The sticker on my laptop

So I was in a Sydney bar blogging (Manly was the area, for any curious locals) and I noticed some American college basketball on TV. It turned out to be Texas Tech, the college I was located close to whilst living in the Lone Star State. Not many people had heard of Lubbock, but college sports help put it on the map thanks to the Red Raiders. I could see their 60k+ seater stadium from my apartment balcony, impressive for a college team and not possible for a UK college team.

 

Whilst I was clearing out my apartment in England back in August to move out to Australia, I found a sticker that I bought in Texas all that time ago. I put it on my laptop hoping that it would help me build a collection of stickers from various regions of the world. I like the look of Casey Neistat’s laptop for this reason. It gives it a bit of personality.

Live update: Some guy just walked up to me and asked if I was from the States because of my laptop sticker. Right as I was typing this section, he was from Cali and I had to explain I lived in TX although I am actually British. I feel I have to apologise for misleading people that ask this, they are hoping for a chat with someone from home and realise this isn’t going to be the case as soon as I open my mouth. Odd timing, however since I have started going into public places for WiFi it has drawn quite a lot of attention. A bit like if I was taking a cute puppy everywhere, you know its just a matter of time before someone is going to walk up and introduce themselves. I like conversation, so it’s fine.

But yes, I feel it gives my laptop a little more life. It’s with me almost all the time now, so I like my laptop to reflect me a little. I’m overdue an Australia sticker though, I haven’t got around to buying one.

So yes, this short post is dedicated to Tech and Texas. And Shiner Bock, and brisket, and pool parties, and turning up late everyday to work due to those pool parties, and the constant worry of being fired for being late and inevitably sent back to the UK as I was on a strict sponsored visa, and the difficulty being understood because of my think northern accent…. 

I am reminded of a lot when I see that great flag.

But now I need a sticker for my current travels. What should I get? A koala? A kangaroo? The Australian flag? What do you still carry around that reminds you of a previous trip? 

I bet many of you have some cool reminders of past adventures, in many cool and creative forms.
 

Community spirit

Sports bring communities together. There aren’t many sounds in the world that can compare to the roar of a stadium as their idolised team walks onto the pitch. This isn’t to say sports will always bring two differing communities together, often the opposite. Soon, I’m heading out to find a bar that will hopefully show the Australia vs England game in the Rugby League World Cup. The below pictures were taken just before the NRL Grand Final between Melbourne Storm and the North Queensland Cowboys earlier this month in Sydney. I enjoy this kind of buzz.

I am unsure if I have posted the picture below of a distant plane advertising the above Grand Final, but when I browse through my photos I cannot help but imagine how incredibly freaky and life changing it would be for a historical figure to witness this in their time period. To look up and see a technology not just unseen but incomprehensible, a person that was in my very spot a thousand years ago looking toward the oceans horizon and having no idea that one day an aircraft would soar faster than a bird. What a WTF moment this would be and what a life changing experience. I do wish we had a time machine to carry out such an experiment, however flying over an isolated and uncontacted tribe cannot be too different. How would it change the course of history? Would it lead to a religion? I do wish to have a similar experience however as I cannot comprehend a technology that is incomprehensible I have no idea what effect it would have on me, and it doesn’t take much to freak me out.

 

See you next Tuesday

Is it just me, or is having a company name like ‘UNT’ on the wall a disaster waiting to happen?

No wonder they placed it out of reach.

Graffiti artists are like sand though. They get everywhere and anywhere. The example below from Reddit made my palms sweat.

The featured image was taken in Dallas, and after a quick Google found that it stands for University of North Texas. I don’t know much about this college (I used to live very close to the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock however) and remember driving through Austin and being blown away by the stadium for the Longhorns. I couldn’t believe college football was so popular.

That is one difference between living in the UK and the USA. We have the Premier League, one of the biggest leagues in the world and as England is so compact in comparison, you are never too far from a top flight team. My nearest is a ten minute drive however as they were only promoted last season and have lost the first two games of this current season, how long they will stay in this league is anyone’s guess. The USA is huge, Texas alone could swallow the whole of the UK up. With that in mind cities with large populations are vast distances from the NFL, NHL and the like. Universities give these cities a fantastic sporting identity.

Watching Texas Tech in Lbk, TX. Raider Power!

I am not sure if this is the case with all large nations (Brazil, Canada, Russia, India, I am calling you out!), and I will find if that is the case in Australia in a couple of weeks time.

Happy Tuesday!