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Published: February 21st 2010
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Fire dancers
Several dancers perform with fire on the beach. I awoke this morning still tremendously tired after last night’s big night out. I haven’t run in about a week and I wouldn’t do so again today. Instead I decided to lay low while it rained outside and finish setting up my new computer.
All my files were replaced and programs installed so the final thing to do was sync my iPod with my computer. Seemingly, it should have been simple. After all, a normal sync just requires the device to be plugged in then the time to wait while files are transferred. Unfortunately, this was no normal sync.
Apple, in its desire to either monopolize the music download industry or to bring upon me a slow and agonizing death (or likely both), restricts the ability to transfer non-iTunes songs from an iPod to a computer (though the reverse process is seamless). So I had to search all over the Internet to find instructions on how to convert my iPod into a hard drive so I could copy the appropriate files onto my computer and add them to iTunes through the backend. I quickly came upon a very helpful article that got me most of the way through the
Hula-hoop of fire
One of the performers spins the ring of fire around her midsection like a hula-hoop. process but that failed in the final steps. I spent the next four hours trying to figure out what was wrong until finally I discovered that the author omitted telling readers to uncheck the hidden and read only boxes that were checked by default on the copied folder. After doing this I was finally back in business, though still loathing Apple.
I freely admit that Microsoft and other big PC backers do the same type of thing but they don’t act all self-righteous like Apple does.
It was mid-afternoon until I finished so I grabbed a quick sandwich at Subway (like McDonald’s and KFC, they are everywhere here) and, loathing myself for supporting the
we’re everywhere Americanization of yet another great country, I headed off to the Esplanade lagoon to catch some sun. There, with a lot of cloud cover, I didn’t see much sun but I did enjoy reading more of
In a Sunburned Country.
For dinner, I opted to go small, or at least what I thought would be small. I found a kebab stand near the hostel which offered small and large kebabs. I ordered a small kebab with a mix of lamb, beef and
Ernesto
Ernesto shows off his Toohey's at Mad Cow. chicken. An enormous kebab came out and was given to me. I shockingly looked at it while I wondered just how big the large one is. This thing would have made a Chipotle burrito blush.
After my dinner, I walked back over towards the lagoon where, the sun having set, I watched a bit of a fire show on the beach. The female performers were spectacular, spinning fired hoops in the air and around their hips and necks like a hula-hoop.
Shortly thereafter I went back to the hostel where I joined Ernesto and Jeff (a newly arrived roommate who grew up in Wisconsin) for a night out on the town. We were joined by an Israeli girl Jeff knew from school retreat he had attended the past few days, Tal (I think that was her name). Jeff had several coupons for a number of the bars in town that he received from his retreat. So our night out became a little cheaper as each place we went we received a AU$5 discount.
At one of the bars I caught my first glimpse of the winter Olympics (a taping of the skeleton runs was on, featuring mostly Aussies, Brits, Canadians and one American) which are going on in Vancouver. To say that the people in Australia generally don’t care about the winter games would be a gross understatement.
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