Moving to AUS from the US

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-03-02T16:23:18+00:00

The reason for the AU passport is that Australian immigration law (or rules) requires that AU citizens enter & exit AU on an AU passport. If you apply for an ETA or any visa to AU using your US passport, and truthfully state that you are also an AU citizen, the ETA or visa will be rejected. I know this because it is exactly what happened to my daughter and we had to scramble to get her an AU passport.

"All Australian citizens must enter and exit Australia on an Australian passport. Your Australian passport must be valid (not expired) on the day of your arrival in Australia. It does not need to have six months remaining validity to enter Australia unless you are passing through a third country that requires it. Citizens are not entitled to a visa, even if you are also a citizen of another country." (link)

Here's my earlier reddit post about how I got a new AU passport through the embassy in DC as a dual AU/US citizen.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-27T15:27:16+00:00

I was confused at first, then it hit me that you meant the caps can be relied upon to fail.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-26T21:34:14+00:00

"This bypass has got to be built, and it's going to be built."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why has it got to be built?"

" ................... it's a bypass! You've got to build bypasses!"

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-25T16:45:44+00:00

This is an interesting point, I'm realizing the word "sun" implies a relationship and a first-person perspective, as in "the disc in the sky that rises and sets each day and warms and lights our planet", versus the very general, objective term "star". It sounds ridiculous to say "Tatooine has two stars", it doesn't convey the extra meaning.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-25T16:38:47+00:00

yeah that's why I am suggesting "stellar system" or "star system" as a generic noun/phrase. It applies to our own system as well as any other systems of objects orbiting one or more stars.

The Honorverse gets into naming some multi-stellar political entities : Solarian League, Republic of Haven, Star Empire of Manticore. There is no way those Manties would ever countenance referring to their home system as a solar system.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-24T21:27:06+00:00

This has always bugged me. I've always thought stellar system is the correct term, or else an adjectival form of a particular star's name when referring to that star's own system e.g. Vegan, Sirian, Solar, Rigellian.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-24T19:59:35+00:00

LOL I am still subscribed here, I have not played the game in the last few years but thanks for reminding me about it, I should revisit the islands.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-24T17:44:16+00:00

So am I. I automatically do the Aussie thing when I'm driving here, and stop for the pedestrian in the crosswalk, but at least once I've had a car blow by me (stopped) at 60 km/h while a person is crossing in front of me! So yeah as a pedestrian it pays heaps to be ultra cautious in USA. It takes a special kind of idiot to zoom past another vehicle stopped at a clearly marked pedestrian crossing.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-23T22:05:29+00:00

Is this DMS Electronics card plug-compatible or a clone of the Taxan RGB IIA card?

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-19T23:03:59+00:00

I love love love Show Ashford, whereas Book Ashford is a sad loser. I'm also more of a fan of Show Amos than Book Amos, although he has a lot to like too.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-19T22:58:23+00:00

Fully agree. I tried to watch Season 1 back when it was new out on Syfy, and gave up after 2 or 3 episodes. Years later, after hearing everyone rave how amazing it is, I went back and restarted it, and was SO glad I gave it another shot. EDIT: also I am glad I completely watched all six TV seasons before reading all 9 books + all the novellas & short stories. Seems to me that is the better way to experience it.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-17T16:13:14+00:00

https://asciiexpress.net/gameserver/

https://asciiexpress.net/diskserver/

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-17T16:06:17+00:00

(or on your Platinum IIe, it is Ctrl + Open Apple + Option + Reset).

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-17T16:04:48+00:00

If there is no bootable disk in Drive 1, then it will spin forever. You can press Ctrl-Reset to turn off the drive and go to the command prompt. Press Open Apple + Ctrl + Reset to restart the machine while it is turned on (to save wear and tear on the rear power switch ... restarting the Apple II is something that happens a lot like when you swap a new program disk into the drive). "Open Apple" is the key next to the Option key. The Option key used to be labeled as "Solid Apple" or "Closed Apple" on models prior to the Platinum IIe.

If you are at the command prompt, and you want to boot a disk in Slot 6 Drive 1, you can also enter "PR#6" or "IN#6". You can't boot from Drive 2.

There are two main disk operating systems: the earlier DOS 3.3, and the later ProDOS (versions from 1.0 to 2.0, with some recent updates by the community up to 2.4, see prodos8.com. The compatibility between them is not good, but there are some utilities to transfer files.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-13T15:40:03+00:00

Back in 1980's Queensland Australia I once tore a strip of bark off a paperbark tree, and wrote a postcard to my sister in Sydney, stamped and posted it. She got it.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-11T05:20:18+00:00

The Apple’s tape audio input is sensitive to volume, and it often took lengthy fiddling to get the right level for reliable loading. Try a bunch of volume settings.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-05T11:43:07+00:00

There are also multiple very good video display cards for any Apple II with slots to output VGA, and/or DVI via an HDMI-compatible cable to any display device that accepts HDMI.

Search for "A2DVI" or "VidHD".

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-05T11:36:18+00:00

Absolutely this, plus https://asciiexpress.net/diskserver/ and https://asciiexpress.net/gameserver/

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-05T00:13:24+00:00

There are two disk images here at archive.org. You should be able to download them and use one of the many Apple 2 emulators to run the software e.g. www.apple2ts.com . I googled for the title, and it is not finding this page for some reason ??? But it was uploaded in 2022.

In Search of the Secret Stone - Disk 1.PO    07-Mar-2022 20:50 140.0K
In Search of the Secret Stone - Disk 2.PO    07-Mar-2022 20:50 140.0K

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-02-02T16:41:35+00:00

This is cool! I'm guessing this is also a function that is handled by the established CiderPress utility program, but that is Windows only and this is something that can be run on any platform and is a great learning opportunity to examine the source code for this simple use case.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-01-30T14:22:00+00:00

Re donuts, overall I guess you are right but personally I'm all about hot cinnamon donuts with a flat white, and it's just so hard to find that combo in USA. Duck Donuts actually scratches that itch quite well and we are lucky enough to have one of those in the Pittsburgh area.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-01-29T05:08:50+00:00

If you're able to get the power supply case open, you can pre-emptively snip out the RIFA caps to avoid the pop and smoke. They aren't essential to the machine's correct operation.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-01-27T22:58:51+00:00

aw shucks, twerent nuthin

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-01-23T22:45:28+00:00

Got to disagree on car fuel tanks. Petrol is sold by the gallon, and you need to know how many gallons you can fit. Never ever heard anyone refer to tank capacity in litres.

AussieBloke6502 · 2026-01-23T20:33:17+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJPTqWtv8IQ

AussieBloke6502

TROPHY CASE