Look Out! CDB is Australia Bound
Alan Levine aka CogDog barked this July 4th, 2008 8:14 am
On July 5, while most of America is recovering form whatever it is they do to themselves the day before, I’ll be strapped into a plane 15 hours to fly to Australia. Yes, despite whatever happened, whomever I coughed on, on my visit there last October they are letting me come back.
modified from creative commons licensed flickr photo by pierre pouliquin
This trip is with my NMC colleagues Larry Johnson and Rachel Smith as we go first to Melbourne to launch a new flavor of the NMC’s Horizon Project, working with a new advisory board of Australian and New Zealand educators on Horizon.au,. Out of this effort, we are producing later this year a Horizon Report specifically focused on emerging technology relevant to education in this region.
We are also going to Brisbane and Sydney, visiting in all, the 5 NMC member organizations in Australia: RMIT, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland, University of Woolongong, and University of New South Wales. There might be an intermission in all this to check out the big reef. And I’m looking forward to a beach walk and dinner meet up with a group of colleagues in Sydney, thanks to the choreographing of Angela Thomas for dinner and Sean Fitzgerald for the walk (i understand he has a blog 
They keep saying how “freezing cold” it is there, yet the temps don’t look that scary. Heck, I had almost snow in Arizona in summer yesterday.
So expect the 366 photo stream to shift from Arizona flowers and dogs to assorted who knows what I will see in Australia.
And so far, I am avoiding trying to toss out any cute Australian phrases. I’ve been told my attempts are lame I am certainly going to link to this video as an example of learning, instead relying on more trusted sources.
Okay, I am really excited about this trip! It took some restraint not to pack a month ago. We’ll be there July 5-20, and the blog and flickr light shall be lit.
And hopefully no one there will call me a drongo.
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July 4th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Eat some tim-tams for me
July 4th, 2008 at 11:22 am
and watch out for the drop bears …
July 4th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
no tim-tams, diabetic, remember? “drop bears”? hmmm
July 4th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I must not be Aussie enough since I have absolutely no idea what a “drop bear” is. Or perhaps it is something only known to Eastern Staters? Have an excellent trip and enjoy your walk.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Jeez, I’m a transplanted Yank and I know a “drop bear” is a koala after the myth they’ll drop out of the trees and attack!
Alan - hope you had a great flight. Wish you were coming to Adelaide to visit us at education.au
July 5th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Alan,
Hope to catch up at Darling Harbour on the 19th July. When will you be at the University of Wollongong? My wife and I live next door.
If I am back from Singapore by that time could possibly ’shout’ you a beer or we could go for scoff and have a couple of ’sangers’.
Cheers, John.
July 6th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
You’re not giving any talks while you’re in Melbourne? Boo. That would be fun.
hope you have a great time,
kind regards, michael
(PS Kerry it’s no myth, koalas are killers ;-]
July 7th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Bon voyage, Cogdog.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
drop bears - are fictional beasts that people on the East made up to scare tourists ..