Well, that door guy certainly knows how to put up a solid door. I managed to sleep the night, even though the Plague Bearers outside were relentless in their chanting and in their assault on my door. By the morning, they were gone again - which further reinforces my hypothesis that They are more active at night. I suspect that they may live out relatively normal existences during daylight hours, but when night falls the Plague takes over...

Today was just one of those days at work. I'll talk about it in my next entry to fill you in, but it was a bit involved near the end of the day. I ended up having a chat with the boss at the workplace I was running the course at, and it was a bit later than I would have liked when I got away and started to head home.

Now, I realised on the way home that I was getting a lil' low on some of the basics in the food department, and figured I would do some shopping to stock up again for the coming days. I had also noticed in the morning that even though the front door had held under last night's onslaught, that some cracks were starting to form. Given that I have a bit of toolkit here, I figured some boards and nails across the front door might be necessary in an emergency, and decided to pick some up, just in case.

You ever had one of those days when you're in a bit of a hurry, and everyone else just isn't? Well, my lil' supply run turned into one of those. Y'know how some people just wanna ask fifty thousand questions about some tool in a hardware store, or just enjoy having a lovely chat with the staff serving at the counter? Well, I found all of those people this afternoon. So my lil' expedition took a LOT longer than I would have liked. What this meant was that night was falling by the time I made it back to my car to head off home for another long night.

I'd noticed some people milling around in the carpark, but figured they were just doing some shopping themselves, and had ignored them. It wasn't until I realised they were shuffling towards me in the half light of the car park, and that a low, familiar moan was starting up that I knew I was in trouble. The remote locking device thing on my keyring hasn't worked for a while, but tonight I wished it did. Have you ever tried to open your car door with your key in a panic while you are carrying several bags of nails and boards? Not something I'd care to repeat in a while...

I made it home, but on my way I noticed a LOT of Plague Bearers around - more than I would have liked to think would exist at this point in Australia. The Azeroth Plague is spreading more quickly than I thought! I'm gonna have to spend some time this evening sealing up my front door with those boards - I don't think it's gonna hold for too much longer otherwise.

I can hear them outside again, chanting over and over...

"WoW is wow"

"WoW is wow"

"Wow is wow"

It's louder than the last couple of nights. I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight... :(

Well, it's been a while since I've switched a console on in my house. A fact that is beginning to upset me a lil'. I mean, I've been really busy with matters of work and St. John, so I haven't had much of a chance. The problem is, that I don't know if Mr. Stan has been at it while I've been in this downtime sort of period, so the Challenge may be in jeopardy...

At last check, I was up to Race 102 out of 111, so I'm in the final stages of the game. I'm racing against Eddie's Posse again, and it looks like I have a couple of Sprints in some kind of Tournament ahead of me. Nothing too difficult I suspect, as my car is almost fully modded out with just about everything I have been able to lay my hands on. :)

In fact, one thing I've noticed in some of these later races is that I'm having to downgrade my ride from time to time to make it possible to win some of the races. Having a car that has massive acceleration is fun, but when you need something that can corner as well, going so fast all the time is somewhat of a hindrance. So the ocassional removal of a modification for some races, and then replacing it for others seems to be the order of business in this game.

The end IS in sight, people. I just don't know when I'm gonna get there. Sooner rather than later, I hope. Another update to follow - hopefully the last. :D

Well, while I sit here with the music cranked up loud to drown out the chanting outside I've just realised something. I've made it (finally, after quite some time) to 100 Forum Posts! :)

Now, given that I don't like writing much in the forums, due to the large amounts of teenage fanboys who write a decent amont of the same stuff over and over again in there, I'm fairly impressed that I've managed to reach a decent landmark such as this. OK sure, it's not quite as impressive as 1,000 posts or NEthing - but you gotta start somewhere, right?

