B&W Photography Social Chain Letter

So one was recently challenged by Illuminated G to partake of one of those social post photos every day for a week thingies.

More specifically:

Seven days, seven black & white photos of your life. No people, no explanation.
Challenge a new person everyday.
Today I challenge Phill

So in the interest of being efficient I have crammed all 7 subjects into the one artistically Dutch tilted example of the pinnacle of the art of photography.

Behold...

I am supposed to challenge the next person in the chain each day so I challenge...
whomever feels like undertaking the exercise.
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Four XMASes and A Picnic

The week just past has been a whirlwind of celebration from which one has barely survived.


It kicked off with the annual user group XMAS lunch which is always interrupted by the meeting that "has" to occur beforehand.
Lunch and meeting were ably supplied by Jeza, Nicks Fan and Vivacious Em.
Although one was amused that one's two-glasses-of-red-deep attendance at the post lunch executive meeting was met with surprise by President S, given one's reputation for professionalism in any state. Luckily Sis attended in a state of solidarity with my choices.
However one may have to give some credence to kharmic debt as said executive meeting consumed the remainder of the afternoon.


XMAS the second was a lunchtime celebration of our Strategy Teams achievements for the year. Whilst Sonja Roster Queen ably led appropriate celebrations the Strategic absence of Mr Prada and Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum were noted for their permanent records.


With a days rest one was ready to tackle XMAS the third - Library XMAS!!
It was wonderfully organised by Sonja Roster Queen and Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum in just the style one approves - laden with food and drink.
Much conversation was had including a sizable investment in time debating the finer points of Star Wars canon with Nemesis and Psycho Chicken, who I'm sure have both now corrected their obstreperous views.


On a smaller scale, XMAS the fourth was the raising of the XMAS tree at home with Hulk taking command. The placement of the first present beneath the tree was nigh immediately followed by pleading to open it and see why it felt the way it did. Having secured an earnest promise that this would be the only early opened present I deigned to allow the opening. Suffice to say one was not pleased with the post opening: Is that all! Do you have another one?


Which brings us to the Picnic. The annual-ish picnic organised by Spare Legion, this time at the delightfully Pound Bend. Also in attendance were Badger, Hector the Nazi, and Legion3.

All in all a busy time which is why one is looking forward to a Sunday involving only shopping and visiting Freeloading Mum for her annual birthday computer support session.
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The Drummer's Dilemma

So in One's continued quest towards the "bringing up right" of Hulk, and as a drummer, the time of musical investiture has come about.

This was brought to my attention by Hulk herself stating:

Daddy, I think I will learn to play the recorder.

As the horror set in I immediately thought of One's drums as the much more approved option.

Oh. But Hulk, what about the other instrument we have in the house?

Oh! Of course, I'll learn my ukulele!

In desperation One prompted again:

There is another instrument...

Hmmm, mum's guitar? But that's too big for my hands.

No no no, what about the drums in the garage?

But Daddy my hands are already full of recorder and ukulele so I won't be able to play drums as well.

One feels doomed to never be able to pass on the drumming torch/stick - or worse, to have a future filled with recorder practice.
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Catching up with Catch-ups

So, much has happened in the realm of The Tales since last post. Many catch-ups have occurred and One shall attempt to document them to One's usual fastidious level of accuracy.


On the Monday before Cup Day, One continued to catch-up with ones Hawaiian shirts, having too long neglected them until their recent resurrection for conference. The jealousy from co-workers manifest itself as an air of disdain and a pretended scoffing at one's sense of fashion.


There was a catch-up with Big J in the form of her return from extended leave to attend a three hour strategic reporting and specific duties realignment meeting. I guess she has to have hobbies in her leisure time.


In an effort to catch-up on our role-playing game progress deficit Pirate Dave ran Badger, Sneaky Pete and One through our weekly game until the early am. The deficit is now reduced to only several years.


Attending the annual SLUG conference with Sidekick afforded one the opportunity to catch up with Sis, MoneyM, and others in several entirely networky and educational bar and restaurant settings.


In preparation for Bomber Babe's big move to One's old desk at One's old branch, One had to undertake a cleanup of boxes underneath and draws full of spare parts. A nostalgic catchup with vitally kept spare 2005 technology ensued.


Hulk and One had a catch-up and board games with Miasmakat after it was revealed to Hulk that there was a trampoline there and it became mandatory to attend.


