I know everyone hates the USA etc (and often with good reason) but having just got back from what is my sixth or seventh trip there, I feel obliged to point out that there are a few awesome things about the place. It's not all religious redneck a****** presidents invading other countries for oil.

1: Television

First of all, its a given that almost all good television (and movies) comes from the US. They have making things on a screen down to a fine art form. Sure, there's a lot of s*** - a LOT of it - but amongst it there's a lot of good stuff as well.

Of course, to deliver this fine art to the user they've had to come up with an awesome delivery system. Comcast cable appears to be the big one in SF at least, and I'm continually impressed by how awesome it is (note: I haven't used Foxtel for years, or Foxtel IQ, so maybe its this good over here now but I don't think so).

I actually made a youtube (my first) showing off comcast cable because I think its really cool:

2: Sugary things

If there's anything Americans do better than make television shows, its make things with sugar in them. The variety of candy and junk food is phenomenal. They have the best cookies, the best ice cream, the best donuts - its crazy (strangely I don't dig on their chocolate that much but it could be because I was raised on Cadbury).

3: Food portions

After eating a few meals at your average eatery, its no wonder the Fat American is such a stereotype. Meals are both f***ing huge and cheap. Your average burger at some random diner will usually kick the s*** out of the best burgers you've ever had in Australia; it will taste awesome, be huge, come with your body weight in fries, and probably unlimited refills on your soft drink.

4: Everything on the Internet exists IRL

You know how annoying it is to find something cool online and get to the checkout part and find out its only available for people in the US? Well, that doesn't happen when you're in the US. You can buy stuff online - anything you want - without having to worry about whether they ship to Australia or how many hundred dollars it will cost you to ship.

5: When the dollar is good, everything is cheap

Last time I was there the Aussie dollar was like at 55c. Now its at 93 or something stupid and man, things are cheap and plentiful. I bought a 1.5L bottle of tequila on sale for like US$30. Electronics, etc, are all generally cheaper.

6: It's just purty

It's not all concrete jungles (except for LA which is a s***HOLE DON'T EVER GO THERE); there's some really fantastic scenery around the bay area, particularly down where I tend to hang out (south of the city along the coast):

http://trog.qgl.org/wp-content/uploads/img_2114.JPG

photo looks like Wynnum

Sure thing. Been to the US a number of times with my folks as a youngin and myself as a big kid and for the most part I love it.

1. The people are generally open and friendly. This goes for most western countries but Americans take it to the extreme. Sure there are idiots but particularly on the West Coast and in the North East they're educated and open-minded.

2. Beautiful national parks. If you haven't ever been to Yosemite or Yellowstone or visited the Grand Canyon your life is not complete. America created the idea of setting aside parks for preservation and they've got some great ones.

3. Food. I drove accross America once and we essentially ate hamburgers and home-made pie every day. God it was good. Carls Jnr is probably the best chain hamburger you can get.

Get over the somewhat retarded foreign policy and frequent stupidity of their politicians and it's a great country. I'd still prefer to live in Vancouver though.

My gf is american and she is awesome.

So instead of saying America is good, you could just limit that down to San Fran Cisco?

On the topic of sugary things, don't the US use 'high fructose corn syrup' in everything and not cane sugar like we do? I bought some imported cherry coke and the sweetness wasn't as longer lasting as aussie coke.

Trog, how did you get Eric Bana to narrate your video?

haha I'd say there's redeeming features for most of America, though to be fair I don't remember much of the Southern bits that I've seen. The prairie states (south and west of Chicago) are probably a bit quiet for my likeing.

Overall though it's a big enough country that there's something for everyone. San Francisco is nice I guess but it's certainly not my favourite city in America. That is easily New York.

don't the US use 'high fructose corn syrup' in everything and not cane sugar like we do? I bought some imported cherry coke and the sweetness wasn't as longer lasting as aussie coke.

Yeah their corn industry is huge, they find ways to slip that s*** into everything, especially by using corn syrup instead of cane. Though apparently the Coke made in Atlanta still uses the old cane sugar?

I have not been there myself but I have heard nothing but good things. The media has a lot to blame for peoples attitudes, monkey see monkey do and all that.

Are you sure that we don't use HFCS instead of sugar here?

Buying a can of coke now.

entourage rocks

And Trog... What is comcast delivered over? HFC?

PS: I've just gotten Foxtel, and its pretty impressive... No PVR (unless you get IQ which is like $20 per month) but the program guide is just as good, and plenty of channels.

