Google (Earth) Yourself

by Erik Olsen on

How many times have you used Google Earth and gotten as close as you possibly can to your neighborhood to see if you can see yourself. Come on, you know you’ve done it. Yes the chances that you would have showed up in the picture are ten gazillion to one, but you check it anyway, if just to see whether there’s a familiar car on the street or whatever.

Well, the newest iteration of Google Earth is being put together now, with planes (rather than satellites) flying over places to get the better resolution shots that will be assembled for the zoomed in view. And in Sydney, Australia, folks who know this is happening are running outside to advertise themselves, their homes and their companies. You have to admit, it would be very tempting to get out there if you knew the planes were coming over YOUR city. I would.

God bless human ingenuity.

Word for the Travel Wise (01/07/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Neil’s recent post on Screwy Aussie Slang brought it to my attention that I haven’t plucked a word from the bush in a while. If you’re off to do Australia on a shoe-string budget plug this Aussie Bush word into your vocab as it may come in handy.

Today’s word is a Bush word used in Australia:

humpy – bush dwelling using cheap materials

Hiroyuki Yokose does a great job outlining Aboriginal words used in Australian English like our vocab words from the past. For additional words you may wish to check out his findings. The Bangerang Cultural Centre is one of the first Aboriginal museums in the country and has a list of words online from this particular tribe. Wiki lists a large number of tribes and languages found in Australia which if you already haven’t set your mind on one in particular you can try picking one off their list. Try Lonely Planet’s Outback Australia guide for additional offline reading and trip planning.

Past Aboriginal/Australian words: cooee, yabber, bush telly, duffing, backblocks

Watching (and helping) Turtles Hatch

by Erik Olsen on

The Cape York turtle rescue project seeks to help turtles survive the nasty human encroachment on their million year old traditional turf. And turtle helping has become a cottage tourist industry in Australia. In this piece at the Age, Australia’s fine daily newspaper, writer john Coomber talks about going down to the beach to help along these cute little palm-sized amphibians.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of December 31

by Adrienne Wilson on

With so many interesting stories coming out and into the New Year it made selecting this week’s five a bit difficult, yet I think I’ve gathered a well-rounded batch for you to review.

5. Think Before You Click:
Here is the sad tale of a German tourist who accidentally booked a ticket and flew into Sidney, Montana when he actually wanted to go to Sydney, Australia. The lucky fellow was able to make it to his intended destination with the help of family and friends, but talk about a costly mistake! Ouch.

4. Ask The Pilot:
Looking for the answer to all your flying questions? Why not “Ask the Pilot” or pick up the book to see if your question happens to make the selection of commonly pondered questions.

3. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum:
When a former president is no longer with us it is a big deal to say the least and many feel the need to pay some sort of tribute. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is just one place to start or perhaps you can think and thank him on your way from the ATM as he was the dude that made it legal to pull money from a machine. Not as grand as a trip to the museum, but its just a thought.

2. Paddling Baja Dispatch: Day 2:
After another great trip, Erik returns to share with us the details of paddling Baja. In this dispatch he talks about his guide Carlos, jagged coastlines, incredible rock formations, Mexican food, and rum and of course he does the favor of including some very cool photos from the affair. There is more to come, but in the meanwhile catch up on this if you already haven’t.

1. Chinese Shish Kabobs:
Death-wish or delicious? I don’t know about the food found in the pictures from Neil’s pal Pete, but I do know they make my skin crawl to the point where these Chinese shish kabob would be staying far from the taste-buds and only close enough for photo ops. Do proceed with caution.

Screwy Aussie Slang

by Neil Woodburn on

Although George Bernard Shaw once said that “England and America are two countries separated by a common language,” it is the Australians who have truly butchered the English language into a cacophony of indecipherable slang.

An Australian friend, for example, once called me a septic. This was because I was American and therefore a Yankee. Yank is short for Yankee and Yank rhymes with tank–as in septic tank. Get it?

Every society and culture develops their own set of slang and the Australians are quite rich with theirs. Throw in that heavy Down Under accent and it’s often very difficult to understand what the Hell a typical Aussie (above) is actually saying any time one opens their yapper.

Although there are numerous Aussie Slang Dictionaries out there, I was still amused with a recent Reuters article which covers some of the more common slang one might hear while traveling through Australia. Like my septic example above, the article also contains the etymology of some of the more colorful expressions, such as the very humorous, chunder.

I advise you give it a read if you are planning on heading Down Under any time soon.