The evening then held a grand catch up at the 10th wedding anniversary soiree for Zombie Monkey. Having arrived post speeches it was hard for one to tell it apart from just a big piss up.
In any case, while one missed The Real Greg Dean, one was able to have a grand catch-up with the ZM himself as well as the first for 7 years catch-up with Illuminated G, Amoeba for our first catch-up in... months, and a 12 years in the making catch-up with Shreen.

Of course Illuminated G was up to his old conspiratorial tricks trying to claim that he and Shreen had never attended One's university at the same time - while my memory clearing has them both in the same group of uni friends, I shall not be a fool for your conspiracy!!


The final catch-up of not was for the farewelling of LibraryBFF heading back to whence she came as her stint as resources ends,  and BomberBabe heading to new horizons. It was also for welcoming Mr Prada into the resources - and possibly BFF - role, and Big J attended for the culinary catch-up opportunity.


Phew, now One is caught-up on the catching-up.
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And the Js have it

So with a flurry of two submissions with three recommendations I have decided to award the J book - the next read in ones A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors quest - to...

Fantomas who has suggested

Benedict Jacka - the Alex Versus novels (first one is called "Fated"), Urban fantasy, sort of like Harry Dresden, set in London.

An interesting pitch and with the provision of an epub being the modern equivalent of putting it in One's hands - not to mention saving One's poor back from lugging weighty tomes to and fro from "work" - he has taken winner's podium.

An honourable mention to Amoeba who came second (or last if you prefer) who has come back from her previous yellow card with much aplomb.
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A Conference of Nigh Disasters

So One spent most of last week toiling away at conference in Brisbane - a conference plagued by nigh disasters!


As one of the the organisers of said conference the first nigh disaster occurred when the venue went silent on the communication front for a while. It turned out they had been sold but the new owners had sensibly decided to honour all their bookings so disaster was averted.

The next nigh disaster was when the conference bag printer decided to leave the printing until the day before the conference. Luckily Old Mate was able to go there in person and impress upon them the urgency, so disaster was averted.

Another nigh disaster loomed for the plane flight northwards when One learned that President S, Sis, and Oneself would be seated in the same row. Luckily Sis had planned carefully and President S was seated as a barrier between the pair of us, so disaster was averted.

There was also a nigh disaster when very few of the attendees inferred the Hawaiian theme for the "Libraryland cocktails" event -  "cocktails", by the pool. What is there that is not clear in that invite?!?
In any case one can always depend on Vivacious Em to get the memo and attend in appropriate attire. Several others clothed themselves correctly as well, so disaster was averted.

With One not emceeing this year there was a chance for a nigh disaster but President S stepped up to the duties and so disaster was averted.

A most heinous nigh disaster was presented to us as the venue decided that savoury low sugar "treats" were in order for the morning and afternoon teas in order to facilitate increased concentration in the afternoons. Thankfully there were some chocolate balls for the final morning tea and so disaster was averted.

As the moment for the walk to the conference dinner venue approached so did a most violent electrical rain storm. Nigh disaster was averted by the hiring of maxi cabs to ferry attendees to the Gourmet venue. It was also averted when the storm decided to peter out five minutes before the first cabs arrived, sigh.

Nigh disaster also loomed when, as one was arranging LibraryBFF's birthday bubbles at the farewell drinks bar, LibraryBFF herself appeared beside me seeking her next drink. Surprisingly she was just happy to have said next drink, and was not concerned about lost surprise, and so disaster was averted.

One is hoping that next year's Sydney conference is not so nigh disaster prone.
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The unread A to Z : Crowdsourcing J

One is once again due for one's next read in ones A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors quest.

The J is the current letter and, once again,  one has nothing suitable on the bowing to read shelf.

One is turning once more to one's network of loyal readers in order to crowd source the J - or at least a short-list of Js.

The Rules

Titles should be in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, or speculative fiction if you prefer.

The Author's Surname should begin with the letter J, and they should be one who's wares one has not sampled before.

Here is my Author list of already read Js from the time span of The Tales:

Kenneth Johnson, Robert Jordan

Hmmm, not very impressive. A quick perusal of several Internet lists can add: Steve Jackson, Tove Jansson, and K. W. Jeter. Making it a truly impressive list.

So get to it Internet, and recommend away.

Bonus points if the book is available in the work catalogue

Even more bonus points, and the win by default, if you place your recommendation into one's hands.
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Replication

So yesterday one ticked off the number one priority on one's performance plan as set by Supervisor Grand Chief K - a viewing of Bladerunner 2049.