How much does comcast cost?

Also, what are you doing in the US.... do you like live there now or something.

yer, i was gonna say, that foxtel more than holds its own against american cable

especially if you use IQ as well;

cant wait for HD foxtel

Nope sugar, don't know why I thought that. A lot of people near the Mexican border import Mexican made coke for this very reason.

As for Atlanta coke I know that some factories make "kosher" coke for limited times of the year (passover maybe?) and they're identifiable with a yellow lid. Kosher coke is made with sugar.

not just the food. everything is bigger - like 100 times bigger.

And Trog... What is comcast delivered over? HFC?

No idea

How much does comcast cost?

I think my relatives package is like US$100/mo, which is expensive cuz they have a few of the premium channels like HBO.

Also, what are you doing in the US.... do you like live there now or something.

Was in SF for GDC.

Also it should be noted - Comcast are advertising their new high-speed cable internet service - 16mbit.

did you drive around much at all trog? i've never been to the usa myself but my oldman raves about thier road quality & always has a whinge about our crappy potholed goat tracks when he gets back :P

foxtel does not hold it's own against american cable at all...

they repeat seasons of shows ad infinitum without buying new ones, then once they've done that for a few years they just swap the shows between channels and do it all over again.

foxtel has maybe 100-200 channels most of which are s***, our family friends in a small college town had over 1000 or some crazy s***, shows are always up to date, there are always sick movies on (old and new) and there's just generally always something worth watching no matter what you like. you definately can't say that about foxtel cause after a couple of years you've seen most of their shows ><

edit: spellinglol

\/ yeah that's true technically its the same, cept tivo s***s all over iq. i dunno maybe we watch different s*** but i swear the only channels on foxtel worth watching anymore are the doco ones and sometimes fox sports. most of the other stuff had been horribly repeated or is just crap =(

last edited by taggs at 19:48:00 27/Feb/08

maybe in content, i was talking about technical comparison matey

that said, i have no issues with content foxtel gives me (with a bit of a top up from channel bt)

is whitecastle really that good?

did you drive around much at all trog?

f*** yeh, its the only way to get around basically :) Although that said, I caught the train into the city every day for GDC.

i've never been to the usa myself but my oldman raves about thier road quality & always has a whinge about our crappy potholed goat tracks when he gets back :P

I did a couple trips up and down the 280, one of the big roads from out of SF going south, and it was great - the only reason I even remember it was because one of the dudes I was staying with was talking about how the 280 was such a better ride for him in the morning than the 101.

Overall the highway system is comprehensive fast and pretty good quality even on stretches between tiny little towns in the middle of f***ing nowhere the roads are great.

I'd venture that on some of our busier stretches of roads we do as well if not better but overall the Americans have a better system. It did cost them something like 280billion dollars (today dollars) to do it though.

yankland r0x, esp texas.

the great highways must be why they still get away with manufacturing brand new cars with live axles...

photo looks like Wynnum

But I cant see any lebs in that photo?!

yeah, thats one thing i don't like about my falc. live axles are s***.

I'm moving over to SF for work in a couple of months. Can't wait!

nice work dranged; do you know where you'll be living?

I was thinking in Haight-Asbury, I need to get to the mission and occasionally down south towards Mountain View. It looks near to BART and Google Street view makes it look half decent

The best thing about America is their totalitarian style of fundamentalist Christian government.

actually I'm really not sure. Somewhere populated where the aussie accent can flourish ;)

american roads are so awesome in some states that you have to pay toll to foreign owned companies on roads that have already been paid for and owned by the tax payer

points 2 and 3 are not good thigns, they are s*** things and just give more reason to why america is s***, point 5 goes for anywhere in the world. and point 6... australia has plenty of pretty things most of which i rank higher in attractiveness then anything ive seen from america.

ill agree with you on point 1 though, however i dont feel like im losing out on anything thanks to bt-tv.

As for the sweetener convo going on, almost anything in Australia with sugar in it uses cane sugar. I think in the US though they do use a lot of HFCS, and from what I've heard palm sugar is also big there. I love american confectionary. Peanut butter cups, Reece's pieces, turtles, Jr Mints, f***ing love it.

trog, you forgot to mention Tivo the best thing since cable tv! its like google of the cable world!

and f*** you for eating at La cornetta you bastard! I want good mexican food again! :'(

Be careful of the Smug Cloud when you hit up San Fransisco.

