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My Archives: November 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
It's not a cookie it's a biscuit.
Vegimite is um....interesting.
Road signs in Tassie are interesting.
"Slippery when Frosty"
"100 kph, it's a limit not a challenge"
You don't pass here, you overtake.
And you better stay in the left unless you are overtaking.
The sign with the number surrounded by the red circle that is the speed limit.
They have cameras everywhere, you may view them as a means of contributing to the local economy.
You don't dial 911 you dial 000
Tow services operate 24/7 and take just as long to get to you.If you don't like the "All Blacks" you are not a bigot you are a futbol fan. The "All Blacks" is the name of New Zealand's team. Please do not confuse futbol which is soccer with Australlian Futbol which is more like American Football minus the padding. And none of which is rugby.
We drove out to Huon National Forest and went to the Tahune Airwalk. It is a gorgeous drive that is similar to driving through the north Georgia around Ellijay or Blue Ridge.
I didn't take a lot of pictures on the drive because I was more concerned about staying on the road. They don't have interstates and each car coming at you seems like an inevitable head on collision. I tend to over compensate slightly and drive with the passenger wheels on the side of the road. This makes my wife nervous. However I am much more comfortable dealing with oncoming traffic. She will adjust.My wife keeps reminding herself that the wind is refreshing and envigourating. Instead of mentioning the antartic winds are cold and colder.
Did I mention it's Spring going to Summer here.
Did I mention I live in a swamp.More Pictures:
http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=116
Posted by understudy @ 12:36 PM EST [Link]
Friday, November 16, 2007
Some notes on Tassie.
The hotel room doesn't use the plastic card some many US hotels use now. They still use keys. However it is a really wierd shaped key. It looks like a U.
The oven temp is in centigrade. I mentioned that so I don't burn the kangaroo or lamb.
I got my rental hot wheels car. No problems driving on the left. The problem is I keep turning on the window wipers instead of the turn signal.
They don't make U turns at intersections. That is what the round abouts are for.
Since the water in Hobart comes off Mt. Wellington the water is very cold. They don't use ice in their drinks. They really don't need to.
My wife is now keeping a small bottle of ketchup in her purse. Here ketchup is Tomato Sauce.
Tomato Paste is what goes on Pasta.Salemanca Market is awesome. This right now is also the middle of the political season for .au . There are all sorts of interesting political views in .au . Voting is complusary. You don't vote you get a fine. Now technically all you have to do is sign in at the polling station you don't actually have to vote. You can even mark your ballot in caryon to make sure your vote doesn't count. Elected officials must vote with their party. If they don't they are kicked out.
All this you can learn in the market while having one of 600 varieties of sausage or brawtwerst.I have learned if you want the good spicey food go to the indian resturants. The curries are amazing. The younger generations prefer the spicey foods however many of the resturants still cater to an older crowd which eat like the older British do. The older British do not eat spiced foods.
I got to meet a friend, Nick. I have been chatting with Nick on the IRC for almost 7 years. Nick was the person who helped my first switch to FreeBSD and away from windoze. It was a great time to meet Nick and his girlfriend Laura.
I ran into a few beekeepers in Salemanca Market. Not one had less than 200 hives. Great people across the board. Most of the hives are way the hell out there. There honies are very thick. They have some amazing tastes. They also crystalize very quickly. I slipped in a few plugs for beemaster.com.
Last night Janel and I went to something called Fashion Fantasia. A fashion show of wearable art. A great show. The outfits were all custom and avante garde.
http://www.fashionfantasia.com.au/index.cfm
They won't let you take photos so I don't have any from the event.More photos for you to enjoy.
http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=115
Sincerely,
BrendhanPosted by understudy @ 08:46 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, November 15, 2007
We took the Mt. Wellington Bike Descent Tour. It was incredible.
Make some notes if you actually drive your car up there be aware of the following. It gets extremely windy. Hold onto your door when you open it or the wind may blow it right off the hinges. Also there is a major radio tower up there. It messes with the electronics on the cars. You car may not start.When did a kayak of the bay which was ok but I would pass on next time.
Note to self:
The shopping carts here have all four wheels capable of turning it makes it a bit wierd at first that your shopping cart can go sideways.http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=114
Sincerely,
BrendhanPosted by understudy @ 07:39 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Note to self.
Pick up International Drivers Permit before traveling to .auSincerely,
BrendhanPosted by understudy @ 03:15 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Pizza does not come with Tomato sauce in Tassie.
Bacon is a food group.
There are no pennies. Anything below five dollars comes in coin format. You can end up with a very heavy pocket this way.
We did a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate factory. However they are so paranoid you can't take pictures. We did a small boat tour of Hobart Bay. The food was nice.
Battery Park is magnificent. You wouldn't want to live there 25 years ago. Now you can't afford to.
http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=113
Sincerely,
BrendhanPosted by understudy @ 08:38 AM EST [Link]
Monday, November 12, 2007
http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=112
Well another fabulous day in Tassie.
Janel and I went over to Franklin park and played a little chess in the park. I won but barely. When the hell did she learn to play chess with any decency?After that we took a long walk up to the Cascade Brewery. In the US this would be a small but not a micro brewery. The brewery in incredible. They make beer and very good beer at that. They also make an assortment of fruit beverages and sodas. The place produces almost no waste in it's manufacturing process. And best of all you get to sample their wonderful beers when it is over.
Some notes on Tassie. They have bees, the honeybees are normal, the bumblebees fully grown are mutant size. You don't yield you give way. American Soda (Coke, Pepsi, etc) is expensive. However it contains no HFCS. Yes, it does taste different. Almost no artifical colors or at least a minimum of them. So things will look a little different.
Don't tip it's rude. Food is expensive enough without that anyway. You need reservations for almost everything. Food is sweet never spicy. If someone gave these people had cayene pepper they would explode.
If you rent a car, their version of a large car is a four door mid size in the US.
Remember gas is by the liter. Don't get excited when you see gas for $1.30.The place has no lizards or squirrels. Skinks they have but not the little lizards we are use to.
In resturants you may have a water station. The thing that look like an open wine bottle with no label is water. You go and get it and some glasses. You don't get ice. They don't do ice. It's cold enough without it.
They have payphones, which is great because my cell phone doesn't work here. They have 8 digit phone numbers. The phone numbers look like this 5555 0000. If you are makin a toll free call it's 1 300 not 1 800.
It's cold here even in summer if you are from south Florida. If you are from any place else the weather seems great.
The birds are beautiful (lorikeets), but they are also loud and awake before sunrise. Cuteness wears off real quick at 4:30 in the morning. The Magpies are huge and carry away small children.
They don't care that you are from the US(which is wonderful). They wonder why the hell you would want to come to Hobart. :)
Sincerely,
BrendhanPosted by understudy @ 11:26 PM EST [Link]
Alive in Tassie!
Eating Kangaroo. Which is damn tasty.
The day we arrived.
http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=110
The next day heading over to the Royal Botanical Garden
http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=111This is a gorgeous area
Posted by understudy @ 03:23 AM EST [Link]