It occurred at the instigation of BestFriendSincePrep who was surprised at one's availability and then further surprised when it transpired that Sneaky Pete was also available.

As to the film - nay experience - well, one still has to absorb it all before full commentary is possible.
I will say that the visuals, sounds, and feel were very close to the original, whilst also taking the plot in new directions.

I rate it just shy of 4 stars at the moment and will see how it changes with repeat viewings - which are, I believe, the second, third, and fourth priorities of one's performance plan.
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What One did on One's Holidays

So One has spent most of the previous fortnight on holidays, during which time period many and sundry activities have been partaken.

Farming Out the Kids

At Sneaky Pete's suggestion Hulk and I joined him, Uncle Niece, and BuildItBoy on an expeditious rainy-day expedition to Collingwood Children's Farm.
One found it quite educational and was particularly surprised to learn that Feeding the Goats was not merely a euphemism - which is probably all well and good as it went on for nigh an hour.

Ex-Presidential Duties

A morning of phone calls and remote work on one's user group commitments.

Library Day Trips

One spent most of a day traipsing across the public transport system with Hulk to show of the genius level of one's progeny to one's work colleagues, who must all now be convinced that she is very advanced for her age.

A Magical Gaming Experience

To mark the occasion of having a day off due to footy one's demesne was host to the likes of Sneaky Pete, Pirate Dave, Gavman, and ElfBoy for many hours of card gaming fun.

Footy in Black and Yellow

Swinging the blokeyness pendulum the other way one had Sneaky Pete back the next day for some Grand Final viewing.

Baby's First Bee Sting

After a morning of intensive gardening - of the kind required to make a clear path from the front door to the street using only a small pair of scissors after Hulk has traded you for the big snippers - one's afternoon relaxation time was cut short by Hulk inadvertently squashing a bee against a watering can and suffering the resulting suicidal self defence that bees are known for.
Of course after the bee's fate was explained to her Hulk decided to go out to the scene and tell the bee "sorry I made you dead bee, goodbye"

Inescapable Work and further gaming delights

Nothing can describe the joy of having one's day for oneself interrupted by a minor work crisis.
Following up the relatively easily solved issue with an afternoon of gaming with Badger was definitely enough to balance the scales.

Unmissable Training Day at Work

Under orders from Supervisor Grand Chief K one had to curtail one's holiday plans to attend this day.
I begrudgingly took part in having my unfair share of the pizza and cake lunch - which was barely enough to fuel me through the afternoon "clean up your work area" activity.

Male Privilege Training

Which brings us to today and the final half day off work before attending an afternoon session of training on Male Privilege in which I was horrified to find that no-one had catered for my afternoon tea! Such hardship thus proving that one has no privilege in life.
I believe I will receive an A+ grade.

A Holiday from Holidays

And now one is back to the regular schedule and able to relax and recover from such an intensive holiday break.

One is almost looking forwards to the morrow's Performance Planning meeting.

Almost.
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The 76 Year Old Feline

So yesterday was the grandiose occasion of the most esteemed anniversary of the day of birth of The Tiger. Yes, she of the most voluminous fluff, has deigned to allow us to recognise her fifteenth year with appropriate celebrations.

There were extra servings of food and less yellings of "be though quiet" in the morning.

The evening included the traditional second dinner of premium food - thus setting up the traditional six month expectation of second dinner.

And as it was a gaming evening it was The Tiger's choice of game for the evening.
Thus many games of Inside/Outside the door were played, as well as a rousing round of Grab, Lick, Lick, Lick, Bite, after which one shall be seeing the appropriate medical professionals today.

All in all we believe she had a most enjoyable day and looks forward to terrorising all and sundry as year 16 uncurls and stretches out.
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Too Much

So, one was thinking about the whole "too much" realm of theory recently and the supposed impact such as other regular things dropping by the wayside.

Of course, one hasn't had much time to theorise lately as one's time has been taken up with too much going on.

In the month since ones last missive to the The Tales there has been:

• Too much of the post flu lurgy hanging around
• Too much of the intermittent network failures at work
• Too much of the weekend activities with Hulk - expeditions to far off locales for junior footy watching of the SpawnOfBestFriendSincePrep related kind being a prime example, but also sundry birthday parties (I mean, really, does every child have a birthday?)
• Too much footy to keep up with, including the aforementioned day-trip and an expedition with The Great Sandro
• Too much gaming - wait, no that one doesn't make any sense, regular Wednesday plus a couple of fortnightly Thursdays and a Sunday, and preparing a new game all in a month sounds about right.
• Too much new Twin Peaks to try and catch up on

In any case as I return to posting on The Tales I can say that one's "too much" activity schedule is having none of the dropping by the wayside impacts theorised to go along with it.

