Australia, New Zealand, (and booleans) Oh My!

Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, auckland etc are pretty much like any big city the world over. if youre going to oz ild go to the things that make it unique eg the outback (though it is very monotonous there, 1000km of seeing the same scenery), the greatbarrier reefs ok + up past cairns the rain forest is also nice.

apr-may is the ideal time to come to nz (esp the south island), with the autumn leaves + lack of wind + generally blueskys, snow on the mountains (normally this is the case but we've just had the warmest may ever recorded and all the skifields are closed)

There are nice zoos in both Melbourne and Sydney if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Boolean has been intentionally staying off the internet after his computer died a while back and he realised he was a lot more productive without it, he pops on to MSN very occasionally but I'm afraid I don't know of any other way you could contact him.

I'm trying to see if Andrew knows where to find him. He may have a phone number to get in touch with boolean. I've only met up with him once, so I don't have his contact details.

Yeah, I figure the cities are... cites, but I'll still get a kick out of seeing some of the Sydney sights. Looks like I can get myself up to Cairns, so I'll be able to get to the reef and some of the tropics over there.

As for the zoos... Well, I'll consider the entire thing a total failure if I don't get to see a couple of roos, figure out what a wallabee is, check out a kookaburra (aren't they the ones that knock out their prey and then carry it back to their secret lairs?), pet a koala, and gape at a tasmanian devil. I'll definitely check out a couple of those zoos.

Oh, and I'm hopping on a plane tomorrow night, and I'll be in a Brisbane dorm until Friday, at which point my adventures begin! (be there for about seven weeks in all)...

And I'd definitely get a kick out of meeting boolean if I could. Poke around, and I guess send me a PM or email (gsgraham@gmail.com) if you get a hit...

Thanks, guys!

When in Melbourne you could:

1. See an AFL game at the MCG - http://www.afl.com.au

2. Go for a drive down the Great Ocean Road (You may need to stay overnight somewhere, it's a long road)- http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/

3. Gamble your savings at Crown Casino - http://www.crowncasino.com.au/

4. Do a wine tour of the Yarra Valley - http://www.yarravalleywinerytours.com.au/

5. Have a walk down St Kilda beach (probably too cold)

And if you're interested in Zoos:

6. The Werribee Open Range Zoo - http://www.zoo.org.au/vorz/

Oh and too find boolean:

bFound = GetContactDetails( "Boolean" ).Length > 0 ? true : false;

Well, I've managed to refrain from using phrases like "Howdy y'all - I reckon I'm fixing to ride fences," and have starting saying "mate" a lot.

So, no luck finding boolean while wandering the streets (gonna look him up in the phone book here in a bit), but I have a question - what's with the two buttons on all the toilets?

It's to save water... one is for a half flush, the other is for a full flush :D

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Original post by Avatar God Well, I've managed to refrain from using phrases like "Howdy y'all - I reckon I'm fixing to ride fences," and have starting saying "mate" a lot. So, no luck finding boolean while wandering the streets (gonna look him up in the phone book here in a bit), but I have a question - what's with the two buttons on all the toilets?

You don't need as much water to flush just urine down the toilet as you do both urine and fecal matter, you wasteful American [grin]. It's called a "half flush", although it does flush wholly.

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Original post by Avatar GodI have a question - what's with the two buttons on all the toilets?

Don't you have two toilet buttons in North America? One's a "half flush", the other's a "full". Typically the half flush is all you need. Aussies tend to be very conservative with water as we don't have an abundance of the stuff here (hence the water restrictions practically everywhere on the continent right now).

Edit: heh, us Aussies obviously also love to explain our toilets.

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Original post by Trapper Zoid Quote: Original post by Avatar GodI have a question - what's with the two buttons on all the toilets? Don't you have two toilet buttons in North America? One's a "half flush", the other's a "full". Typically the half flush is all you need. Aussies tend to be very conservative with water as we don't have an abundance of the stuff here (hence the water restrictions practically everywhere on the continent right now). Edit: heh, us Aussies obviously also love to explain our toilets.

Uhhhhh, I'm taking that as a joke seeing that your country/continent is surrounded by water.

OP: So how are you liking Australia? Have you been by the stadium that looks like it has sails on it? [/ignorant american]

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Original post by Alpha_ProgDes Uhhhhh, I'm taking that as a joke seeing that your country/continent is surrounded by water.

It's only a joke in the dark sense ("water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink"). Sure, we might be surrounded by salt water but our plumbing system is fuelled with the fresh variety. There's downsides to living in a continent that's mostly desert (which unfortunately seems to be increasing in size).

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OP: So how are you liking Australia? Have you been by the stadium that looks like it has sails on it? [/ignorant american]

Is that the Melbourne Cricket Opera House? [grin]

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Original post by Trapper Zoid Don't you have two toilet buttons in North America? One's a "half flush", the other's a "full". Typically the half flush is all you need. Aussies tend to be very conservative with water as we don't have an abundance of the stuff here (hence the water restrictions practically everywhere on the continent right now).

Actually, the way some people eat over here, it takes about 3 full flushes.

Well, I guess that explains things... I guess our Texas toilets are probably on full flush, just to be safe (yeah, I saw SuperSize Me)... For what it's worth, I can't tell the difference between the two [grin].

And no, we don't have those - we do have crazy water restrictions, though.

As far as Australia, I'm liking it. Good beer, nice people, an abundance of pretty women... (no, really, what the hell? Maybe I'm just too accustomed to my college - I think 90% of the students are male programmers). I'd just as soon not travel alone, though. It's kinda sucky some of the time.

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Original post by TrapperZoid Is that the Melbourne Cricket Opera House?

Totally going to see that :P

Also, if I'm in Canberra, can I come see you? (No promises, though. I'll be in Sydney for several weeks, but I don't know if I'll get a chance to see the... ACT, is it? ACR?).

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Original post by ChaosGhost 6. The Werribee Open Range Zoo - http://www.zoo.org.au/vorz/

Heh. I still remember the time we went to a place like that in the States - a giraffe licked my aunt, and a zebra sneezed inside the car... it was great! [grin] Oh, and we had to offroad it for a good ways because the buffalo had fallen asleep in a line across the road.

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Original post by Avatar God Also, if I'm in Canberra, can I come see you? (No promises, though. I'll be in Sydney for several weeks, but I don't know if I'll get a chance to see the... ACT, is it? ACR?).

It's the ACT (Australian Capital Territory). I think it's a bit like the District of Columbia, except I don't know much about how that works over in the U.S.

If you're here, sure, although in real life I'm a shy, stuttering bookwormish type who is probably not the best person to show you the sights of Canberra (I've been here about three years and I still don't know my way around). And while I like living here, Canberra really isn't that great for tourists. Other than Parliament House and the National Museums, Galleries and Libraries there isn't that much here.