... the IT man in LibraryLand
This week past has - not unexpectedly - seen many an Xmas related activity.
As expected the final meeting of the inner cabal at the library had a tinge of the Xmas about it, with several goodbyes for the year and a meal shared by all.
As expected the councils Xmas lunch for the hard-working staff, as exemplified by yours-truly, signalled the end to the working year as it demolished any chance of productivity in the remaining hours of the afternoon before the Xmas break. Even partaking at the level of moderation one is famous for could not produce an iota of work after that sumptuous feast.
As expected Salsa Girl and I made our now customary annual trip slightly North to Xmas with the maternal side of her heritage. Some terrific Turkey was had in both firsts and seconds for the day as well as a traditional Aussie pav as a dessert.
As could reasonably be expected - given Xmas's past - our zoom back to the city to catch one's relatives in the early evening was delayed by the ferocity of a typical Melbourne Xmas storm.
Our final arrival at the famous Aunties had us almost missing the desserts and, in fact, further worry occurred as Salsa Girl insisted on us having mains before we could touch the dessert pavlova - I was concerned as it had been so long since I had had pav for dessert.
In any case the evening progressed with the tail end of the storm providing a lovely lightning show and Legion4 putting on an encore performance of his famous Very Messy Xmas of '08. During the evening one was also surprised to see that Cousin Dave, down from Sydney, had his eldest offspring toddling around everywhere - I mean she didn't even exist when last we caught up and one could hardly expect that much change in a scant few years.
As expected all those Xmas Day shenanigans were followed by the Boxing Day of Extreme Lassitude. I believe one may have ventured outside once just for the thrill of it but cannot recall.
Quite unexpectedly the next day became a day of gaming after Gavman unexpectedly demanded his birthday dues.
You see we have a tradition in one's corner of the gaming world that any gaming on a birthday involves the birthdayee choosing the game to be played.
We all believed ourselves to be safe from the proclivities of Gavman's gaming appetites as he shared his birthday with a rather well known messiah.
However Legion2, Elfboy and myself where all caught in his insidious web as he invoked yesterday's shifted Xmas holiday to put us at the mercy of his gaming desires.
As expected he chose Magic the Gathering (with variants) and it was a tortuous half-day playing one of my top ten games.
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Desk-Shift Disasters
So today I unwittingly walked into, not one, but a series of disasters of epic proportions.
It all began innocently as I kindly offered my services up to cover a desk shift in the library since I was on the premises in my regular benevolent location rotation schedule and Lord of the Small Fries was feeling a little poorly. (There is no truth to the rumour that my volunteering was only because it was a meeting that I would covering for and one was glad to be out of the vicinity of all that meetingness.)
The first disaster struck when I found out I was to be desk-buddies with none other than Supervisor Grand Chief K!!
One would presume it couldn't get any worse but then ... disaster number two struck.
Somehow one's sense of time became muddled and it was suddenly time to begin the desk shift and one had not had a skerrick of lunch yet!! Quickly crunching my way through a carrot I was soon out there saving the world from improperly borrowed library books.
It didn't take long for one to become aware of both my gnawing hunger bringing me close to the edge of starvation and disaster number three. It came to my attention that the first part of the desk-shift was not to cover the boring meeting but to allow the branch staff to go to the local eatery and partake in an Xmas feast of grand proportions.
Oh world why do you taunt me so!
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It all began innocently as I kindly offered my services up to cover a desk shift in the library since I was on the premises in my regular benevolent location rotation schedule and Lord of the Small Fries was feeling a little poorly. (There is no truth to the rumour that my volunteering was only because it was a meeting that I would covering for and one was glad to be out of the vicinity of all that meetingness.)
The first disaster struck when I found out I was to be desk-buddies with none other than Supervisor Grand Chief K!!
One would presume it couldn't get any worse but then ... disaster number two struck.
Somehow one's sense of time became muddled and it was suddenly time to begin the desk shift and one had not had a skerrick of lunch yet!! Quickly crunching my way through a carrot I was soon out there saving the world from improperly borrowed library books.
It didn't take long for one to become aware of both my gnawing hunger bringing me close to the edge of starvation and disaster number three. It came to my attention that the first part of the desk-shift was not to cover the boring meeting but to allow the branch staff to go to the local eatery and partake in an Xmas feast of grand proportions.
Oh world why do you taunt me so!
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Timetable Tribulations
Here's a Caution for you all.
When one is running late for the morning locomotive and just misses said locomotive one should make sure that one looks for the next departure time in the part of the timetable app that shows one's direction of travel.
Improper determination of the next train arrival can lead to one casually strolling to the corner shop for some of that breakfast that was missed in that rush to make the initial train; followed by a leisurely topping up of one's travel card which may well be interrupted by the arrival of the actual next train into the city.
Scampering hastily without any dignity onto said train is hardly the proper way to begin ones day.
Personally I take no responsibility for this debacle and blame the app writers for putting the Hurstbridge bound trains above the city bound ones. I mean, really, nobody goes out to Hurstbridge*.
* except people with a reason or Hurstbridgers I suppose.
Anyway, consider yourself Cautioned.
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When one is running late for the morning locomotive and just misses said locomotive one should make sure that one looks for the next departure time in the part of the timetable app that shows one's direction of travel.
Improper determination of the next train arrival can lead to one casually strolling to the corner shop for some of that breakfast that was missed in that rush to make the initial train; followed by a leisurely topping up of one's travel card which may well be interrupted by the arrival of the actual next train into the city.
Scampering hastily without any dignity onto said train is hardly the proper way to begin ones day.
Personally I take no responsibility for this debacle and blame the app writers for putting the Hurstbridge bound trains above the city bound ones. I mean, really, nobody goes out to Hurstbridge*.
* except people with a reason or Hurstbridgers I suppose.
Anyway, consider yourself Cautioned.
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Xmas Parties, Various
One has spent the past several days getting well and truly into the Xmas spirit - well the feasting side of it at least, the rest shall have to come later.
It all began on Friday with the very important end of year Xmas lunch for the user group at our suppliers headquarters. Once again the user group insisted on holding a meeting beforehand, but finally after several hours drawn-out with productivity we were treated in the manner to which we have become accustomed over the years. Many were in attendance - Supervisor Grand Chief K even put in an appearance to make sure that I received my just desserts.
After waddling home I was soon off to another evening of food and cards at the Double Jays with Salsa Girl by my side. The feasting was not too excessive there as I had an unexpected feeling of fullness part-way through the meal. Sigh, there's always next time I guess.
Saturday was the big event. The Library Xmas Party.
This years soiree was being hosted by Kiwichick (who's husband lucked out on not being able to use the get out of party card he earned by attending last years event). The catering was done by many with Days of our Libraries having many a hand in the comestibles.
The night did include a rather embarrassing tribute to the recent Facebook relationship-status change of the good Salsa Girl and oneself, replete with gifts unasked for but appreciated greatly - especially by The Tiger who commenced sleeping on our new serving dish the moment it was revealed to her.
The latest Xmas partying occurred when Salsa Girl and I made the trek to the family demesne to celebrate Freeloading Mum's birthday. There was a dash of Xmas thrown in due to known Xmas day absences. A magnificent feast was on offer, including 5 desserts (which only count as 3 as one mixed several into the same bowl).
There was rather a lot of post feast tiredness to be dealt with on return home before getting the evening meal squared away.
In unrelated news, one's past month of increased exercise regime appears to be having no effect at all.
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It all began on Friday with the very important end of year Xmas lunch for the user group at our suppliers headquarters. Once again the user group insisted on holding a meeting beforehand, but finally after several hours drawn-out with productivity we were treated in the manner to which we have become accustomed over the years. Many were in attendance - Supervisor Grand Chief K even put in an appearance to make sure that I received my just desserts.
After waddling home I was soon off to another evening of food and cards at the Double Jays with Salsa Girl by my side. The feasting was not too excessive there as I had an unexpected feeling of fullness part-way through the meal. Sigh, there's always next time I guess.
Saturday was the big event. The Library Xmas Party.
This years soiree was being hosted by Kiwichick (who's husband lucked out on not being able to use the get out of party card he earned by attending last years event). The catering was done by many with Days of our Libraries having many a hand in the comestibles.
The night did include a rather embarrassing tribute to the recent Facebook relationship-status change of the good Salsa Girl and oneself, replete with gifts unasked for but appreciated greatly - especially by The Tiger who commenced sleeping on our new serving dish the moment it was revealed to her.
The latest Xmas partying occurred when Salsa Girl and I made the trek to the family demesne to celebrate Freeloading Mum's birthday. There was a dash of Xmas thrown in due to known Xmas day absences. A magnificent feast was on offer, including 5 desserts (which only count as 3 as one mixed several into the same bowl).
There was rather a lot of post feast tiredness to be dealt with on return home before getting the evening meal squared away.
In unrelated news, one's past month of increased exercise regime appears to be having no effect at all.
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The Tragedy of Pizza-free Poker
Sigh, bX-1fv8xl, sure is playing havoc with my regular posting schedule. Although some may say that it is merely acting as the enabler of my laziness... I can't be bothered responding to that acusation, it would take too much effort.
Anyway, here's one I've been preparing for a week or so:
This Saturday last (now Saturday, Saturday last) myself and Legion2 made the great trek out to MrRogers new-ish abode for a poker night that had been in the scheduling for nigh on half a year.
Upon arrival we traversed our way via secret stairway to the basement location of the festivities to find BestFriendSincePrep and StumpyRudolph already in attendance. As it was a completely reasonable hour of the evening, and a tradition of poker nights, one suggested that we order pizza to satisfy ones lurking hunger. You can imagine how taken-aback I was to be told "nah, we already ate before coming over".
As the evening progressed and further participants arrived,(The Electric Tiger & The Wiggs) they joined in the chorus and also took up the new refrain of "just eat the chips and chocolate". Which is all well and good if they'd just leave said chips to me but seems a tad hypocritical as they continued to take great handfuls of one's rapidly disappearing sustenance.
