Tag: Uncategorized

People should be able to spell.
I can forgive the occasional accidental mis-spelling, but some things are simply beyond help.

On a road sign: “Look 2WICE – You only live once.”

2WICE? 2WICE?! You haven’t even saved any letters! That is not an abbreviation!
My name is Inigo Mantoya. You killed my language. Prepare to die.

What does Australia Day mean to you?

For me, the Australia Day long weekend is one of the most anticipated long weekends of the year.
It has become tradition for Amy’s family to head down to a shack at Clifton Beach for a long weekend of BBQs, loud music, tennis, swimming, noise complaints, card games and beach cricket.

Let me paint you a picture:
The “shack” is incredible, it was recently built by a member of the extended family and affords all of the modern conveniences of a home, whilst somehow keeping that shack-like feel. Directly outside of the front sliding doors there is a patio-ish area with a table, chairs and two BBQs. Yes – TWO BBQs. The meat:mouth ratio leans very much in our favour. A few feet further forward stands a fenced tennis court which is for the exclusive use of the shacks that sourround it, and the beach is but one sandy minute’s walk over the dune.

We bring a PA down with us into which we plug a radio. On Australia day, we bring it outside for yet another BBQ and listen to JJJ’s Hottest 100 with the volume on 11. This has netted us some very un-Australian complaints in the past, but the music cannot be stopped.

Standing around a hot piece of metal which is covered in spitting, oily meat, beer in hand (the last case of James Squire Sundown Lager in Hobart, I’ll have you know) with friends, family, the sun, flies and sport – all while taking part in an Australia-wide celebration of music are just some of the privileges of being a resident of the best country in the world.

I had a cheery bus driver this morning.

I know. Its unbelievable, but you have to listen!
She smiled when I got on the bus. She was conversational, but not overly so. It was enough to restore my faith in bus drivers everywhere.

If any of (the 86 of) you happen to be bus drivers, please take a leaf out of the book of my driver this morning:
You can make the difference between someone starting the day right, or wrong.
Sometimes, all it can take to improve your outlook on your day is for someone to be polite and chipper in a situation that does not already require it of them. Most bus drivers range from 5-10 on the Surly-o-meter, why is this?

It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, the interactions with the people who cross your path from day to day; whether they’re clients, customers, passengers, passers-by, buskers, farmers, shop-attendants, evangelists, telemarketers, employees, employers, subordinates or simply fellow countrymen, should always be polite and courteous.

There really is no excuse for being rude. It’s selfish and inconsiderate.
Stop it.

Now that I’ve switched to the .com and stuffed around with my feed, I’m not sure that anyone is actually being prodded when I make a post.

If a few of you could comment on this post to let me know that you’re still receiving RSS goodness, that’d be great.

Now, just to ensure that this post isn’t too boring:.

Introducing:
http://allegedlyinteresting.com/

Yes, ok? I admit it. I play Dungeons and Dragons.

*pause for dramatic effect*

I know you’re surprised. I would have been a few years ago if I’d found out that someone as cool as me played it.

I still clearly remember the days when I swore that I would never play this game because I’m not that much of a geek.

Evidently, I was wrong. I was convinced to give it a try by jml and to my chagrin I really enjoyed it. When I think about it, it really shouldn’t be surprising considering the fact that I play a lot of computer games. The difference is not at all huge, especially with the changes implemented in the new fourth edition rules.

In fact, if anything D&D gives me more of an opportunity to stretch my brain. I have a huge array of options available to me for use in any situation. I am not simply relegated to working out which object in the room requires me to walk up to it and hit the ‘use’ key.
See that bag of stuff on that pedestal over there? It is most likely trapped. In a computer game, I have a couple of options. I could walk over to it and take the item thereby setting off the trap or, I could walk over to it and use my Disable Trap skill. That’s it. Two options.
In D&D on the other hand, I could do either of the above or I could stand outside the room and try to knock the bag off of the pedestal with my sling and a stone, I could try to prod it off with a 10ft pole, I could attempt to lasso it, I could hang from the ceiling and try to grab it, I could use some sort of spell to levitate the bag… the list goes on.

The game is fun. More fun than its detractors would allow you to believe. You get to make up a character and do awesome stuff with it. You can make a min/maxed character in order to be as powerful as the rules of the game will allow, or you can create a balanced character and focus more on narrative and back story.
You can put on your character’s voice when they enter a conversation, or you can use the tried and true “My character says” method.
You can pick fights.
You can drink at a pub.
You can travel over the ocean.
You can be a hermit.
You can fall in love.
You can be caught in a compromising position (Can’t you Kevin?).
You can be incredibly stupid.
You can fly.
You can walk.
You can teleport.
You can kill.
You can be fanatical.
You can be boring.
You can be a hero.
You can be a villain.

You can be whatever you can imagine.

So instead of assuming the stereotype, give it a go.
If you don’t enjoy it, can I have your books? Because they’re overpriced in Australia.