pOkE the pLaNeT

This weekend we will be heading out on our first official sightseeing adventure since we’ve arrived in Kyiv. Although there are a plethora of churches, war memorials and other such historical sites we’ve decided to experience a place of more recent historical significance, which I believe can only be found on earth here in the Ukraine, and that is Chernobyl. Where in April of 1986 this incidents effect on the plant was that of thirty to forty times more fallout released than had been by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now that’s some serious historical man-made shit happening and in my lifetime, funny how I barely remember hearing about it. I guess I must’ve have been busy that day and didn’t catch the news or maybe it wasn’t hyped so much because it happened so far away from the U.S. and terrorism, to the degree it is now, wasn’t a possibility of the cause. Anywhoo, here’s the wiki link to brush up on it if you so choose http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_accident.
You might be wondering what type of precautions we will be required to take while wondering the site, we were notified that you are now required, by the governmental body responsible for the area, to wear shoes or sneakers (no sandals), long pants or skirt (no shorts) and possibly gloves, all which we have to provide ourselves. A few things I know about radiation is of course from the movies where people wear big condom like suits and respirators to protect themselves or they just cough up blood and die when exposed unprotected to it. Also, you only know it’s there if the ticking gets faster on the thingy-ma-giggy because you can’t smell it or see it but you can feel heat if it’s really bad. I’m comfortable in the fact I know just what I want to know about it and after all “they” say it’s safe and it can’t be any worse then the “safe nerve gas emissions” I lived down wind of in Salt Lake.
BTW, I found out today that I could possibly be starting work as soon as this Monday. If that indeed becomes a reality it will be the fastest I have ever gotten employment during our gigs overseas, not to mention the best paying job I’ve ever had. Basically I’ll be supervising mail and doing some computer stuff. More later…
Still love the city, so quite, clean and relatively pain free for day to day life needs. To us it’s a more European for Eastern Europe then Moscow and just plain heaven compared to Hanoi. All is good. We are shooting for this fall to make a visit back to the states.
Peace out.

I did some motorbike training a few years ago but stopped for some reason. The high price of gas in Australia has me looking at motorbikes again (we pay 30% more here than Americans) but the license laws recently changed and whoever wrote them should go back to his rubiks cube and leave us alone.

In Queensland now, a rider has to do their license in three stages. First they have a learners license, which means no alcohol content, nothing above 250cc, a big yellow 'L' plate on the bike or on your back and you must be escorted by another rider at all times, preferably armed with a mop and bucket. After a year of utter humiliation and ribald comments from passing motorists, you move to a provisional license, where you can ditch the escort and replace the yellow L with a red P plate. Youre still restricted to 250cc... honestly, my beer glass is bigger than that.

After yet another year you do another course and finally get an open license where you can ride a full sized bike. So, it takes at least two years and three courses, each costing about $600.00, to get a full motorbike license in Queensland. And this in a state where you used to be able to buy semi automatic rifles at K Mart and Woolworths not that long ago with just a drivers license.

Dry season in northern Australia and the kangaroos are headed for the highways to feed on the lush grass beside the roads. You really have to experience a kangaroo bouncing into the side of your car to appreciate the local fauna, but it can be worse... further west you might hit a bull, and even further west you might hit a feral camel. When camels hop Im taking the bus. Kangaroos are pretty dumb from my experince but the tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea are quite intelligent. I've had one steal a wristwatch of my arm, so consider yourself warned.

News today in Australia is that the U.S Defense Department asked the Australian government for permission to test sarin gas on Australian troops in Far North Queensland back during the Vietnam War. The Australian government ignored the request but now its public knowledge its causing some grief. Cant imagine why. We have already had accusations of a nuclear test north of Cairns during the war (it was actually a fuel air bomb or a 'Daisy Cutter') and stories of Agent Orange being tested here too before it was used in Vietnam. Im surprised the real estate values are what they are.

K