Reflections

 Things I like about Australia:

• Essentially a cashless society.
• No tipping--waitpersons get an adequate wage.
• No Second Amendment.
• Wide availability of fish & chips.
• Aussie burgers.
• As accessible as the US.
• Definitely a younger country.

One of the things I don't like is that they don't understand duvets. A duvet should be enclosed in a cover, rather like a pillowcase. Where we have been staying, the duvet blanket is separate, with a sheet above and a sheet below, so it's going to end up tangled. It was even like this on the train, where the narrow bunks made things worse.

Also, avocados are really expensive.

One of the best parts of traveling on a train is the meals. You end up sitting with some other random couple, and they're usually fascinating people. One couple we sat with more than once (deliberately after the first time) were Lynn and Mike. Paula's been avoiding politics, but we talked quite a bit about both Australian politics and American politics. (Here, conservatives are "liberals" and liberals are "progressives.") We also learned to butter bread before putting Vegemite on it. We mostly stayed and talked for about an hour after we finished eating.

We also talked with a fellow named Jay, who deals with containers--the kind that go one per railway car, or get stacked several high on a container ship. So extended digression here, because I found it so interesting. The container ships always look top-heavy, so I asked if they tried to put the heavier ones on the bottom. They do--also in the middle of the ship, not on the sides. Also, they can go as deep as five layers below deck. The containers lock together, top to bottom, and have other bars to hold them side to side. The reefers--refrigerator containers--have to have an electrical supply (dangerous to attach), and they have to be exposed so the warm air can escape, so those go on the ends. Reefers also have time limits.

It costs money to move a container (I think Jay said $20), so optimum arrangement is important. Moving a container is completely automated, but choosing what to move where is not. Jay was taking a walk when he heard about AlphaGo beating Go masters, and he had a "Nirvana moment"--moving containers was a lot like playing Go. He developed an AI program to decide what to move where; says it gave a 30% improvement in efficiency.

On a completely different topic, we went to the Sydney Aquarium yesterday. It was mostly okay. We did get to see duogongs, lungfish, and a gloomy octopus. Also a very fat sea turtle, which I wasn't able to get a picture of.

Gloomy octopus (note: picture is right-side up)

Lungfish

UV lighting

We also saw rays from the side; I've only ever seen them from above. They have very small eyes.

It's time for another topic change.

Here are the components of an Aussie Burger: Smashed beef patty, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pineapple, beetroot, bbq onion, mayo, and bbq sauce.

The Meriton we are staying at is on Sussex and close to Druitt. We went up Druitt to Woolworths, which is uphill all the way, and the sidewalk was terrible; so much so that Paula thought about moving. But then I went out exploring and discovered that Druitt is an outlier. Every other sidewalk is better.

I'm convinced that a small majority of people walk on the left. Paula is convinced that there is no pattern at all.

In the news about a week ago: Some 28-year old American woman was arrested for attempting to smuggle a handgun--gold plated, no less!--into Sydney. She faces up to 10 years in prison. I haven't seen more about this, but I'd like to follow it.

Also in the news. Some abusive woman in the US was filmed castigating an Aussie tourist, telling him how much better we were in the US because we had guns to protect ourselves, and how she wanted him never to move here. He responded calmly and rationally to her rants, and after a bit walked away. It's the kind of thing that makes you want to say "We're not all like that! Really!"

We took naps yesterday. I think we're about to do the same today.