5:08PM EST Wednesday / 7:10AM Sydney Time Thursday - Twenty-four hours later, I am in Sydney. The first three people I have spoken to—a woman standing in line at the currency exchange, the girl working the exchange counter, and my taxi driver—have all been supreme twats. It's like I'm back home in New York.

I managed to persuade a power plug in LAX to give me a little of that sweet electron nectar, exactly what my PSP needed to update its firmware. Until my PSP ran out of juice, I had a thoroughly enjoyable time playing Daxter (even though I hate jumping puzzles). For a game as generic in both gameplay and conceit, they sure do know how to spit shine what they've got.

The sun isn't even fully up here in Australia and all I can think of is how good a beer would be right about now. (Yes, that's a slight deviation from my normal 'beer-thirty'-heavy internal clock.) Considering I have no idea how to contact my Microsoft handlers—my GSM phone that should have the right frequencies still hasn't found a carrier—I might just make my first day in this country a saucy one. Now if I can only find a way to charge it to my room...

My cab driver, Dedi, says he doesn't have time to play videogames, because he works twelve hour days; The taxi company rents him a car for $120 AU per shift. Instead he plays badminton two times a week. I'd suggest he look into Crazy Taxi, but then I'd feel compelled to have him take me to a KFC just to make the game experience seem more valid.

Hey, I wonder if I can figure out a way to charge KFC to my room...

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