I don't think I get NEthing special from Gamspot from making it this far, but I thought I would recognise the milestone myself. All you massive posters out there may laugh, but I'm pretty happy with my achievement just the same. Here's hoping I don't take another four months to get to 200 posts! :P

Sorry for having to dash away suddenly last night, people. When you hear your front door splintering, you kinda have to do something about it. My couch is looking a lil' less healthy today, but it held at least. And I did kinda have to sit on it to hold it in place, which was a bit frightening with all the noise outside, but I made it through the night. Sure, I didn't get any sleep, but I'm still here to try and DO something about the Azeroth Plague.

In fact, I discovered something important during my harrowing night - Plague Bearers don't like to sunlight much. As I was sitting there, contemplating my own mortality - tired beyond belief - something happened. The scrabbling stopped, the chanting started to fade away. Looking through the shattered remains of my front door, I could see the sun starting to rise. It appears that those infected with the Azeroth Plague don't like sunlight much - they seem to be most active during the night hours.

So I managed to arrange for my door to be repaired (and reinforced) today. It's all good - the guy who came 'round to do it doesn't even OWN a 'puter, so he's safe (for the moment) from being infected. I managed to get off to work and survive the day pretty well on not much sleep, which was good. Made it home before it got dark too, which meant I was able to barricade myelf inside for the evening.

It seems I'm just gonna have to go one day at a time. I can hear them shuffling around outside. The chanting has begun again. It started out softly - "WoW is Wow" - but it's gaining in volume as more of Them gather outside. I'm not sure why so many are there - maybe they know that I'm trying to stop them. I don't know. I just hope that door repairman did a good job.

I'm in for another long night...

is spreading across the world. It's other name? World of Warcraft.

Usually I would link in with the game, so that NEone curious enough to click on the link could be transported to information about the game in question. Today, I will not be doing this? Why, you may ask? It's very simple - to save the few of you out there who still live in the Real World from the plague that is Azeroth...

It's starting to get a bit worrying. Do some Journal Jumping (thanks for coining the phrase Bam! :)) around on Gamespot, and you can almost guarantee there will be an entry or two about this game. When you're looking around in people's Journals, just read what they write, people! It all seems to be the same - "WoW is WOW" seems to be a common phrase. It's starting to get a lil' creepy...

I have a mental image of people sitting behind their keyboards for DAYS at a time (you don't believe me? Read some of their Journals - "I can't believe how much time I've spent in Azeroth..."), eyes glued to the screen, chanting this phrase over and over again as their physical bodies waste away. Even with the minstrations of the Lady Tinoshke, I don't know how many people we can save from this terrible wasting illness. It frightens me, for I wonder if the world of Gaming in general will survive this epidemic.

America fell some time ago. Europe has already been infected, and more people every day take up the chant. I strongly suspect there are those in Australia who have been exposed to this plague, and I fear for the safety of my own country. Is nowhere safe from this fearful new threat to our civilization?

So I stand here, alone. And I call out to those of you who are still yet sane, to those of you who have NOT yet been exposed to a carrier of the Azeroth Plague. And I say - STAND FAST, people! When someone offers World of Warcraft to you "just to try it out" , say NO! It is NOT safe, even if you don't inhale! I pray that my message reaches some of you before it is too late. I fear for my own safety in this matter, for I suspect They know I am on to them, that I am trying to prevent their takeover of our world, our minds, our lives...

I can hear them outside the door even now, chanting "WoW is WOW" over and over again. The drone is incessant. They are relentless. I don't know how much longer my door will hold, even with it barricaded. They know I will have to come out eventually. They know I will need food in time. But even know, they beat against my door with their copies of World of Warcraft.

They are coming. They are coming...

are funny things, aren't they? I can remember a time in the not-too-distant past when "mobile" phones were the sizes of bricks, and generally not something you could carry around all that easily. More likely if you had a 'phone outside of your office, it would be in your car as they were popular for a while there...

Personally, I have never really liked the things. I mean, I tend to enjoy my privacy when I get some alone time. So the idea of having a device that enables people to be able to contact me wherever I may be tends to irritate me. Have any of you ever thought about the compulsion we have to answer a ringing telephone? You might be in the middle of having a shower, or doing something else when the 'phone rings. At which point, most people drop everything to rush to the 'phone and answer it - 'coz it could be something or someone important, right? And then it turns out to be some guy in a call centre somewhere wanting to sell you a new brand of socks.

