Later today I hop in an airplane to fly to the antipodes, or at least to Australia. (The actual antipodes would be in the middle of an ocean.) Looking forward to it, as this will mean I’ve visited every non-Antarctic continent at least once.
But the reason I’m blogging about it is because I’ll be giving some public talks, and it would be great if any local CV readers dropped by to say hi. I’ll be hitting three different cities:
With all these public talks in a row, you would almost think I’m touring in support of some sort of book. That was part of the original idea, but now the book won’t be officially released until January 7. So instead I’ll just be talking in support of … Science! And trying to stay clear of dangerous creatures.
p.s. Wow, I almost did an incredibly boneheaded thing by showing up at the airport without a visa. Why in the world do you need a visa to go from the USA to Australia? I thought it was like a southern version of Canada. Fortunately, when you check in online you get “reminded” that a visa is required; even more fortunately, there is an online instant-visa service that seems to work. This is why I’m a theoretical physicist and not put in charge of anything important.
November 13th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
You need a visa because America insists that us aussies need a visa to visit. I’ve travelled extensively in Asia and the only other country I needed a visa for was the Peoples Republic of China.
I’m sorry I can’t make it to your lecture at Sydney University as I’ve got a meeting at the same time. I hope that you enjoy Australia and whatever you do don’t drink Fosters beer. Get yourself a good beer like James Squires or Coopers.
November 13th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Hi there. I’ve just started reading this blog and I really enjoy it and wanted to say so. Have a safe trip.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
The dangerous animals list didn’t mention Dropbears. Better watch for those!
November 13th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Excellent, I’ll be at the Melbourne lecture.
The dangerous animals page also doesn’t mention platypii, which are also in fact poisonous.
Oh yeah, and the dropbears too, as Elizabeth pointed out…
November 13th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Look out for the drop bears.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Oi! I’m in Canberra! Bloody drongos…
November 13th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Anythink like the wild haggis?
November 13th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I’d love to come, but unfortunately stuck between Sydney and Melbourne. too bad you’re not including Canberra on the tour. Good luck with the tour, hope you get a decent turn-out.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Actually I am amazed that you dont need a visa for may other countries, what presently I would support. Its not that nice to apply for a US visa, on top of the 160+ dollars that go with it.
Well, I sound bitter and have a reason to it since I just couldnt go to Fermilab on a short notice. But then again, its not your fault, or of american scientists.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
We actually tried to get something set up in Canberra — timing just didn’t work out.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I’ll be there at the Adelaide lecture, hope to see you there!
November 13th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Australia controls its borders very carefully. They’ve required a visa from just about everywhere for years. They actually have a computer system and try to track you and make sure you leave when you said you would. This actually came in handy when my father died and they wanted to track me down, but that was before cell phones.
Australia also has an amazing number of toxic sea creatures. They even did a postal series. I bought the third sample set of twelve as a souvenir, and I don’t think that was the last in the series.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Coincidentally, I’ll be starting a month-long visit to the University of Melbourne (from Cambridge) on the very day of your talk there — but a few hours later. Unfortunate timing! I’ll probably see you at some conference or other, in any case. Have a safe journey!
November 13th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I’ll try to be at your talk, Sean, at Sydney on Monday night.
November 13th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Drop bears. Gotta love wikipedia!
See you in Melbourne.
November 13th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Shall definitely be attending the Sydney lecture. After all it’s the night before my physics exam!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Enjoy your trip. Bring some good books for the flight. The US consulate in Perth said I needed a visa to stop over from Oz in Hawaii on my way home to Canada. US passport Control asked why I had a visa to visit the US in my Canadian passport. Paper pushers rule.
Fosters is yuch, Coopers is real good. On previous visits I’ve been told I enjoyed Tooheys, VB, Swan, XXXX, but that may be just a bad rumour started by some hung-over friends.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
When I bought my airplane tickets to Australia I had to get a visa first. It took about 60 seconds. I’m contributing a talk in Perth at the FFP10 conference in late November.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Hey – I just got to Melbourne – see you in a few days!