In the end I made it through the evening none the worse for wear and may have discovered a new diet sensation - although Salsa Girl seems to be disagreeing with one about that insight.
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Anyway, here's one I've been preparing for a week or so:
This Saturday last (now Saturday, Saturday last) myself and Legion2 made the great trek out to MrRogers new-ish abode for a poker night that had been in the scheduling for nigh on half a year.
Upon arrival we traversed our way via secret stairway to the basement location of the festivities to find BestFriendSincePrep and StumpyRudolph already in attendance. As it was a completely reasonable hour of the evening, and a tradition of poker nights, one suggested that we order pizza to satisfy ones lurking hunger. You can imagine how taken-aback I was to be told "nah, we already ate before coming over".
As the evening progressed and further participants arrived,(The Electric Tiger & The Wiggs) they joined in the chorus and also took up the new refrain of "just eat the chips and chocolate". Which is all well and good if they'd just leave said chips to me but seems a tad hypocritical as they continued to take great handfuls of one's rapidly disappearing sustenance.
In the end I made it through the evening none the worse for wear and may have discovered a new diet sensation - although Salsa Girl seems to be disagreeing with one about that insight.
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Five Minute Meetings
So, on ones return to work this week one was required to attend an important hour of one-on-one training in some new web based software.
Having attended a group information session I knew that said web based software allowed us to:
Understandably as a web coding geek of some pedigree I was looking forward to some in depth training on said web based software and, dare I dream, even some under the hood secrets.
Arriving for the meeting I discovered that the caller of the meeting was off looking for me at my non-existent desk in The Castle (I work in a completely different building (and state of mind)). Upon my instructor's return we sat, instead, at their desk and commenced the training session.
"So with the new web based software you can":
I did ask a few inane questions just to stretch it out to five minutes before heading back to my work, shaking my head at the waste of everyone's time.
Still on the bright side, one did feel that one was well and truly back at work...
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Having attended a group information session I knew that said web based software allowed us to:
- log in to the site automatically
- see an edit button if we were allowed to edit the page
- fill in the text box and click OK to make changes
Understandably as a web coding geek of some pedigree I was looking forward to some in depth training on said web based software and, dare I dream, even some under the hood secrets.
Arriving for the meeting I discovered that the caller of the meeting was off looking for me at my non-existent desk in The Castle (I work in a completely different building (and state of mind)). Upon my instructor's return we sat, instead, at their desk and commenced the training session.
"So with the new web based software you can":
- "log in to the site automatically"
- "see an edit button if we were allowed to edit the page"
- "fill in the text box and click OK to make changes"
I did ask a few inane questions just to stretch it out to five minutes before heading back to my work, shaking my head at the waste of everyone's time.
Still on the bright side, one did feel that one was well and truly back at work...
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Holiday Haze
So it transpires that when one is on holidays for weeks at a time things such as, say updating one's blog, actually become harder to make happen.
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The very astute of you may have noticed that The Tales has been rather quiet for the month of October and much of this month as well. So quiet in fact as to have been non-existent. Well, as of this post, one is rectifying that oversight.
Such a lot has happened that one's usual highly-enjoyable ramblings could well go on for many a page and exhaust even the staunchest fan's endurance. Therefore I shall recount the happenings in bullet point style in order to regain somewhat of a regular posting style.
One has been through:
- the horror of a Grand Final loss endured with The Great Sandro fretting that a lead of 40 points could be lost in the final 2 minutes of the game while Legion2 and I tried to accept our tragic loss. This understandably took away one's will to blog for many days afterwards.
- the horror of putting myself through yet another of the The Viking Hat GM's fiendish D&D days. Albeit made easier by being held at Exploding Ninja Pony's new awesome Man-Cave (or Geek-Grotto if you are one of those pedants who prefers accuracy).This understandably took away one's will to blog for many days afterwards.
- the horror of realising that accepting Salsa Girl's Facebook declaration of our engaging situation announced it both far and wide and that "Facebook Friends" do indeed see what you display there. This one nearly confirmed one's Facebook shyness.
- the horror of another training day with free morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea . . . wait that one wasn't so bad. Understandably one was too bloated on returning home to conduct any blogging.
- the horror of having to set up one's new computer after the old faithful failed to respond at all. Of course this one made it rather difficult to get blogging done.
- the horror of realising that holding our sixth annual Absent Friends card day meant that we've been without an old friend for more than half a decade...
- the horror of yet another interstate conference junket with the threat of too many LibraryLand cocktails looming over one's head. Even Gamer Phil from an adjacent library service running gamer games in the evening couldn't help one from having many a drink thrust into one's hands (and yes, I do have to drink them). Still I managed to come through okay - at least from what I remember...
- the horror of another of our card tournaments where my cards refused to shuffle up in any sort of normal distribution pattern.
- the horror of a planning training morning timed to end before lunch so we can all head back to work! This one had me distraught for days and unable to commit any blogging activity.
- the horror of going to Geelong for another conference and, well, being in Geelong. The hotel gave me a room overlooking the stadium of the team that had so recently defeated one's Magpies and the trauma returned blotting out any thoughts of blogging.
- the horror of an afternoon under The Bastard's control in yet another irregular game. Maybe I shouldn't accept all these offers...
- the horror of ... ahem, the bliss of a week away down the coast with Salsa Girl. Time spent reading. playing Rummy, walking along beaches and cliffs. One did make an attempt to blog in the peace and quiet but that bX-1fv8xl error did in my mobile posting ambitions.
- the horror of a feline neglected for a week that decides the attention it is due shall be collected at 4am. Sleep deprivation makes one decidedly low in motivation to think up another of one's brilliant blog postings and high in motivation for disciplining The Tiger.
- the horror of BestFriendSincePrep abandoning one to make an international move of a few years and support his wife's career. Really, where was my opportunity to have a say in this decision?
- the twin horrors of a day of Gaming at the State Library (organised by Gamer Phil) followed by a regular Sunday's gaming. So many games to choose from, such little time...
- the horror of realising one has only a week remaining of one's holiday before having to dive into that mound of email and meeting invites.
- the horror of facing up to the construction of a huge update to the sadly neglected Tales. This one, especially, made it hard to get any blogging done.
Phew.
Regular service shall resume shortly.
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bX-1fv8xl
I was going to give a huge and exhilarating update of what has happened in my October of silence but blogger keeps giving me the extremely helpful eponymous error message above.
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Swine Fever by Andrew Cartmel
This book is the last of the books that Fantomas gave me for my birthday last year.
I have finally gotten around to reading it and one can only conclude that Fantomas bears some huge grudge against me - despite his claims that he is not responsible for what is purchased with his voucher, as what else could he have expected me to get?
Now, allow me to don my Nerd-Rage hat as I review this one star title for you all.
The plot summary is that Judge Dredd solves a case involving the illegal selling of pork made form intelligent mutant pigs in Mega-City. Except he doesn't really, as he is hardly in the story at all, the main character of the novel being a young Psi-Judge. That part is not so bad as Dredd is really just a framing device for the crazy happenings of Mega-City One and I can understand it being hard to centre the story around him.
However it didn't take long for the warning bells to go off in one's head as most of the incidental details of the story completely avoid any attempt at following the 30 odd years of Dredd continuity.
Here's a rundown of some of them:
When one discussed several of these points with Badger a week or so ago he informed me that the author, Mr Cartmel, had overseen the last three seasons of the original run of Dr Who before it was cancelled. Not having watched those series I can only guess that the good doctors continuity was also completely ignored in favour of whatever Mr Cartmel wanted to do.
Thankfully my next read shall be a recommendation from ElfBoy.
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I have finally gotten around to reading it and one can only conclude that Fantomas bears some huge grudge against me - despite his claims that he is not responsible for what is purchased with his voucher, as what else could he have expected me to get?
Now, allow me to don my Nerd-Rage hat as I review this one star title for you all.
The plot summary is that Judge Dredd solves a case involving the illegal selling of pork made form intelligent mutant pigs in Mega-City. Except he doesn't really, as he is hardly in the story at all, the main character of the novel being a young Psi-Judge. That part is not so bad as Dredd is really just a framing device for the crazy happenings of Mega-City One and I can understand it being hard to centre the story around him.
However it didn't take long for the warning bells to go off in one's head as most of the incidental details of the story completely avoid any attempt at following the 30 odd years of Dredd continuity.
Here's a rundown of some of them:
- cadet Judges having their own apartment instead of senior judges only
- said apartment being stocked with illegal alcohol taken from a crime scene - and no fear shown by the cadet judge when Dredd comes to visit
- all but two of the Judges we meet are incompetent buffoons despite their 15 years of training, most are physically unfit being overweight or sickly
- an unending stream of flatulence jokes about one of the Judges - said flatulence being caused by all the fast food he eats
- said fast food being purchased from vending machines in Justice Department, using money that the Judges have - in the comic the Judges are not paid and eat for free at justice Department.
- "net rounds" for the lawgiver when standard cling nets would have sufficed for the story (double whammy is now my second most hated ammo type), other new rounds other than the standard 6 also appeared at various points
- pork being legalised when many other harmful substances are banned for the peoples own good - even synthi versions are sometimes banned for still being harmful
- a complete absence of the Justice Department surveillance system
- ending with a Justice department picnic
When one discussed several of these points with Badger a week or so ago he informed me that the author, Mr Cartmel, had overseen the last three seasons of the original run of Dr Who before it was cancelled. Not having watched those series I can only guess that the good doctors continuity was also completely ignored in favour of whatever Mr Cartmel wanted to do.
Thankfully my next read shall be a recommendation from ElfBoy.
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An Unexpected Party
This weekend past was supposed to be a grand celebration of the significant birthday of Salsa Girl. However our eponymous heroine had the misfortune to become quite ill in the afternoon before her fabulous '20s murder mystery party was to commence.