See you all next month.
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Idle reading

So whilst one was laid up with deadly flu one managed to complete the reading of one's "I" entry in the A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors - The Road to Mars by Eric Idle.

This volume was placed - nay, snuck - into one's hands by Sneaky Pete and therefore nullified the requirement for any crowd sourcing.

It was a mildly amusing humourous sci-fi that took a while to get going and then rollicked along to a reasonable ending.

Three stars.
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One Flu Over the 5 Year Old's Party

So Hulk had her fifth birthday party yesterday to the theme of Launch into Space!

Side note: When One declared that I could dress as a Jedi I was firmly informed, "No Dad! Star Wars isn't real, this party is about the real planets and real space!" She then went on to wear her googly antennas and be a Martian for the duration of the party.

So there is nothing as easy as helping to run a party for five year olds while one is coming down with suspected flu (fingers crossed it is not Man-Flu) preceded by a nigh-hallucinatory evening of sleep.

Luckily Salsa Girl had produced her usual consummate party preparation without which all would be lost, and all one had to do was help out here and there and be pummelled and hounded by five year olds as the incredibly Space realistic Green Monster Daddy for 3 hours.

The all-over body aches persist today for some reason so one's week long recovery period begins forthwith.
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Farewelling Supervisor S

So this week we have farewelled Supervisor S who has alighted (alit?) for other pastures with other duties that presumably don't involve having to supervise any of the most immovable of objects - the library IT staff.

It was a tender and teary farewell do, with lovely hot foods and drink and a magnificent multi layered abstract recreation of the Brighton library in cake (and oh no I've eaten too much) form courtesy of Days of our Libraries.

There was speechifying, and hugifying, and the final happy goodbyes where one was able to head home with an enormous aluminium swag of leftovers.

All in all it was good to see the fruit of one's Machiavellian machinations born as now two of one's workplace BFFs - LibraryBFF and Mr Prada - shall be filling the seat for much of the coming year, freeing one from the horrors that Supervisor S used to inflict upon one - such as being expected to do one's job.

But still, her pragmatic approach to the work of libraryland shall be missed.
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A Return to Chalion

After an absence of nigh on six years one's reading has returned to the world of Chalion in the form of the novella Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold.

It was a welcome return to the world one is so thankful to have been introduced to by Vengeful Vic, and one feels the shove of Fate in stumbling across this 2016 publication recently after musing about missing this much loved world.

At a Badger approved less than 200 pages it was a nice return, albeit more towards the teen style, that didn't outstay it's time.

One looks forward to the further novellas in this series which appear to have sprouted like mushrooms with there being four more at last count - although one is a little trepeditious about having ones reading dominated by 4 star reads for the foreseeable future.
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The Month of Things

So suddenly, it is a month since The Tales have graced screens nation wide and it is time once more to fill that void in all your souls.

So what has been happening, you may ponder?


Well a long outstanding computational device problem at work was finally solved and the backlog of work that rushed forth to fill the now available time was of a high dauntingness level.
But that is not the excuse for the delay of this posting.


One commenced catch up watching of a half dozen episodes of the new Twin Peaks and experienced the resulting brain melt caused by the 80% or so of it that was Lynchian weirdness for, apparently, it's own sake.
But that is not the excuse for the delay of this posting.

Salsa Girl and Hulk headed north for a weekend which became extended and thus resulted in a blur of gaming activity in The Gaming Garage. The Magical Gathering of the regular crew of ElfBoy, Gavman, Legion2, Pirate Dave, and even BestFriendSincePrep making a return after a decade, overtook the Friday evening. The Saturday saw the boardgames commence with Badger and FridgePower subbing in for ElfBoy and Gavman, for a gentle run through 5 hours - and half of - the Game of Thrones boardgame. During these proceedings FridgePower played true to Queen of Thorns character by talking one's favourite tea mug into self destructive cracking.

The third day of extended absence almost saw gaming again as BestFriendSincePrep was pressing for it but wisdom and the weight of chores held out and a day of pottering about the house was enjoyed by one.