November 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Spare a thought for all those without US/EU/etc passports, for which forgetting to get a visa doesn’t just mean “oops I need to got to another website quickly”. It’s not a joke, this system your countries have implemented, and of course nobody who gets to vote ever gets to see what it looks like from inside.
November 14th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Sean,
I hope you have a chance to visit a bit of Australia. It’s an incredible country to visit: lots of interesting things to see, and a very helpful tourist industry.
November 14th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I seem to remember Robert Geroch not being able to go to Australia once because he didn’t have a visa, and coming into conflict with the U of C travel office as a result.
November 14th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Wow, when I went to the US in 2002 I didn’t need a visa. How times have changed. I live all the way over in Perth (when I’m not working on a gold mine in the middle of nowhere) so I won’t be able to attend any of the talks. Boooo.
There aren’t that many dangerous animals in the cities. And I work in the desert and I only see snakes once or twice a year, if that.
November 14th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Make sure you get out away from those cities for at least one night so that you can see the Magellanic Clouds and southern stars.
November 14th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
I leave for the UK later this week and so can’t make the Sydney talk – although several of my students will be there. Apparently it will be in the low 30s tomorrow, so try and make it to the beach.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Low 30s – tempting beach weather!
Perhaps you’ve forgotten that we backwards Americans still use Fahrenheit
Being scientists might make us familiar with meters and kilograms, but of course Kelvin is the temperature scale (which makes low 30s sound even less tempting).
Of course, since Sean is a theorist perhaps he measures temperature in eV, in which case low 30s would vaporize him and ionize the atoms.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Hi Sean,
I’ll be coming to your talk at Sydney University, looking forward to it.
Cheers, Paul.
November 15th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I’d be interested to hear about the response to your talk from people with a real grasp of the technical issues. In the US, working on something like the arrow of time is considered something for girly-men. In the UK, where [happy land!] Feynmanitis has never been endemic, it’s quite acceptable. Let’s hope that the Australians follow the latter example.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Hello, I’m taking the liberty of responding to a post about your views on cosmology (copied from my comment on 3QD)
My explanation for why distant type 1A supernovae appear to be moving faster than they should be: maybe, instead of one Big Bang there were a series of Big Bangs. If the type 1A supernovae were the ejecta from a more powerful Big Bang than the one we came from, or from a Big Bang that originated from a nucleus that was itself an ejectum from an earlier Big Bang, you’d expect them to be travelling faster relative to us.
Anyone?
November 16th, 2009 at 1:57 am
I was in Melbourne in 1995 for a conference on gravitational lenses. Near the university,
there are MANY restaurants, almost all good, almost all cheap, and a huge variety of food.
Also, keep in mind that it is considered IMPOLITE in Australia to tip, especially at restaurants.
Can you find out why the beer is called Two Dogs?
November 16th, 2009 at 5:16 am
Hi Sean,
Talk was great and it was nice meeting you.
November 16th, 2009 at 8:24 am
My wife did something even worse than going to the airport w/o a visa. In 1996, she got on an airplane in Chicago on Saturday, for a talk in Australia scheduled for Monday or Tuesday. She had to change planes in LA, and when she tried to check in, in LA on Saturday night, she learned she needed a visa. Because the airline would have had to fly her home for free if she was not allowed in the country, they wouldn’t let her check in or board.. She called home kind of frantic. Fortunately, her host in Oz was well connected with the Foreign Ministry, and after some back and forth, he found someone in the ministry on Sunday who called Qantas and assured them that she would have a visa when she landed. She got on the flight Sunday night and gave the talk, I think a day late; but it was a bit exciting, and she had to spend the night with a friend in LA while this was sorted out.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Whoo! Welcome to the Land of Oz!
Will be at the Melbourne lecture, see you there!
November 19th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Yep,
You need a Visa because USA slapped one on us, we even need to get the VISA before we leave to USA now. So I’m happy that USA people need to get a VISA since it’s payback for what USA did to Australian travellers
))