With family arriving from interstate we cancelled the main event and ended up with an impromptu family event at our humble abode - the small group partaking of cheese, crackers, wine and pizza while the the birthday girl soldiered on through her suffering.
The next day there was further misfortune as Salsa Girl recovered enough for is to be able to attend her birthday treat matinee of the girly musical Love Never Dies at the Regent Thee-ator. One may have enjoyed the production with it's stage wizardry but one would never endanger one's rugged and manly reputation by admitting so.
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With family arriving from interstate we cancelled the main event and ended up with an impromptu family event at our humble abode - the small group partaking of cheese, crackers, wine and pizza while the the birthday girl soldiered on through her suffering.
The next day there was further misfortune as Salsa Girl recovered enough for is to be able to attend her birthday treat matinee of the girly musical Love Never Dies at the Regent Thee-ator. One may have enjoyed the production with it's stage wizardry but one would never endanger one's rugged and manly reputation by admitting so.
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The Face of Battle by John Keegan
This recommended read came to me via The Maple Maverick who enthused at length about it before stuffing it into one's hands.
It is a non-fiction account of three historic battles, Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme, which - once one gets past the lengthy "what is military history" introduction - delves into the psychology of the participants in a quite interesting way. Rather eye-opening if one has taken movies and more strategic focused military histories to be an insight into the battles themselves.
I rate it at three and a half stars - worth a read if you are interested in the subject matter.
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It is a non-fiction account of three historic battles, Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme, which - once one gets past the lengthy "what is military history" introduction - delves into the psychology of the participants in a quite interesting way. Rather eye-opening if one has taken movies and more strategic focused military histories to be an insight into the battles themselves.
I rate it at three and a half stars - worth a read if you are interested in the subject matter.
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Stepping Ahead
Well the global corporate challenge finished in the middle of last week and yours truly managed to end it all in a winning position.
You see I was able to complete the challenge, in true Millenium Falcon style, by using less steps than anyone else in my team.
I am currently awaiting for my accolades to commence.
In other stepping news Saturday afternoon saw The Great Sandro and Legion2 at one's domicile for some good old-fashioned lounge room footy watching. We all had a great time watching the mighty pies go one step closer to the Grand Final.
One's Sunday was spent with the likes of Fantomas, Gavman, Pirate Dave, and DragonMim, in the clutches of The Bastard as we took the first steps in his new Pathfinder roleplaying game campaign. He appears to have lulled them all into a false sense of security by making it a fun time but I, knowing better, have my eye on him and am ready to strike at the first sign of shenanigans.
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You see I was able to complete the challenge, in true Millenium Falcon style, by using less steps than anyone else in my team.
I am currently awaiting for my accolades to commence.
In other stepping news Saturday afternoon saw The Great Sandro and Legion2 at one's domicile for some good old-fashioned lounge room footy watching. We all had a great time watching the mighty pies go one step closer to the Grand Final.
One's Sunday was spent with the likes of Fantomas, Gavman, Pirate Dave, and DragonMim, in the clutches of The Bastard as we took the first steps in his new Pathfinder roleplaying game campaign. He appears to have lulled them all into a false sense of security by making it a fun time but I, knowing better, have my eye on him and am ready to strike at the first sign of shenanigans.
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The Training Incident
So last week one was, as has become somewhat usual lately, making one's commute home by the conveyance of the public locomotive system.
As the carriages pulled in at one of the stops a couple of young people boarded - one of them conspicuously carrying a banjo. They settled into seats quite close to me and it was not long before the gentle strains of banjo plucking began to grace one's journey (in a wholly un-deliverance like manner I hasten to point out).
A few stops later a woman, several seats further away from the player than I, stood to exit and enlightened the whole carriage in the field of Australian train etiquette with the following diatribe:
Needless to say I am now fully informed and shall never be caught playing banjo on public transport, ever.
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As the carriages pulled in at one of the stops a couple of young people boarded - one of them conspicuously carrying a banjo. They settled into seats quite close to me and it was not long before the gentle strains of banjo plucking began to grace one's journey (in a wholly un-deliverance like manner I hasten to point out).
A few stops later a woman, several seats further away from the player than I, stood to exit and enlightened the whole carriage in the field of Australian train etiquette with the following diatribe:
"Hey, you shouldn't be playing that in here, this is Australia we don't allow busking on the train, our trains are a place for everyone to be quiet. You shouldn't be playing that in here"As she was stepping onto the platform she could be heard advising the embarking passengers:
"Tell that man to stop playing with his banjo. It's not right, we don't do that sort of thing in Australia ...m.m..m..m..m.m.m.m.m.m."So, as I haven't given you one in a while, here's a Caution: do not pluck a musical instrument on an Australian train lest your un-Australian attitude be exposed to all and sundry.
Needless to say I am now fully informed and shall never be caught playing banjo on public transport, ever.
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A Game of Drones
Yes, last Friday I finally finished reading George R R Martin's Game of Thrones - the first in his Song of Ice and Fire septology (or more).
Like most other readers of the book - and as predicted by the likes of ArchEnemy and Fantomas - one quite enjoyed it and would rate it a solid four star read.
I did find it unexpectedly teen focussed although that was offset somewhat by the tragedies that befell any character one took a liking too.
A series I shall definitely return to over the next year until I too am one of the mob clamoring for George to finish off writing the whole damn story.
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Like most other readers of the book - and as predicted by the likes of ArchEnemy and Fantomas - one quite enjoyed it and would rate it a solid four star read.
I did find it unexpectedly teen focussed although that was offset somewhat by the tragedies that befell any character one took a liking too.
A series I shall definitely return to over the next year until I too am one of the mob clamoring for George to finish off writing the whole damn story.
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The Feline-Trichosurine Axis of Evil
One is fully aware of the maliciousness of The Tiger and her ilk. All that talking, scratching, demanding, and bullying behaviour is obviously intentionally and cunningly committed on purpose.
Well, now it seems she has recruited several of our local Trichosurus Vulpecula into her megalomaniacal campaign to inflict some serious sleep deprivation upon Salsa Girl and I.
In true dictatorial style The Tiger sent her allies into action first. They commenced their demonic chorus directly outside the bedroom window at around the three am mark and persisted for most of the next hour.
After we had settled down again The Tiger stepped up herself, commencing plaintive meowing and bedroom door scratching at four hundred hours.
One also suspects that she may have also recruited Metro as the nearby trains commenced their noise making journeys and horn blowing a scant hour or so later - although it may just be the sleep deprivation making me think that.
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Well, now it seems she has recruited several of our local Trichosurus Vulpecula into her megalomaniacal campaign to inflict some serious sleep deprivation upon Salsa Girl and I.
In true dictatorial style The Tiger sent her allies into action first. They commenced their demonic chorus directly outside the bedroom window at around the three am mark and persisted for most of the next hour.
After we had settled down again The Tiger stepped up herself, commencing plaintive meowing and bedroom door scratching at four hundred hours.
One also suspects that she may have also recruited Metro as the nearby trains commenced their noise making journeys and horn blowing a scant hour or so later - although it may just be the sleep deprivation making me think that.
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The Tudors
This weekend past Salsa Girl and I completed our watching of the eponymous historical televisual series.
We found it to be a reasonably entertaining and educational experience.
For instance one learned much of the intricacies of the wheres and what-fors of Henry the VIII's wives various - admittedly usually after an excursion into Wikipedia to ascertain if it really did happen in the way the show was presenting it to us.
One also learned of the power that a gruesome torture scene has to send Salsa Girl scurrying from the room, ears covered and asking to be told when it was over. Yes, given Henry's propensity for wild accusation and execution, one learned that lesson many times over.
Worth tracking down and having a look at.
One's next big task is to convince Salsa Girl that she should watch the Napoleon series I have scavenged up. Given that it begins in the heady days of the revolution and Madame guillotine one may be facing quite the difficult task.
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We found it to be a reasonably entertaining and educational experience.
For instance one learned much of the intricacies of the wheres and what-fors of Henry the VIII's wives various - admittedly usually after an excursion into Wikipedia to ascertain if it really did happen in the way the show was presenting it to us.
One also learned of the power that a gruesome torture scene has to send Salsa Girl scurrying from the room, ears covered and asking to be told when it was over. Yes, given Henry's propensity for wild accusation and execution, one learned that lesson many times over.
Worth tracking down and having a look at.
One's next big task is to convince Salsa Girl that she should watch the Napoleon series I have scavenged up. Given that it begins in the heady days of the revolution and Madame guillotine one may be facing quite the difficult task.
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The Silliest of Things
No, one is not referring to FridgePower's futile attempt to win a blog flame-war with The Tales.
I refer instead to my attending of the annual day of Silly Games at my old Uni gaming club.
Of course the whole day ended up being quite the silly affair. One's brilliant plan of taking a day off ended up encouraging one to frittering away time and then be caught short when crises multiple erupted at the library.
The next silly thing was making a "brief" stop at Freeloading Mum's to provide some IT Support.
So after dinner I finally arrived at the Uni club to find the room closed up and darkened.
Luckily after a short wait several gamers returned and the day was underway again.
Unluckily the majority of gamers went off to commence a short game of Nerf Warfare which yours truly had to decline due to my well-known knee issues.
The remainder picked up their ongoing game of Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition - a pursuit that is indeed quite a silly one. With nothing else going on I proceeded to watch the final three hours of their game much of which was filled with players requesting that other players take their turns quickly so they could "end this thing and go home". The hole experience confirmed for me that the game was one I would happily never attempt to play.
In the end my vain hope of players becoming available for my own silly game disappeared as all the players of the game left immediately once it was completed at 10.40pm, and none of the nerfers showed any sign of returning for my game's scheduled 9pm start.
One decided that it was far to silly to hang around waiting for players and promptly took oneself home again.
