The Australian Open

Hooray! The Aussie Open is just about here. For the enthusiastic sports arbitrager (yours truly) that means an excellent chance to build up my savings again. So, I made a deal with Doc. If he hangs around with me here in Australia until the AO (starts on the 18th), I’ll go with him to India.

Outback Australia

Take a look at the satellite image below. Notice the very few green spots. Now, imagine driving from Melbourne (lower green spot) all the way north to Darwin (upper green spot). The outback is almost all the stuff between. The color on the satellite picture is pretty much the color of the landscape. Yellow, brownish red. Dusty, dry, sometimes too hot to breathe.

Scotsmen in Melbourne

Johnny and Mack, my Scottish traveling companions, have introduced me to exactly how much a Scotsman can drink. It’s a lot. We’re hanging out in Melbourne while they wait word on whether or not they are going to go back to the oil derrick or move on to other employment.

Driving to Melbourne

Well, I hooked up with two fellows from the hostel. We are all riding in my rental from Sydney, along the coast to Melbourne. Johnny and Mack are on vacation from an oil platform off Western Australia. Extended vacation. While they were out on leave, the platform sprang a leak (and then caught on fire lately). The thing has been pumping oil into the Timor sea for almost four months now.