

I’ve got pics but due to limited bandwidth they’re going to have to wait.  That’s all for now.