A further event of silliness occurred over the weekend when I decided to go to the footy with The Great Sandro and narrowly escaped confrontation when he spent much of the game slyly talking out the side of his mouth at a rather loud fellow pies supporter. Luckily said supporter failed to take it personally and there was no problem at all.
The final event of silliness is, of course, one's return to work today.
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I refer instead to my attending of the annual day of Silly Games at my old Uni gaming club.
Of course the whole day ended up being quite the silly affair. One's brilliant plan of taking a day off ended up encouraging one to frittering away time and then be caught short when crises multiple erupted at the library.
The next silly thing was making a "brief" stop at Freeloading Mum's to provide some IT Support.
So after dinner I finally arrived at the Uni club to find the room closed up and darkened.
Luckily after a short wait several gamers returned and the day was underway again.
Unluckily the majority of gamers went off to commence a short game of Nerf Warfare which yours truly had to decline due to my well-known knee issues.
The remainder picked up their ongoing game of Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition - a pursuit that is indeed quite a silly one. With nothing else going on I proceeded to watch the final three hours of their game much of which was filled with players requesting that other players take their turns quickly so they could "end this thing and go home". The hole experience confirmed for me that the game was one I would happily never attempt to play.
In the end my vain hope of players becoming available for my own silly game disappeared as all the players of the game left immediately once it was completed at 10.40pm, and none of the nerfers showed any sign of returning for my game's scheduled 9pm start.
One decided that it was far to silly to hang around waiting for players and promptly took oneself home again.
A further event of silliness occurred over the weekend when I decided to go to the footy with The Great Sandro and narrowly escaped confrontation when he spent much of the game slyly talking out the side of his mouth at a rather loud fellow pies supporter. Luckily said supporter failed to take it personally and there was no problem at all.
The final event of silliness is, of course, one's return to work today.
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Leading by Example
So once again The Tales is an example of a particular type of behaviour on the Internet.
This is a caution for all you aspiring blog-authors out there:
Should you take the opportunity to additionalise the content of your communications via reference to other postings on the Internet you may find yourself the target of a cruel characterization along the lines of "so you're freeloading from other people's blogs now" (thanks a lot to the anonymous FridgePower).
I think this blog post explains my position, you just have to change the authors name to my own and it should work - in order to save time I didn't bother reading it properly.
Now that I have successfully defended my behavior I shall tell you about my leading by example in the Global Corporate Challenge. I have shamed my team by, several times in the past week, achieving steps equal to double my daily average. The walk is now in your court Team if you dare to match my statistically huge effort. Let's see you all add ~5,000 steps to your daily amount!
For more of my GCC goings on read this blog and change the author's name to mine. I think that should save me the effort of writing it all out.
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This is a caution for all you aspiring blog-authors out there:
Should you take the opportunity to additionalise the content of your communications via reference to other postings on the Internet you may find yourself the target of a cruel characterization along the lines of "so you're freeloading from other people's blogs now" (thanks a lot to the anonymous FridgePower).
I think this blog post explains my position, you just have to change the authors name to my own and it should work - in order to save time I didn't bother reading it properly.
Now that I have successfully defended my behavior I shall tell you about my leading by example in the Global Corporate Challenge. I have shamed my team by, several times in the past week, achieving steps equal to double my daily average. The walk is now in your court Team if you dare to match my statistically huge effort. Let's see you all add ~5,000 steps to your daily amount!
For more of my GCC goings on read this blog and change the author's name to mine. I think that should save me the effort of writing it all out.
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The Synchronicity of Blog Postings
So Salsa Girl and I had an event filled weekend.
Our Saturday eve was spent at BestFriendSincePrep's for a lovely dinner and some playing of Carcasonne - which I dutifully played for last position in order that my evening's company should feel good about their games playing.
One's Sunday involved a trip to Bendigo for the birthday of Salsa Girl's lovely grandma.
In a strange coincidence FridgePower and Judge Mingus made a similar trip to Ballarat on the same day.
To save me some time and effort read all about FridgePower's wonderful experience and substitute Bendigo for Ballarat and you pretty much have what happened - although Salsa Girl wouldn't let me stop for food every time I was hungry.
Sigh.
Next time I believe I'll be truckin' with FridgePower.
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Our Saturday eve was spent at BestFriendSincePrep's for a lovely dinner and some playing of Carcasonne - which I dutifully played for last position in order that my evening's company should feel good about their games playing.
One's Sunday involved a trip to Bendigo for the birthday of Salsa Girl's lovely grandma.
In a strange coincidence FridgePower and Judge Mingus made a similar trip to Ballarat on the same day.
To save me some time and effort read all about FridgePower's wonderful experience and substitute Bendigo for Ballarat and you pretty much have what happened - although Salsa Girl wouldn't let me stop for food every time I was hungry.
Sigh.
Next time I believe I'll be truckin' with FridgePower.
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Anthem by Ayn Rand, and Onwards
One knocked over this little recommendation from The Maple Maverick in only a few days. It is of an ilk to such classics as 1984 and Brave New World - and shows it.
The author presents it as her anthem to ego and living for oneself in a repressive society and it is such given the over the top repression the society has devolved into. One can see great shadows of growing up in the newly communist USSR cast over the whole book along with a healthy dose of new American Red Scare.
There is not much of new substance if one has read the aforementioned other two in this genre but it's short length, easy style, and historical interest make it a reasonable read.
Speaking of great shadows I have now commenced reading the epic Song of Ice and Fire - as heavily recommended by ArchEnemy (i.e. "read it or I'll burn your house down") and sundry others.
It is quite good so far but carries the heavy weight of expectation that has been built up over the years by the many glowing accolades it has received.
At the low reading rate one has managed to achieve this past year it's going to be fingers crossed that one can finish this first massive tome before the year's out let alone the other dozen or so volumes these fantasy epics usually run to.
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The author presents it as her anthem to ego and living for oneself in a repressive society and it is such given the over the top repression the society has devolved into. One can see great shadows of growing up in the newly communist USSR cast over the whole book along with a healthy dose of new American Red Scare.
There is not much of new substance if one has read the aforementioned other two in this genre but it's short length, easy style, and historical interest make it a reasonable read.
Speaking of great shadows I have now commenced reading the epic Song of Ice and Fire - as heavily recommended by ArchEnemy (i.e. "read it or I'll burn your house down") and sundry others.
It is quite good so far but carries the heavy weight of expectation that has been built up over the years by the many glowing accolades it has received.
At the low reading rate one has managed to achieve this past year it's going to be fingers crossed that one can finish this first massive tome before the year's out let alone the other dozen or so volumes these fantasy epics usually run to.
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The Joys of Calendar Syncing
Having to work at the corporate castle for a few days puts one in close proximity to the likes of The Jolly Giant. The consequences of this are that one is chosen to be a tester for the new mobile connection into our wonderful email and calendaring system.
It all seems to have worked well as my little calendar app has had work meetings and tasks sprung up throughout it like a virulent fungus.
Of course the horrible downside of this is that one now has lost the ability to spend time joyfully entering each work event into my mobile calendar and of course skip meetings with that most handy of excuses
It all seems to have worked well as my little calendar app has had work meetings and tasks sprung up throughout it like a virulent fungus.
Of course the horrible downside of this is that one now has lost the ability to spend time joyfully entering each work event into my mobile calendar and of course skip meetings with that most handy of excuses
"I must not have updated my mobile calendar so I didn't know the meeting was moved"..
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
I finished this piece of post-cyberpunk storytelling over the weekend.
I enjoyed the writing and the scene setting was very immersive. I call it post-cyberpunk for various reasons, among them are: the lack of mechanical high tech which comes from it's post oil crash setting rife with genetic engineering, the focus being on small players in the big corporations rather than the typical rogue loners, and of course it's coming twenty years after the cyberpunk boom.
The story moves along reasonably well and one's personal race to the climactic ending was enhanced by several locomotive-based commutes of reading.
All in all a good solid three and a half star read.
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I enjoyed the writing and the scene setting was very immersive. I call it post-cyberpunk for various reasons, among them are: the lack of mechanical high tech which comes from it's post oil crash setting rife with genetic engineering, the focus being on small players in the big corporations rather than the typical rogue loners, and of course it's coming twenty years after the cyberpunk boom.
The story moves along reasonably well and one's personal race to the climactic ending was enhanced by several locomotive-based commutes of reading.
All in all a good solid three and a half star read.
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In the Lair of the Dragon
I'm going to gloss over the silence of the last few weeks - ignoring such excuses and incidents as: increased workload of project implementation and library refurbishment, busy social life, footy game days, gaming events, cinema excursions and many other sundry events and happenings from the lost fortnight.
Instead I am going to jump straight to the recent events without any dilly-dallying.
This Thursday last I made my monthly attendance at the fortnightly game run by The Bastard. This episode was back at it's spiritual home on the DragonMim's dining room table.
The gang was all there, Gavman with his tactical nous, Fantomas with his rules stretching nous, Pirate Dave with his rules knowledge nous, The Bastard with his rules ignoring 'kill them all' nous, DragonMim with snack providing nous, and ArchEnemy with his usual day to day brand of evil.
All in all it was a rip roaring session of goblin bashing and bastardry. I only wish it didn't take one's body several days to recover from the huge amount of snacks that DragonMim forces one to consume at these events.
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Instead I am going to jump straight to the recent events without any dilly-dallying.
This Thursday last I made my monthly attendance at the fortnightly game run by The Bastard. This episode was back at it's spiritual home on the DragonMim's dining room table.
The gang was all there, Gavman with his tactical nous, Fantomas with his rules stretching nous, Pirate Dave with his rules knowledge nous, The Bastard with his rules ignoring 'kill them all' nous, DragonMim with snack providing nous, and ArchEnemy with his usual day to day brand of evil.
All in all it was a rip roaring session of goblin bashing and bastardry. I only wish it didn't take one's body several days to recover from the huge amount of snacks that DragonMim forces one to consume at these events.
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Days of Double Cake
So, I've spent the greater part of a week at our "ends of the Earth" branch working on many a project from my vast portfolio of projects to be done.
