From: Sharon Phillips <phillipsds@...>
Date: 2007-07-29T20:09:24+09:00
Subject: Re: [Very OT] Australia or Canada, which one is the best country for a geek?!?

> Any big Australian city is going to be a lot warmer, but then there  
> are the spikes to 40�C and the high winds and the awful, horrible,  
> bugs.

Awful horrible bugs?
Not sure about that, but we do have lots of imaginative ways to get  
killed. No bears to eat you here (Like Canada?), but here's my very  
quick non-researched list of ways you (as a tourist) are likely to  
die in Australia.
Drowning at Bondi et al. There's some staggering number of people  
drown each year on Australian beaches. Most of them tourists.
Eaten by a croc. In the north, when they say don't enter the water,  
they mean it.
Eaten by a Shark. Not too common actually.
Stung by a jellyfish. We have ones that'll kill you in minutes.
You stood on a stone fish. These lie in the sand in the shallows and  
have a deadly spike in their head.
Bitten by a snake. Of the ten most deadly snakes in the world, most  
live in Australia.
Bitten by a spider. You're less likely to die, but more likely to get  
bitten. Quite common (relative to other means in this list) in metro  
areas.
Stung by an octopus. We have a cute little one with glowing blue  
rings. Deadly.
Stranded in the desert. People don't seem to appreciate the size of  
the country (but those from the US probably do. We're a lot smaller  
than you) and it's surprising the number of people who hire a 4WD and  
try to cross one of our deserts.
Lost in the Blue Mountains. Beautiful, but take care.
Falling asleep whilst driving. Surprisingly, this is a big killer.

Ways you're not likely to die:
In a terrorist attack. Look out bad guys, We have the magnets and  
we're alert, but not alarmed.
(Our Gov't too has been spinning the terror thing for all it's worth.  
You (in the US) got your constitution neutered. We got fridge magnets.)

Cheers,
Dave