Reports have it that the smug cloud from george clooneys acceptance speech is also looking to team up with the san fransico smug cloud.

If your heading be sure to pack non fat lattes and pack metro style clothes.

Then you will fit right in.

cool. my younger brother did a trip around the US last november and had a blast, im looking to head over to New York for New Years Eve and early January :)

trog, you forgot to mention Tivo the best thing since cable tv! its like google of the cable world!

I thought the comcast DVR thing was basically equivalent to Tivo - I dunno how it could be much better! I haven't seen Tivo though.

and f*** you for eating at La cornetta you bastard! I want good mexican food again! :'(

oh man, that burrito was f***ing awesome. Dan was talking it up and I was like, whatever, how good can it be. Of course I forgot that California is like 40% mexican and thus, their food is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawesome. I shall miss it.

did you drive around much at all trog? i've never been to the usa myself but my oldman raves about thier road quality & always has a whinge about our crappy potholed goat tracks when he gets back

My old man does the same, but always follows it up with the "Now the Italians ... they really know how to make roads"

live axles rock in 4wd's
how old is your falcon mr hardware, or is it just the rear axle

Just on your point about the 16mbit internet... Thats because their DOCSIS2.0 is used partially for Cable Internet, and partially for TV.

Heard of FiOS?

2, 3 & 4 are meh. I don't eat crap food so...

1 & 5 I agree that's cool but 5 is like well you can go to SE asia and pretty much do the same sort of thing.

6 well that's subjective really.

Also it should be noted - Comcast are advertising their new high-speed cable internet service - 16mbit.

That's great but we now have 30mbit/1mbit on BP Cable. Iz nice.

yeah i spent 2 weeks in california at the beginning of Feb.

We flew into San Fran, spent a few days there, then drove up to Lake Tahoe and boarded for the rest of the time.

It was my first time to the states and i was completely blown away, everything is just awesome. The people are great, the food is great, the lifestyle is great, and the slopes were unreal. I've been a few times in Europe to various differen't places and they just don't compare.

I could very easily live in San Fran, there's a town just on the other side of the golden gate bridge, called Saucilito, pretty much opposite the bay to San Fran city central, definately the place to be.

The toilets freaked me out when I was in Aneheim. The water sits almost to the top of the bowl...too much curry and bam, splashdamage.

Oh and Tony Roma's ftw.

Isn't SanFran full of Hippies, Dung Punchers and Rug Biters?

lol Haight Ashbury!!! Charlie Mansons old recruiting ground :P


I am actually flying to the US this Friday and going to be there for 3 months. I just spent the last 6 months busting my ass at work since I got back from there putting my cash together for this trip.

I'll be heading to Little Rock Arkansas (redneck center of the universe). I love the place and fully intend to move there for good at some point. Although that being said I will be doing so totaly legaly when I do.

Some of my favourite things in the USA.

favourite places to eat.
IHOP
Chillis
Red Lobster

Favourite drink
Cherry coke (from Sonic)

Favourite shop
Best Buy (nothing to over the top but I love the place)

Favourite Food
Any kind of Steak (cheap, good cuts and usualy HUGE. From Chillis)

Favourite Side dish
Loaded mashed potatoes (best mash spud in the world and again from Chillis)

There are a lot of other foods that really do deserve a mention such as some of the mexican stuff. Truth be told though there is so much of it I swear a few lines of text wouldn't do it justice. For me what tops off any trip there though is my g/f and her family. The locals are really really nice and although I might be something of a novelty to many of them in Arkansas they really do go out of their way to make my stay enjoyable.

I really do love the place and the people and I am hanging out to get on that plane of Friday.


(Edit) One place I am looking forward to eating at when I get back is called On the Border (no prizes for guessing it's mexican). I didn't manage to get there last time but I certainly won't miss it this time.

last edited by Taipan at 02:01:55 28/Feb/08

Isn't SanFran full of Hippies, Dung Punchers and Rug Biters?

It is slaps, it is. And Prius drivers.

All in all, I have to say that 'the grass is greener' in many of those points Troggie listed originally.

Sure, the food is plentiful...but the tastiness factor is either lost, or manufactured. I'd sooner pay for a smaller meal with no soft drink refills, with more flavour. (and know instantly how much the meal will cost me - tax inc. pricing FTMFW!) US junk foods (ie. KFC, Burger King, Subway) are all inferior to Australian counterparts. In and Out Burger is really the only fast food I'd ever consider eating (once in a blue moon). That and Red Robin (burger restaurant chain).