One was a tad trepidatious upon starting this endeavour as I had forewarned my staff at the branch of the times of my attendance.
All has turned out fantastically as they have provided not only the eponymous two cakes for my daily consumption but also many a small snack has been appearing throughout my days of hard work - rolls, bites and leftover book club biscuits - it has been a parade of IT support satisfying snacks and one shall be sad to finish up this project and waddle back North to one's usual work places.
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One was a tad trepidatious upon starting this endeavour as I had forewarned my staff at the branch of the times of my attendance.
All has turned out fantastically as they have provided not only the eponymous two cakes for my daily consumption but also many a small snack has been appearing throughout my days of hard work - rolls, bites and leftover book club biscuits - it has been a parade of IT support satisfying snacks and one shall be sad to finish up this project and waddle back North to one's usual work places.
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The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold
I finished reading this third book in Buyold's Chalion world last week.
I enjoyed it as much as the others with the only downfall being no real connection to the first two stories - being set several countries away. Her writing was The usual easy to digest prose and I recommend it highly.
I think parts of it may very well make their way into future, or even present, fantasy games that one runs.
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I enjoyed it as much as the others with the only downfall being no real connection to the first two stories - being set several countries away. Her writing was The usual easy to digest prose and I recommend it highly.
I think parts of it may very well make their way into future, or even present, fantasy games that one runs.
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Local Warming
This weekend past was a busy one indeed.
Friday night was consumed by one of those pre-event shopping trips where you just keep adding things to the trolley because they will make the event better. Finally you arrive at the checkout with a huge mound of foodstuffs most of which will still be lurking in your fridge the day after the event.
Saturday afternoon was the occasion of the main event itself - a drop by housewarming to welcome Salsa Girl into the place and celebrate this latest stage in our grand experiment.
Having not much space in our residence we invited only those that were known well to both of us (lest the legendary horde of Phill-friends cause a major sardine effect).
I think it all went off quite well with a rotating cast of about a dozen including:
After such a hectic and fun-filled afternoon Salsa Girl and I headed off to spend the evening at the birthday celebrations for BestFriendSincePrep's bester half. With a tended cocktail bar and eighties music galore it really was quite a delightful way to end the day. And there was chocolate cake!
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Friday night was consumed by one of those pre-event shopping trips where you just keep adding things to the trolley because they will make the event better. Finally you arrive at the checkout with a huge mound of foodstuffs most of which will still be lurking in your fridge the day after the event.
Saturday afternoon was the occasion of the main event itself - a drop by housewarming to welcome Salsa Girl into the place and celebrate this latest stage in our grand experiment.
Having not much space in our residence we invited only those that were known well to both of us (lest the legendary horde of Phill-friends cause a major sardine effect).
I think it all went off quite well with a rotating cast of about a dozen including:
- Legion2 sadly flying solo due to family illness, well other family than yours truly
- The Great Sandro who planted himself on the couch ne'er to move
- MatrixMan and Vengeful Vic with young Couch Killer in tow and solidifying his blog name with a delightful splash of red on our new couch
- The Double Jays turning up WITHOUT their trademark chocolate cake!!!!!!
- ElfBoy and Elfboylet making a big mess and being scared off by The Tiger.
After such a hectic and fun-filled afternoon Salsa Girl and I headed off to spend the evening at the birthday celebrations for BestFriendSincePrep's bester half. With a tended cocktail bar and eighties music galore it really was quite a delightful way to end the day. And there was chocolate cake!
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An Appointment with the Judge
This Friday last one had a long, long, overdue catch up with Judge Mingus.
Having a relatively sudden space in my busy schedule I sent forth the invite a mere few days before said space with little hope of a positive response.
You can imagine my pleasant surprise to have my invite emphatically accepted.
The official activity of the evening was to be introducing the good Judge to the goodness that is Commands and Colors: Napoleonics.
(One did expect that tangential conversation would be one of the major unofficial activities of the evening.)
The gaming went well with lots of back and forth both in play and dialogue and overall it was a fantastic catch up evening.
At the end of the night we both resolved for a future appointment that we would be getting together to rekindle our musicianship.
That is: we would get together to make music, not war.
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Having a relatively sudden space in my busy schedule I sent forth the invite a mere few days before said space with little hope of a positive response.
You can imagine my pleasant surprise to have my invite emphatically accepted.
The official activity of the evening was to be introducing the good Judge to the goodness that is Commands and Colors: Napoleonics.
(One did expect that tangential conversation would be one of the major unofficial activities of the evening.)
The gaming went well with lots of back and forth both in play and dialogue and overall it was a fantastic catch up evening.
At the end of the night we both resolved for a future appointment that we would be getting together to rekindle our musicianship.
That is: we would get together to make music, not war.
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Challenged Again
It's that time of year again that a young blogger's thoughts turn to walking all over the place.
Yes I am once again taking part in the Global Corporate Challenge - 16 weeks of pedometerising my steps and getting my team to take a virtual walking tour of the world.
I have managed to be included in the Library team this year lead by Mr Prada, and including such luminaries as Days of our Libraries, Fifi, Country Girl, The Pragmatist and Mrs Football.
Of added interest this year is the fact that Salsa Girl and her office are also taking part. In the spirit of encouraging better participation one aims to help my team beat the pants off hers.
So far so good on day one as my team has the lead. I am a tad worried though as I know how far Salsa Girl walks every day in comparison to oneself, and also her team haven't entered any scores yet.
Still one must enjoy the winning position while one holds it.
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Yes I am once again taking part in the Global Corporate Challenge - 16 weeks of pedometerising my steps and getting my team to take a virtual walking tour of the world.
I have managed to be included in the Library team this year lead by Mr Prada, and including such luminaries as Days of our Libraries, Fifi, Country Girl, The Pragmatist and Mrs Football.
Of added interest this year is the fact that Salsa Girl and her office are also taking part. In the spirit of encouraging better participation one aims to help my team beat the pants off hers.
So far so good on day one as my team has the lead. I am a tad worried though as I know how far Salsa Girl walks every day in comparison to oneself, and also her team haven't entered any scores yet.
Still one must enjoy the winning position while one holds it.
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A Fate Worse than Ballerinas
So with Salsa Girl settling in to our new cohabitating habit it is now, as expected, that the battle over the spaces in which we live begins.
The opening salvo was fired shortly after one had graciously moved one's gaming map of a fantasy world to the manland sanctuary that the study has become in these times of struggle.
After returning from a hard days work slaving away at the library one was confronted with the sight of a picture of the quite-girly-indeed Mariah Carey assuming that same section of the wall. The horror!
In the end it turns out that it has been done with quite a lot of tongue in cheek by Salsa Girl - although one does wonder why the picture in question has failed to be removed from the wall yet?
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The opening salvo was fired shortly after one had graciously moved one's gaming map of a fantasy world to the manland sanctuary that the study has become in these times of struggle.
After returning from a hard days work slaving away at the library one was confronted with the sight of a picture of the quite-girly-indeed Mariah Carey assuming that same section of the wall. The horror!
In the end it turns out that it has been done with quite a lot of tongue in cheek by Salsa Girl - although one does wonder why the picture in question has failed to be removed from the wall yet?
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The Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
This is the book that Fantomas suggested I read before reading a better one so as to not be extremely disappointed in it. Dragonmim also came to the party adding that he'd "made it through" the first two of the series - a slightly damning appraisal given his propensity for series completion.
As you may note it has taken one more than a month to finish this one - and I only made it to the end this week thanks to my twelve day Easter weekend.
It was an okay enough read although it has more of a teen feel to it than the adult fantasy it presents itself as - mostly, I think, due to the teenage protagonist (with a secret origin and a destiny) and the fact that nobody of importance (to us the readers) dies in the catastrophic events it contains. Still, I give it three and a half stars as the final 100 or so pages had me quite entertained.
I doubt that I shall seek out any more of the series, especially as I shall soon be reading that fantastic fantasy opus of which many have made recommendations.
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As you may note it has taken one more than a month to finish this one - and I only made it to the end this week thanks to my twelve day Easter weekend.
It was an okay enough read although it has more of a teen feel to it than the adult fantasy it presents itself as - mostly, I think, due to the teenage protagonist (with a secret origin and a destiny) and the fact that nobody of importance (to us the readers) dies in the catastrophic events it contains. Still, I give it three and a half stars as the final 100 or so pages had me quite entertained.
I doubt that I shall seek out any more of the series, especially as I shall soon be reading that fantastic fantasy opus of which many have made recommendations.
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Silence in the Time of Moving
You would think that an enormously long Easter Holiday break plus an extension of several days would allow one to, if not hit their self-imposed "every three days" deadline, at least make a single post in the span of a dozen days.
Apparently not.
So what has one been up to with this huge slab of time?
Well...
busy work times made busier by the impending holiday break;
chocolatey Easter sugar rushes from following one's self-imposed "if you've got them eat them" rule;
tense footy watching with Legion2;
and biggest and best of all has been the hauling of a plentitude of Salsa Girl's things to my household as we take our Grand Experiment onwards and upwards to stage two!
All quite acceptable excuses for failure to post - especially when stacked up together like that.
The future appears to have no such handy excuses lurking in it from where I sit so you should all expect a return to the regular posting you have become used to over these many years of The Tales existence.
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Apparently not.
So what has one been up to with this huge slab of time?
Well...
busy work times made busier by the impending holiday break;
chocolatey Easter sugar rushes from following one's self-imposed "if you've got them eat them" rule;
tense footy watching with Legion2;
and biggest and best of all has been the hauling of a plentitude of Salsa Girl's things to my household as we take our Grand Experiment onwards and upwards to stage two!
All quite acceptable excuses for failure to post - especially when stacked up together like that.
The future appears to have no such handy excuses lurking in it from where I sit so you should all expect a return to the regular posting you have become used to over these many years of The Tales existence.