But that is not the excuse for the delay of this posting.

One's return to mountains of work was brief as a rescue mission to retrieve Salsa Girl and Hulk  had to be undertook resulting in an hours long drive through tumultuous rain and trucks along the Calder, and a clandestine handover with Grandma J in the vicinity of the halfway point.

But that is not the excuse for the delay of this posting.

In amongst all of this Pirate Dave has taken the reigns of the Tuesday Knights roleplaying sessions (now regularly scheduled on Wednesdays but what can you do about a name?). Thus requiring one to actually read the background for a game for once rather than wing it and hope the players don't notice.

But that is not the excuse for the delay of this posting.

Which more or less brings us up to today and finally a posting.

With no real reason for the delay - unless you wish to count one's legendary laconical approach to getting things done?

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A Cute Euclidean Angle of Attack

So this morning, as one was padding down the hallway forwards morning ablutions, young Hulk called out requiring her light be turned on.

The cause of this need was to banish the triangles and rectangles that were lurking at the end of the bed. Hulk had been unable to get out of bed herself because then they would reach out for her with their "pale little arms with hands dangling on the ends".

Obviously a solution to this problem, with working shown, is required to be submitted by the end of the day.
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Freezing at the Footy

So The Great Sandro, Legion2, and I traipsed off to the footy on Sunday with a reasonable expectation that our sportsball team would beat the team at the bottom of the heap that is this year's season.

This came to pass.

Eventually.

After a quite cold period in the third fraction wherein the wild weather also came to pass and we three had some concern that we also were going to pass.

So icy was the blast that The Great Sandro even deigned to huddle under the Magpies fleecy blanket with Legion2 and I.

In the end we came through with the sort of superb stoicism that is worthy of the label Hero.
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An H from B for A to Z

One has just this day finished reading the H entry for the A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors - Light by M. John Harrison.

This one was recommended by Badger and originally going to be an ebook read until he shored up his recommendation status to definite by placing the physical copy into one's hands.

Of course being a Badger recommendation it turned out to be no space opera epic but rather a melange of sci-fi and awkward British social interactions. One could detect dashes of Mievillesque idea experiments, Banksian post future sprawl and Marshall Smithian gritty modern society on a half twist.

A interesting read that never quite grabbed me as it flitted from sub-genre sub-genre and back.
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Where you Bin?

Believe me when I tell you that nothing impacts neighbourly relationships like a missing rubbish bin.

So what have those dirty bin-stealers done to earn one's ire you ask?

Well, for starters, the invertebrates have hidden our giant recycle bin so well that not even the leet roof-scaling, leaping, and fence-peering-through binja skills of Salsa Girl and I have been able to uncover the locale of its internment.

One fears that a call to the council for a replacement will only fan the flickering flames of utter enmity one feels for those rubbish receptacle removing reptiles, when the council staff pose an inflammatory question such as: Perhaps one of your neighbours has accidentally taken it in sir?

ACCIDENTALLY!!!
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A Brief Encounter

So, the other day - whilst rearranging furniture two days ahead of schedule - this happened exactly* this way:

Big J: Do you think I'm impatient?

Freeloading Phill [with extreme diplomacy] : Well...

Big J: Oh never mind, you're taking too long to answer. 

* One uses exactly as defined in current world political parlance
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Gaming the Band Back Together

Sunday last was another of one's regular board gaming sessions.

This one however was pre-advertised longer than usual and thus attracted both FridgePower and Judge Mingus. It was therefore a mini band reunion of sorts. Although, in the words of that great philosophical treatise from back in nineteen hundred and eighty four - Revenge of the Nerds - "Sh*t, we forgot to practice!"

With most, nay, all of the regulars also attending we struggled to find a game that could also accomodate Legion2, Pirate Dave, Badger, Miasmakat, and BestFriendSincePrep, given that Legion2 vetoed Block Mania and I no longer have the second set of blocks required to take it up to an 8 player monstrosity. 

We settled on The Great Dalmuti in which the  decidedly left-leaning Judge Mingus orchestrated a rather hypocritically rapid rise into the privileged aristocracy.

Other highlights included my finally winning another game of Samurai Battles thanks to my general in crime FridgePower who's "I don't know what I'm doing" tactics helped win the day; a return to Dominion basic and simple cards; and Pirate Dave's Epic 8 minute final turn in Eight Minute Empire.