High fructose corn syrup/sugar in absolutely everything goes a long way toward why I've gained 2-3kgs in the time living here, with tooth cavities I never had to deal with before.

Strong aussie dollar is nice...if you are a consumer living in Australia. It's not so nice if you regularly visit home (or, you came to work here to make lots of money and piss off home one day).

I won't deny that there's some mighty pretty things to look at here, and certainly, nice people (and some glamour girls). But I just got back from a week down at the Gold Coast - things are relative.

Regarding TV - yep, it would be hard to give this up. No downloading needed for most shows (but then, I have to pray that Aussie shows are even ripped, let alone torrented...and that the one or two sites that host them aren't destroyed due to Underbelly hysteria).

Comcast is s*** though, as most people will tell you. They are the sole cable-based provider here, while the rest all use satellite. Being the sole cable provider, they can do pretty much whatever they want as far as their business practices goes. They certainly aren't competitive, and when you're in a situation where you can only have cable...not much fun. Still the cable DVRs and FTA Tivo here are very useful and although I've not used Foxtel's IQ yet, the other regular DVRs sold in Australia have MILES to go to get even close to the functionality and responsiveness.

dRanged - Mountain View is nice - just up the road from where I live (Santa Clara)

last edited by Creepy at 02:14:56 28/Feb/08

fark me, when that vid started i honestly though it was me talking. I dont think thats how i sound when i speak, but it sounds identical to how I sound when im recorded and played back.

ahh well, no ones perfect

got to admit does look good from the comparison of our tv to theres, picture looks awesome +1

I'll be heading to Little Rock Arkansas

I'd really like to head out to the heartland - The place and the people, their hospitality, just resonates with me. Seeing flights are dirt cheap internally I'll be doing this sooner rather than later.

dRanged - Mountain View is nice - just up the road from where I live (Santa Clara)

Awesome. Well I'll have a month to figure out where the hell I'm staying first! So maybe I give you a ping eh ? :)

mmm, mexican burrito's on tap..

picture looks awesome +1

Standard Definition PAL > NTSC

Wash your mouth out with soap.

Awesome. Well I'll have a month to figure out where the hell I'm staying first! So maybe I give you a ping eh ? :)

Sure thing.

Studying in Madison in the moment and I've been nothing but impressed with the small city. I try not to eat junkfood (and there's a lot of it) but I'm still putting on weight. Portions are definitely a lot bigger. Uni is infinitely more work, bloody homework due every week. The womenz go nuts for the accent, especially here where there are almost no aussies ;) Overall I could definitely see myself working here once I'm done studying/working in Europe for a few years.

white castle :(

i think i prefer europe though

Buy up ppls, Ossie Dorrah has hit a high of $0.94US today.

Is it just me or are the Causcasian Yank and Canadian womenz more good looking in general?

Although, they do spend s*** loads on plastic surgery, tanning salons and teeth capping.

last edited by sLaps_Forehead at 12:44:47 28/Feb/08

Yeah that's what a lifetime of cooler weather will do for ya

Although I reckon our ladies are definitely more breasty than elsewhere..especially Vegas and up the coast.. I guess that's the price of fame we pay huh

Again, it's all relative. There's plenty of porkers here too.

1.5L bottle of tequila on sale for like US$30

10€ in andorra for 1.5l bottles.

would definetly love to travel to a nice place in america and relax for awhile but atm ive got anxiety :[

would definetly love to travel to a nice place in america and relax for awhile but atm ive got a home loan :[

I'm flying over for a 2 month road trip in April.

Bris->LA then to vegas, then back to SF, north to WA, then to Vancouver, across Canada for a bit, then down to Yellowstone, Rushmore, Little Big Horn, Chicago, Ohio, Niagra, Toronto, Montreal, Vermont, New York, then staying with family in Washington DC for a couple of weeks, then back to LA across the mid west (hopefully seeing a tornado on the way), with a side trip to the grand canyon and death valley.

Should be interesting, since I've been there twice already and never ventured out of the DC area.

sounds like an awesome trip - I am really keen to go to a heap of other places in the states that I haven't been to yet (only ever really done SF/LA+ some other parts of Cali, and New York).

Next thing I Really want to do is go see a shuttle launch!

never seen a tornado would be interesting but freaky as hell