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Late Lunch Lunacy
So, one has long developed the habit of delaying one's mid day repast until mid afternoon.
There are many and varying theories as to why this behavior seems to have cemented itself in place in one's daily working routine: big breakfasts, library morning teas, late night gaming fast food feasts, later libraryland opening hours leading to later starts. All have been thought to be the culprit.
The end result is that lunch tends to be had a tad after everyone else has returned to their days work. This, of course, invariably leads to something bad happening and my being called to duty before I can commence my consuming and therefore being completely starved and on the verge of passing out as I diligently slave away to make your IT lives better.
Today however, has completely thrown me out of my usual patterns. Just as I was thinking to go and get me some lunch, lo and behold something GOOD happened - in the form of our 10 days of horrendous network problems clearing up in the blink of an eye.
As you can imagine I was at a loss as to what I should be doing.
Anyway, after having lunch, I informed everyone that it was all fixed.
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There are many and varying theories as to why this behavior seems to have cemented itself in place in one's daily working routine: big breakfasts, library morning teas, late night gaming fast food feasts, later libraryland opening hours leading to later starts. All have been thought to be the culprit.
The end result is that lunch tends to be had a tad after everyone else has returned to their days work. This, of course, invariably leads to something bad happening and my being called to duty before I can commence my consuming and therefore being completely starved and on the verge of passing out as I diligently slave away to make your IT lives better.
Today however, has completely thrown me out of my usual patterns. Just as I was thinking to go and get me some lunch, lo and behold something GOOD happened - in the form of our 10 days of horrendous network problems clearing up in the blink of an eye.
As you can imagine I was at a loss as to what I should be doing.
Anyway, after having lunch, I informed everyone that it was all fixed.
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Salsa Girl's First Footy
This Friday last, whilst in the esteemed company of The Great Sandro, ElfBoy, and oneself, Salsa Girl made the trip to the MCG for her first ever football game.
Once we were all firmly ensconced in our lofty seats perched at the top of the stadium she was able to experience the drama, aggression, humour, clash of male bodies, thrill, excitement, and pathos that is the drunk football spectator.
She also, I believe, enjoyed the game.
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Once we were all firmly ensconced in our lofty seats perched at the top of the stadium she was able to experience the drama, aggression, humour, clash of male bodies, thrill, excitement, and pathos that is the drunk football spectator.
She also, I believe, enjoyed the game.
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Tender Mercies
This is going to have to be a short missive as one is currently deeply embroiled in the hugely mentally taxing process of undertaking an evaluation of tenders for one's place of work.
This process, foisted upon one by Supervisor Grand Chief K as she traipsed off on some holiday or other, is one of the most painful that one can even comprehend undergoing - more painful even than missing out on morning tea with freshly baked chocolate cake! It is such a torment to be involved in this process that I fear I shan't recover for months to come.
Of course some things - such as a system wide network issue disrupting all work in the library and causing an unending stream of "hey Phill" calls - have required that I roll out the excuse:
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This process, foisted upon one by Supervisor Grand Chief K as she traipsed off on some holiday or other, is one of the most painful that one can even comprehend undergoing - more painful even than missing out on morning tea with freshly baked chocolate cake! It is such a torment to be involved in this process that I fear I shan't recover for months to come.
Of course some things - such as a system wide network issue disrupting all work in the library and causing an unending stream of "hey Phill" calls - have required that I roll out the excuse:
Sorry, I can't help you, I have to work on this tender right now.
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A Question of Elasticity
So recently Salsa Girl and I found ourselves in somewhat of a philosophical quandary.
You see we were discussing the appropriateness of referring to the strip of substance attached to the waistband on an old pair of one's pajamas as "the elastic" when it clearly exhibited not a single one of the traits one would usually associate with elastic.
After much spirited debate we agreed to disagree and remain civil about it all.
So do you, dear reader, believe that "the elastic" is the waistband of your old pajamas regardless of it's actual elastic properties; or do you side with the misguided folly that is the belief that for something to be "the elastic" it must retain some vestigial elasticity?
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You see we were discussing the appropriateness of referring to the strip of substance attached to the waistband on an old pair of one's pajamas as "the elastic" when it clearly exhibited not a single one of the traits one would usually associate with elastic.
After much spirited debate we agreed to disagree and remain civil about it all.
So do you, dear reader, believe that "the elastic" is the waistband of your old pajamas regardless of it's actual elastic properties; or do you side with the misguided folly that is the belief that for something to be "the elastic" it must retain some vestigial elasticity?
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The Return of the Great Man
It seems that March is the month of returns.
First it was The Bastard's return to Sunday Gaming.
And now, this weekend past has seen the return of not only the footy but also my esteemed match-attending companion The Great Sandro.
We had another of our grand days out on Saturday last. I had presumed that my fellow black and white army members would be out in force and, hence, we needed to be at the ground well before the game itself began.
Suffice to say one was able to see first-hand what the slow influx of a passable crowd into an empty stadium looked like.
The match itself was fairly one-sided but a good result and we trundled home on the less than packed train that such a lower attendance match produces..
After the footy the real challenge began as The Great Sandro met Salsa Girl for the first time. All went well due to her choice to select her suburb of residence as her footy team aligning with TGS's number one team.
I believe that Salsa Girl has gained the okay to join us for an upcoming match - her first ever. One only hopes she can prepare herself to see her team being walloped while I gloat and cackle with glee at her expense - all in my typical gentlemanly way of course.
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First it was The Bastard's return to Sunday Gaming.
And now, this weekend past has seen the return of not only the footy but also my esteemed match-attending companion The Great Sandro.
We had another of our grand days out on Saturday last. I had presumed that my fellow black and white army members would be out in force and, hence, we needed to be at the ground well before the game itself began.
Suffice to say one was able to see first-hand what the slow influx of a passable crowd into an empty stadium looked like.
The match itself was fairly one-sided but a good result and we trundled home on the less than packed train that such a lower attendance match produces..
After the footy the real challenge began as The Great Sandro met Salsa Girl for the first time. All went well due to her choice to select her suburb of residence as her footy team aligning with TGS's number one team.
I believe that Salsa Girl has gained the okay to join us for an upcoming match - her first ever. One only hopes she can prepare herself to see her team being walloped while I gloat and cackle with glee at her expense - all in my typical gentlemanly way of course.
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Recovery and Reading
So, one has only recently recovered from another tussle with that most pernicious of ailments - the Man Cold.
I fear that it may have mutated as this time I was laid low for five days rather than the usual three. To make matters worse my wonderfully attentive nurse, Salsa Girl, has found that the Man Cold has been able to jump the gender barrier - although her version comes with far less whinging than the one I was struck down with.
Anyway to take your minds off the impending plague ridden mutant-Man-Cold doom the world is facing I shall inform you of my latest read which I managed to finish whilst in the throes of my illness.
It was Down the Bright Way by Robert Reed. I found it quite the interesting dimension hopping premise with some quite intriguing characters and implications for the whole set-up. Well worth a read.
While trying to decide upon my next read it came down to a choice between ArchEnemy's must read book and Fantomas's must not read volume. Of course I chose the must not read out of fascination for the horrible (and, one must admit, a little for the exasperation of ArchEnemy).
Only time shall tell whether I can finish the book or follow in Fantomas's footsteps and add another abandoned read to my tally - although falling asleep on page 2 last evening may give somewhat of an indication which way things will pan out...
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I fear that it may have mutated as this time I was laid low for five days rather than the usual three. To make matters worse my wonderfully attentive nurse, Salsa Girl, has found that the Man Cold has been able to jump the gender barrier - although her version comes with far less whinging than the one I was struck down with.
Anyway to take your minds off the impending plague ridden mutant-Man-Cold doom the world is facing I shall inform you of my latest read which I managed to finish whilst in the throes of my illness.
It was Down the Bright Way by Robert Reed. I found it quite the interesting dimension hopping premise with some quite intriguing characters and implications for the whole set-up. Well worth a read.
While trying to decide upon my next read it came down to a choice between ArchEnemy's must read book and Fantomas's must not read volume. Of course I chose the must not read out of fascination for the horrible (and, one must admit, a little for the exasperation of ArchEnemy).
Only time shall tell whether I can finish the book or follow in Fantomas's footsteps and add another abandoned read to my tally - although falling asleep on page 2 last evening may give somewhat of an indication which way things will pan out...
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The Return of The Bastard
No, the title of this post does not refer to one's return to posting after this most recent hiatus from keeping you all updated.
It instead refers to the reappearance at Sunday Games, after a four or more year absence, of the one and only The Bastard.
As befits his usual modus operandi he lugged along a large selection of new games of which we barely managed to scratch the surface by playing only two out of the teetering pile.
Also in attendance was Doom, although his new several-times-a-year frequency hardly makes an appearance worth mentioning. In the same vein I shan't even bother to mention the attendance of Pirate Dave, Legion2, or Badger.
The long weekend was rounded out by a trip to the residence of the Double Jays with Salsa Girl where one was able to easily take possession of the Rummy 500 Perpetual Trophy* for the first time ever after many months of playing with the group.
[* said trophy may exist only in my own mind]
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It instead refers to the reappearance at Sunday Games, after a four or more year absence, of the one and only The Bastard.
As befits his usual modus operandi he lugged along a large selection of new games of which we barely managed to scratch the surface by playing only two out of the teetering pile.
Also in attendance was Doom, although his new several-times-a-year frequency hardly makes an appearance worth mentioning. In the same vein I shan't even bother to mention the attendance of Pirate Dave, Legion2, or Badger.
The long weekend was rounded out by a trip to the residence of the Double Jays with Salsa Girl where one was able to easily take possession of the Rummy 500 Perpetual Trophy* for the first time ever after many months of playing with the group.
[* said trophy may exist only in my own mind]
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The Orchestra of Sniff
Some of the joys of making ones commute via the agency of railway train include:
A downside to this idyllic commute is that it can be jarringly interrupted when, as happened this very morn, other passengers on the train decide that they need to engage in activities such as a good, old-fashioned, reverse-flow nasal cleansing.