If this level of attendance continues we may have to resort to multiple games running at the same time - or I could return to my usual last minute flash-mob style of alerting people it is on.
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G, What a Book

So the latest tome in one's grand endeavour of the A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors required no recommendation as it had been weighing down one's bowing to read shelf for some years since it was oh so callously discarded from the library collection.

The title in question carries on one's "Pillars" theme from last year and is The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind.

Technically it may count as a recommendation as MatrixMan has spruiked the series from time to time.

In any case, on to the book itself.

One approached it with mild trepidation having heard some things about the authors libertarian-esque leanings - and the dedication being a jingoistic paean to the protectors of our nation didn't help one's wariness.

However once into the story itself (which I shall discuss very shortly dear patient reader) such (pl)attitudes faded into the background.

One was lucky, I believe, that although Pillars is book 7 of 15 in a series it just happens to be the one stand-alone that introduces new characters for the majority of it's story and requires no prior knowledge of convoluted goings on.

In the end it was a standard okay read with no great surprises nor a plot that made me have to keep reading. It also tweaked one's personal dislike for "a wizard did it" as explanation for the workings of magic - although it seems the wider series has more rules for the magic.

In the end it's a three star book that skips my recommend pile and goes straight to declutter.
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The Gang of Lions

So here's a Caution for you all.

In the midst of one's Indefinite Leave one has visited one's doctor to see about a small lump that appeared on one's foot over the past half year.

Apparently it was caused by a gang of lions attack whilst walking. One can only surmise that, when working as a gang, said lions are incredibly sneaky as one has no recall of any attack incident.

Further questioning of the technician and some observant reading between the lines of her answer of "I can in no way give a professional opinion on that" confirmed that this affliction is the sole cause of my being behind on the daily step count front when compared to Sidekick.

And Longstride L.

And ElfBoy.

And Bomber Babe.

And Salsa Girl, when she remembers to wear her tracker.

Once one has recovered from one's hampering condition then there will be some real competition on the step front.
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Indefinite Leave

Calm down, dear reader, the title of this post does not mean that The Tales are leaving you bereft of your regular updates.

Rather this post is about the keen detective work of Big J and Sidekick (in a spin-off team-up). Together they discovered that Supervisor Grand Chief K had allotted one annual leave with no end date in her calendar.

One's assumption is that it is one of the life-long benefits of being an ex user group president.

All that remains now is the simple task of pointing out to Payroll and HR that their records don't match the leave my manager has given me.
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Holding the Woman

So last Friday one hosted a gathering of sports fans to fanatically observe the inaugural women's AFL stoush betwixt ones beloved Collingwood (aka the shining light of goodness) and Carlton (evil incarnate).

In attendance were Legion2, Salsa Girl, Doctor David, and, of course, The Great Sandro.

Throughout the match one was often struck by how man focused the games language was - holding the man, man-up, etc. and even many ball related sayings if one wants to descend to smuttiness (which one invariably does).

In contrast to all of this The Great Sandro switched effortlessly to yelling "holding the woman!" and such like at the television - explaining it simply to me as "Well Phill, she is a woman so it's what you have to say".

It just goes to show that even the most simple minded of Carlton supporters can be a shining light of pragmatic sensibleness from time to time.
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Achievements Unlocked

So it has been a long summer break - some may even have thought it to be endless - but The Tales is back with a handy list of the achievements one has, umm, achieved in the break.


Achievement
Around the World in 18 days - well, around South Eastern Australia in 13 days, so almost the same thing.
Salsa Girl, Hulk, and oneself survived our round trip to "collect 'em all" in regards to Salsa Girl's family, who have deigned to scatter themselves all over this vast nation of ours.


Achievement
Making it back to work on the correct day. On paper this may seem easy but mistakes have been made. Also the sheer willpower required to end one's holidays is not to be underestimated.

Achievement

Commenced, on request, bedtime reading of volumes of the Cursed Earth saga to Hulk. Judge Dredd being as good a ethical and law abiding role model as the majority of the fairy tales one is apparently supposed to be reading to one's spawn.

Achievement
Convincing Pirate Dave to once again play his Orleans game more than a year since the last time. This time Legion2 was introduced to the pleasure of creating civilisation in medieval France.
One still likes the game after a second showing and it has nothing to do with one's winning.


Achievement
Continuing to avoid seeing Frozen. However one had to do it this time by watching Star Wars The Phantom Menace with Hulk so it might be best to call it a draw.



Whew, that's my achievement quota for the year done then.
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