Shopping list

All Strines will know, but probably few others, the dollar is above parity. The long term average exchange rate between the Aussie and the greenback has been around 0.7 - that is, one Australian dollar would buy around 70 US cents.  At the moment, AU$1 will get you around US$1.03.  While this is absolutely shit for our exporters, it is truly brilliant for people like me travelling to the States.

One of the things I'm planning to buy is a bluetooth keyboard - probably the Apple one.  Here they cost AU$99.  Which would be about right if the dollar was at 0.7, as the US price is US$69.  But given the Aussie is worth a wee bit more than that, it's complete bollocks.  Someone is making a killing on exchange rates.

This will make it practical to type on my iPad, or even my iPhone. (And will cement my position as Apple's bitch). And will hopefully make it all the more likely that I'll actually type stuff.

While flash cards have dropped in price significantly in the past year or two, they still cost around 50% more here. So I'll get a nice big fat fast SD card too.

There are a few other doodads I'm going to get while I'm there that aren't available or aren't worth shipping over here.  Like these pretty and practical sporks by Light My Fire.

Brilliant to have in your handbag and/or car, for meals on the run.

Also recommended by one bag are these little tweezers, which can fit on your keyring.

(Googling for images shows that both of these are available locally, at not ghastly prices, for example at Fusion Gear, although I couldn't find the shipping costs.)

I also need to get another pair of black mary jane crocs (told you I wasn't particularly fashion conscious), as I've nearly worn through mine. The Australian Crocs website charges twice as much as the US one, so I'll get those over there too.

Which is why I'll probably have to check my luggage on the way back.