I'm not objecting to anyone doing this once or twice out of necessity but when it is happening every dozen or so seconds all the way to the end of the line one can become quite irritated by the rumbling interruption. This is made worse when other passengers in the carriage begin to add their own tenor and soprano accompaniment.
It's almost enough to drive one back into one's automobile for a nice stress free commute down Punt Road.
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- the ability to read through much of one's backlog of various reading materials;
- conversely, being able to doze guilt-free (oh the uproar when one attempts this in one's automobile!);
- preparation for, variously, work and gaming;
- and numerous other sundry activities.
A downside to this idyllic commute is that it can be jarringly interrupted when, as happened this very morn, other passengers on the train decide that they need to engage in activities such as a good, old-fashioned, reverse-flow nasal cleansing.
I'm not objecting to anyone doing this once or twice out of necessity but when it is happening every dozen or so seconds all the way to the end of the line one can become quite irritated by the rumbling interruption. This is made worse when other passengers in the carriage begin to add their own tenor and soprano accompaniment.
It's almost enough to drive one back into one's automobile for a nice stress free commute down Punt Road.
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The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel
As you may remember this was a selection that Salsa Girl had picked for me to read when I gave her the opportunity to choose my next read.
So I finally found myself able to start this novel after having read it's preceding volume - thus satisfying one's desire to read things in the proper and correct order.
It is much like the first book in writing style although the subject matter expands to a larger view of Auel's pre-history world.
I do have to apologise for characterising the previous adventure as "Ayla invents everything" because the sheer amount of inventing she gets up to this time around makes her previous attempts pale in comparison.
It was an interesting read and one has to admit that - sigh - one shall indubitably get around to reading the remainder of the series to find out what befalls our plucky heroine (albeit probably a tad more spaced apart than these first two were).
Alas, the dangers of following the reading recommendations of one's sweetheart.
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So I finally found myself able to start this novel after having read it's preceding volume - thus satisfying one's desire to read things in the proper and correct order.
It is much like the first book in writing style although the subject matter expands to a larger view of Auel's pre-history world.
I do have to apologise for characterising the previous adventure as "Ayla invents everything" because the sheer amount of inventing she gets up to this time around makes her previous attempts pale in comparison.
It was an interesting read and one has to admit that - sigh - one shall indubitably get around to reading the remainder of the series to find out what befalls our plucky heroine (albeit probably a tad more spaced apart than these first two were).
Alas, the dangers of following the reading recommendations of one's sweetheart.
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Trusting Oneself
So it appears I may have jumped the gun when I was discussing the apparent lack of weird and interesting happenings on my life over the past week or so.
Making my way to my vehicle yesterday - in order to make my commute in a barely timely manner to attend a morning meeting - I discovered that my transportation was suffering from the condition known as "Flat Battery".
Apparently one's subconscious had planned ahead and left several interior lights on when last departing the vehicle.
One's subconscious must have also foreseen that this setback would cause Supervisor Grand Chief K to cancel the meeting and thereby one would be saved all the pain and stress that uncatered meetings cause.
In future I shall very much trust in the wisdom of my subconscious self.
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Making my way to my vehicle yesterday - in order to make my commute in a barely timely manner to attend a morning meeting - I discovered that my transportation was suffering from the condition known as "Flat Battery".
Apparently one's subconscious had planned ahead and left several interior lights on when last departing the vehicle.
One's subconscious must have also foreseen that this setback would cause Supervisor Grand Chief K to cancel the meeting and thereby one would be saved all the pain and stress that uncatered meetings cause.
In future I shall very much trust in the wisdom of my subconscious self.
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Tumbleweeds
Well after the excitement of one's birthday not much of blog-worthy substance has occurred.
There has been the usual work and gaming. The less regular visits and dinners with friends and family. The smooth continuation of the grand experiment betwixt Salsa Girl and myself. Steady progress through my current read and not much on the film front - although I will say that I think Black Swan falls short of what it was trying to achieve.
All on all not much at all but be sure I'll inform you all should anything at all weird or interesting befall me in any part of my life at all.
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There has been the usual work and gaming. The less regular visits and dinners with friends and family. The smooth continuation of the grand experiment betwixt Salsa Girl and myself. Steady progress through my current read and not much on the film front - although I will say that I think Black Swan falls short of what it was trying to achieve.
All on all not much at all but be sure I'll inform you all should anything at all weird or interesting befall me in any part of my life at all.
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The Birthday Experience
This weekend past saw the passing of a not very significant birthday - well in comparison to last year at least.
As my present Salsa Girl decided to give me an experience.
Now get your minds out of the gutter as I tell you that the experience was a trip to the Melbourne Aquarium - a venue to which one had never made an expedition.
I had quite an enjoyable time with my personal highlights being the rather Cthulhu-esque cuttlefish and, as befits my age and maturity, being witness to underwater penguin flatulence.
The day after such an uplifting experience was a gaming Sunday which included a plethora of one's favourite games, friends and even a magnificent caramel mud cake courtesy of Salsa Girl.
The afternoon included the long awaited, and much anticipated, meeting of BestFriendSincePrep and Salsa Girl - thankfully he approved of her so I may continue on in my courting ways.
So all in all I think we can agree that my birthday weekend was spent in a very Phill manner.
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As my present Salsa Girl decided to give me an experience.
Now get your minds out of the gutter as I tell you that the experience was a trip to the Melbourne Aquarium - a venue to which one had never made an expedition.
I had quite an enjoyable time with my personal highlights being the rather Cthulhu-esque cuttlefish and, as befits my age and maturity, being witness to underwater penguin flatulence.
The day after such an uplifting experience was a gaming Sunday which included a plethora of one's favourite games, friends and even a magnificent caramel mud cake courtesy of Salsa Girl.
The afternoon included the long awaited, and much anticipated, meeting of BestFriendSincePrep and Salsa Girl - thankfully he approved of her so I may continue on in my courting ways.
So all in all I think we can agree that my birthday weekend was spent in a very Phill manner.
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The Final Step
So during all that wonderful holiday time that I spent with Salsa Girl I decided it was time that I took the final step.
I awoke one morning several weeks ago, took a deep breath, steeled myself and then took the action that had been on my mind for the latter part of the holiday period.
That's right, I decided to stop using my pedometer. For all it's interesting insight into one's exercise regime, my use of it had become a tad obsessive.
With the act done - and several weeks without it under my belt - I feel as if a great burden has been lifted from me.
In the end my daily averages were around 7,500 steps for working days dropping down to 6,500 during this recent holiday a slight bit less than the recommended 10,000 per day.
Despite that I think I have built some good walking habits from the whole exercise and in fact the scales at Freeloading Mum's say that I lost several kilos over the Xmas break so one must be maintaining them.
I dare say I'll saddle up with a pedometer later this year should work participate in the global challenge again so that shall test whether I have continued my habits without the constant company of the infernal device.
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I awoke one morning several weeks ago, took a deep breath, steeled myself and then took the action that had been on my mind for the latter part of the holiday period.
That's right, I decided to stop using my pedometer. For all it's interesting insight into one's exercise regime, my use of it had become a tad obsessive.
With the act done - and several weeks without it under my belt - I feel as if a great burden has been lifted from me.
In the end my daily averages were around 7,500 steps for working days dropping down to 6,500 during this recent holiday a slight bit less than the recommended 10,000 per day.
Despite that I think I have built some good walking habits from the whole exercise and in fact the scales at Freeloading Mum's say that I lost several kilos over the Xmas break so one must be maintaining them.
I dare say I'll saddle up with a pedometer later this year should work participate in the global challenge again so that shall test whether I have continued my habits without the constant company of the infernal device.
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The Importance of Decimal Points
In my capacity as a distributor of public welfare information I bring to you today a Caution about the dangers of the online world.
You may not be aware that this whole "Internet" carries with it, not only the boundless fun of getting angry at those on it that are wrong but also many traps for the unwary.
For today's example I shall tell you the tale of one poor anonymous fellow whom we shall call Freewheeling Bill to protect his identity.
You see just the other night Bill innocently went online to perform the simple act of BPaying a bill (of the paper kind). In the simple act of typing on the payment amount it appears that his fingers danced ever too lightly over the decimal point key. Being a trusting fellow Bill failed to scrutinise the "are you sure" screen. The result was a payment of several thousand dollars winging it's way to the lucky service provider - an amount in credit that would require nearly 8 years to use up.
The good news for Bill is that a refund has been easily arranged.
So there it is, a Caution indeed. Let us hope that Bill's unfortunate experience never happens to you or I.
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You may not be aware that this whole "Internet" carries with it, not only the boundless fun of getting angry at those on it that are wrong but also many traps for the unwary.
For today's example I shall tell you the tale of one poor anonymous fellow whom we shall call Freewheeling Bill to protect his identity.
You see just the other night Bill innocently went online to perform the simple act of BPaying a bill (of the paper kind). In the simple act of typing on the payment amount it appears that his fingers danced ever too lightly over the decimal point key. Being a trusting fellow Bill failed to scrutinise the "are you sure" screen. The result was a payment of several thousand dollars winging it's way to the lucky service provider - an amount in credit that would require nearly 8 years to use up.
The good news for Bill is that a refund has been easily arranged.
So there it is, a Caution indeed. Let us hope that Bill's unfortunate experience never happens to you or I.
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Back to the Grind
Well yesterday marked one's return to work after the extended Summer holiday.
One found it to be much the same as one had left it - scads of emails to be answered, mysterious equipment failures, looming deadlines, jovial work companions, etc.
A noticeable difference from business as usual was the quite apparent lack of any sort of "Welcome Back" cake or even small pastry. It seems that while I have been away tragedy has struck and Days of our Libraries has lost her cooking mojo. Kiwichick's kind gift of a thorny IT problem to sink my teeth into did little to alleviate my suffering.
