AaronS

We have some backwoods hillbillies there! I'm not going to try and deny that.

My brothers ex-wife hadn't traveled outside of Texas until she was an adult...and that was only to Colorado by car.

It's more than that. Trust me on this, the tradies in the US will not adapt as well as the ones from the UK do here. A tradie in the US will be used to buying a six pack of beer for $4 and having a Wal-Mart (massive, low price store...think the size of the biggest Bunnings you've scene...and make it bigger) on every corner. That and having a massive house with a payment of $400per or less. Hell, I'm not even a tradie and it was tough on me and I knew what I was getting into.

That was a shocker for us as well.....few and far between rentals with ducted air.

thank you, thank you, thank you!

I can see a problem with this. "Tradies" from the US are going to be average Joes so to speak. Absolutely not familiar with the lack of inexpensive housing and Wal-Mart here. It would be better to do this with the UK where the culture is very similar and there won't be such a culture and sticker shock. I'd say this is a bad move for Australia....and I'm a US citizen.

Here you go: When you going? - This month if everything works out right.....just waiting on a formal job offer Where you returning to? - Austin, TX How long you been in Australia? - 6 months as of this month

Orange juice and vodka....not to be confused by it's close cousin the Salty Dog....grapefruit juice and vodka.

Wish we could have that beer as well. I understand where you are coming from. Guess my point was that to have that gun on them legally they would have to have a concealed license. So, again in theory, to be able to defend themselves legally per those laws they would have to a concealed license. Yes, that's in a perfect scenario for owning a gun where everyone is properly trained and only law abiding cititzens have them...but I realize that's not the world we live in. I agree with your point about getting a gun......too many loopholes in the system so pretty much anyone can get one. Honestly there is no clear cut answer. There is only the current situation there that everyone has to live with. For better or worse I believe that the amount of guns and attitude toward them in the US pretty much eliminates any possibility of the government being able to ban them. I know for a fact that normal folks where I come from over there have weapons and ammo "pickled" (vacuum sealed and slightly oiled) buried in their backyards....just in case. It really is part of the culture of the US...again, for better or worse. Especially in Texas. I will say that Austin is not typical Texas though and we are really like the rest of the state.

I don't really get jet lagged. I'm a late night person and typically run on an average of 5 hours sleep a day anyway so either it doesn't bother me or I'm just tired all the time and don't realize it.

Anybody do this so you can access content in other regions of the world that is blocked here? There is a movie streaming site (that is paid and legal) in the US that I love but it's not available in Australia. Any suggestions on how to do this?

There's another race....I think it's associated with the Tough Mudder people...that lasts several days. I'll try to find the details but it has mental aspects of the race as well. Like at the bottom of a hill they tell you the first 10 US presidents...then you have to carry a log to the top of the hill to a person waiting and then repeat the presidents in order...if you get them wrong it's back down the hill for another list of some sort and then back up with the log.

Missed this yesterday. Defense is not always against another person. For example, my father-in-law horticulturalist specializing in native Texas plants. We went with him to a larger ranch in South Texas while he worked with the mountain laurels in the area. We were staying in an old hunting cabin. Everyone there was carrying a side arm...and thankfully so. We ran into a Western Diamondback rattle snake on the cabin porch. Couple of shots later and it was no longer a threat. Additionally, the wild javelinas out there are a genuine threat to your safety. Having a fire arm is a protective measure because those things will rip a leg off with their tusks. As far as conceal carry, well, I'm not against it although I personally do not have a license nor do I plan to ever have one. To get the license you have to go through a fair amount of training and pass a back ground check so it's not like they are being handed out on the street corner. In theory the people that have them are trained, law abiding citizens. I realize too people looking in from the outside probably feel like it's the old west in the US, but honestly I've never felt any kind of fear nor been threatened by anyone with a concealed carry license. Basically it gets down to the person. If a person wants to go through the legal steps and training to carry a concealed weapon then I'd venture to say that they are already the type of person that respects authority and their motives are not to go out and shoot someone. So, I guess what I'm saying here is while I choose not to carry a concealed weapon, I have no problem with those that do legally due to the training, education and limitations on who is allowed to have a license.

Gotta protect us from ourselves.

Actually, there's not if they are used to stab.....just perception in the minds of people.

Correct...they are tools. Just like I carry a mechanics set in my car...and a flashlight in my back pack.

Probably :biggrin: I needed to cut a plastic tie wrap yesterday and could have used my trusty pocket knife.....but NOOOOOO, I'm not allowed to carry one. It's waiting for me at my dad's house back in Texas. Patiently sitting there until it can get back in my pocket.

I did this about a year ago when I was 40....you aren't too old! Go for it!

Reading over this and I agree with Blobby1000. You'll be struggling here unless your OH gets a job fast!

Total side note....the two guys just behind me are the two friends I miss the most.

Guess it depends on what they are using them for and what your own views are. Criminals will have weapons regardless of laws. I carried a pocket knife everyday back in the US. They have many more uses than stabbing people you know. :wink:

I can understand and respect that. Completely different perspective though.

Had to go find it, this is a pic of me jumping over the fire section of the Warrior Dash.....no, my legs aren't that white, it was the long johns I was wearing (nov and cold enough)

Oh, and I did see a guy with a compound fracture to his right fore arm on the course at the Warrior Dash...it was UGLY!

I did the Warrior Dash back in the US...it was 5km. Was a blast and very similar! The Tough Mudder is a bit harder. Wanted to do it as well but it was in Feb (winter there) and that's the coldest month. Not a fan of cold weather to begin with so getting wet and muddy in cold weather was out.