Anyway, I seemed to have gotten my email under control and achieved not much else yesterday. Perhaps I shall return to work today?
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One found it to be much the same as one had left it - scads of emails to be answered, mysterious equipment failures, looming deadlines, jovial work companions, etc.
A noticeable difference from business as usual was the quite apparent lack of any sort of "Welcome Back" cake or even small pastry. It seems that while I have been away tragedy has struck and Days of our Libraries has lost her cooking mojo. Kiwichick's kind gift of a thorny IT problem to sink my teeth into did little to alleviate my suffering.
Anyway, I seemed to have gotten my email under control and achieved not much else yesterday. Perhaps I shall return to work today?
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My First IMAX
So for all of it's long life in Melbourne one had, until Sunday last, neglected to pay a visit to the fine institute which is IMAX.
Well that situation has been rectified thanks to the auspices of ElfBoy. He invited myself and Salsa Girl along with many others (who shunned his advances) to experience Tron Legacy at said venue.
I quite enjoyed the movie despite it's relentless electronic soundtrack and internal logic inconsistencies (it's really hard to get there - let's jump on this data train that goes right there).
Worth a watch and IMAX does seem to suit it well
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Well that situation has been rectified thanks to the auspices of ElfBoy. He invited myself and Salsa Girl along with many others (who shunned his advances) to experience Tron Legacy at said venue.
I quite enjoyed the movie despite it's relentless electronic soundtrack and internal logic inconsistencies (it's really hard to get there - let's jump on this data train that goes right there).
Worth a watch and IMAX does seem to suit it well
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The Reading Roundup
It's been a while since I posted anything about what I've been reading so here is a slew of books I've finished in the last six months.
First up is Kraken by China Mieville. This one holds a special place in my heart for it was after attending a talk by the author that Salsa Girl and I commenced our grand experiment together.
The book itself is almost up to his usual standard although it does seem to be fascinated with the "weird in the modern world" idea which makes it interesting but not quite compelling.
My next read was Terry Pratchet's Reaper man. This crossed the returns desk at work and happened to be the one I was up to in his Discworld series so I snapped it up and put it on my to-read pile.
I enjoyed it heartily - my first Pratchet for years (which means I am falling further and further behind his output).
Following the fantasy hijinks I moved on to the first of the recommendations for my reading that I deigned to allow Salsa Girl to make - Illusions by Richard Bach. Much like his seagull book it is about the power of believing in oneself and one's ability to shape reality with one's own belief. This one, however takes it a bit further and a bit more literally with it's real-world, human based setting. All in all some nice ideas but hard to take the implication that they are real.
This next one show the danger of giving one's romantic interest carte blanche to select one's reading material, especially when combined with ones own compulsion to do things in the proper order. So because the strong recommendation was for the second in the Children of Earth series I had to start with the first volume - The Clan of the Cave Bear (AKA Ayla invents everything) by Jean M Auel. It is the tale of a young Cro-Magnon girl adopted by a tribe of Neanderthals and the troubles she has fitting with her different look, new ideas, and not knowing her place in The Clan
Anyway, I'll begrudgingly admit that it was a reasonable read although there was an annoying tendency to mix scientific narrator information with point of view type narration, a fictitious example: Ayla was wary as she entered the mountains because tectonic plate shifting caused regular earthquakes.
Which brings us to Prophet Margin by Simon Spurrier. I read this one thanks to Fantomas and his generous birthday voucher.
It is a novel based on characters from 2000AD - the same comic in which Judge Dredd features.
Reading this was akin to watching a car crash as the author appeared to be too embarrassed writing the story to take the characters seriously. I had no sense of the author even liking the characters as I read numerous blokey/schoolboy allusions to the sexual relationship of the two male main characters. Mix in a lot of juvenile "world comprised totally of space whale excrement" type settings, many clumsy attempts to write like Douglas Adams, and a seeming misunderstanding of the main characters motivations and you have a book that's a struggle for the first half and then begins to settle down and flow by the time it gets to it's final 50 pages or so. All the while never really feeling like the same setting as the original comics.
Thanks a lot Fantomas!!!
Not worth a read for anyone other than a big fan of the characters looking to be outraged - i.e. me.
After reading that last one I was glad to be diving into the second Clan of the Cave Bear novel next.
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First up is Kraken by China Mieville. This one holds a special place in my heart for it was after attending a talk by the author that Salsa Girl and I commenced our grand experiment together.
The book itself is almost up to his usual standard although it does seem to be fascinated with the "weird in the modern world" idea which makes it interesting but not quite compelling.
My next read was Terry Pratchet's Reaper man. This crossed the returns desk at work and happened to be the one I was up to in his Discworld series so I snapped it up and put it on my to-read pile.
I enjoyed it heartily - my first Pratchet for years (which means I am falling further and further behind his output).
Following the fantasy hijinks I moved on to the first of the recommendations for my reading that I deigned to allow Salsa Girl to make - Illusions by Richard Bach. Much like his seagull book it is about the power of believing in oneself and one's ability to shape reality with one's own belief. This one, however takes it a bit further and a bit more literally with it's real-world, human based setting. All in all some nice ideas but hard to take the implication that they are real.
This next one show the danger of giving one's romantic interest carte blanche to select one's reading material, especially when combined with ones own compulsion to do things in the proper order. So because the strong recommendation was for the second in the Children of Earth series I had to start with the first volume - The Clan of the Cave Bear (AKA Ayla invents everything) by Jean M Auel. It is the tale of a young Cro-Magnon girl adopted by a tribe of Neanderthals and the troubles she has fitting with her different look, new ideas, and not knowing her place in The Clan
Anyway, I'll begrudgingly admit that it was a reasonable read although there was an annoying tendency to mix scientific narrator information with point of view type narration, a fictitious example: Ayla was wary as she entered the mountains because tectonic plate shifting caused regular earthquakes.
Which brings us to Prophet Margin by Simon Spurrier. I read this one thanks to Fantomas and his generous birthday voucher.
It is a novel based on characters from 2000AD - the same comic in which Judge Dredd features.
Reading this was akin to watching a car crash as the author appeared to be too embarrassed writing the story to take the characters seriously. I had no sense of the author even liking the characters as I read numerous blokey/schoolboy allusions to the sexual relationship of the two male main characters. Mix in a lot of juvenile "world comprised totally of space whale excrement" type settings, many clumsy attempts to write like Douglas Adams, and a seeming misunderstanding of the main characters motivations and you have a book that's a struggle for the first half and then begins to settle down and flow by the time it gets to it's final 50 pages or so. All the while never really feeling like the same setting as the original comics.
Thanks a lot Fantomas!!!
Not worth a read for anyone other than a big fan of the characters looking to be outraged - i.e. me.
After reading that last one I was glad to be diving into the second Clan of the Cave Bear novel next.
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A History of Violence
With a few weeks of holiday remaining I am finally getting the time to catch up on my movie watching.
This one, A History of Violence, was a birthday gift from Legion2 way back at the beginning of last year.
The movie is based on a graphic novel (which one has never actually read) by John Wagner - a favourite comic writer of mine primarily for his 30 years of writing Judge Dredd.
I found it interesting and tense. Worth a watch if violent acts are something you can handle.
Three and a half stars.
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This one, A History of Violence, was a birthday gift from Legion2 way back at the beginning of last year.
The movie is based on a graphic novel (which one has never actually read) by John Wagner - a favourite comic writer of mine primarily for his 30 years of writing Judge Dredd.
I found it interesting and tense. Worth a watch if violent acts are something you can handle.
Three and a half stars.
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The Holiday is Over
The time has finally come for me to once again take up my virtual pen and recommence my wisened scribblings for you, my loyal audience.
These past weeks of Tales silence have been filled with a multitude of activities - most of them undertaken in the company of the esteemed Salsa Girl.
I had best give you a quick summary lest we be here all day together going through the intricacies of the twists and turns of fate that have swept about me in these weeks of holiday.
So, anyway, after my lower post count year in the history of The Tales I believe it may be time for some changes to be enacted in what remains of this year.
The first change is that one shall be endeavoring to be making more frequent postings. In order to enact this one shall have to adopt the twitter mentality somewhat and gift you with shorter posts - probably limiting myself to a mere paragraph or three rather than elabourating at great length as one as be come want to do.
Other changes may be more noticeable should they come to fruition but I'm sure you shall notice them if they become fact.
Post to you again soon...
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These past weeks of Tales silence have been filled with a multitude of activities - most of them undertaken in the company of the esteemed Salsa Girl.
I had best give you a quick summary lest we be here all day together going through the intricacies of the twists and turns of fate that have swept about me in these weeks of holiday.
- a day or so of rest before beginning the long trek north to spend some time with Salsa Girl's father in sunnier climes
- much feasting punctuated by: beach attendance, Day trips, musical performances, markets, a display of bluebottle dancing put on by Salsa Girl, and much reading on the decking
- some driving inside of a cloud
- a mild scramble for last minute accommodation on our return journey after our "she'll be right" mindset proved to, in fact, be wrong
- strings of lazy days at home composed of sleeping in, long brunches, and finishing our watching of the Rome tv series - excellent, albeit gory, stuff
- a non too few gaming events including a trip out to the fringes of Melbourne to play the new Napoleonics game on a magnificent 3D tabletop mere days before acquiring one's own copy
- and many, many other occurrences that have become lost in the haze that is long summer holidays
So, anyway, after my lower post count year in the history of The Tales I believe it may be time for some changes to be enacted in what remains of this year.
The first change is that one shall be endeavoring to be making more frequent postings. In order to enact this one shall have to adopt the twitter mentality somewhat and gift you with shorter posts - probably limiting myself to a mere paragraph or three rather than elabourating at great length as one as be come want to do.
Other changes may be more noticeable should they come to fruition but I'm sure you shall notice them if they become fact.
Post to you again soon...
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