Mobile phones make this compulsion easier to satisfy. The phone is right there in your pocket, or bag, or in some kind of pouch on your hip. So when it rings, you don't have to rush off and drop everything to get to the 'phone. You just need to step away from the conversation you're having, and answer it. Not terribly polite, but a lot simpler. Still, not my favourite devices...

So when both of my workplaces insisted I get a mobile phone several years ago, I was initially hesitant. People would be able to CALL me and annoy me about stuff! I didn't like the idea, but eventually relented. And then I was sucked into the evil world of the mobile phone and it's trickery. Since then, for the past couple of years I have had a couple of mobile phones. (Had to change my number at one point due to a stalker - that's another story) I now appreciate the value of them as this lil' speaking box has helped me with work on a number of occasions. However, I can also see how people can get themselves quite massively into debt with excessive SMSing or lengthy phone calls. (Something I discovered myself a year or so back when I was still new to this game...)

So it surprised me a lil' when I discovered how attached I had become to this lil' technological device. Earlier this evening, I was visiting my parents to catch up for a lil' while, and was taking the dog for a walk with my Mum. We ran around a bit with Buddy (the Dog) in the local cemetary, as he loves to run, and then headed home. Upon arrival, I was just settling down to watch some of the Appendices of The Fellowship of the Ring when I discovered my mobile wasn't sitting in it's lil' pouch by my hip. And I was surprised to find a moment of panic hit me as I wondered where it had gone.

After a brief search of the house, it hit me. It must have fallen out when I was running around after Buddy. So after a quick walk back to the cemetary, and a short but methodical search the missing phone showed up. All was well again with the world, except for the vague feeling of disquiet that I've turned into one of those people I dislike - those who value their mobile phones far more than they're actually worth...

Hmmmmmmm. Is there some kind of therapy group I can join in with or something to help deal with this problem? Is there NEone out there who can help me?

You ever have one of those periods in ya life when everything is just a bit too hard, and you just can't seem to get NEthing done? Yeah well, I've just been sorta going through one of those periods recently.

Some of you may have noticed my activity here at Gamespot has dropped off recently over the past week or so, and when I have been participating I haven't exactly been Mr. Cheery. I've just been going through a bit of a rough patch, and so everything has sorta fallen to the wayside for a bit. I haven't managed to do much around the house for a while, I've been going through the motions at work, I haven't been playing any games really... In short, I've been in a bit of a deep blue funk. *shrug*

I think I've managed to drag myself out of it for the time being, so you should expect to see a lil' more of me from here on in with a bit of luck. I've rummaged around in my bag of tricks and found my smiley face again, so things should be going back to something resembling normal shortly.

Actually, I managed to sort out the warzone that is my place of residence over the weeked just gone, so I'm getting there, a piece at a time...

On to more interesting topics.

Yes, I know I just posted one of these a lil' earlier this evening, but I figured I should make an effort given that I've had most of a week off from Gamespot. :)

OK, this one's a lil' different. Usually for Bizarro Style, I give three actors and just the one quote - and the quote tends to be a decent length. This time, the movie I'm using as a basis for this Quote Quiz is gonna have three quotes to go with the actor's names, and you'll need to match each up properly. The reason for this is each of the quotes is quite short. Tricky, but we'll see how you go.

Points for guessing the movie, and a bonus point for each actor and quote paired up. Let's see how you all go this time. The actor's names are:

Christopher Lloyd

Tim Curry

Lesley Ann Warren

The first two of the following quotes come from the one scene, spoken by the two actors in question. The third is from a separate scene. And the quotes are as follows:

- "Why is the car stopped?"

- "It's frightened"

(This next one is the separate scene)

- "I buttle, sir"

Let's see how clever you are tonight, ladies and gentlemen! :P

Well, I certainly had an interesting day today at work. I had an opportunity to evaluate the skills of a whole bunch of my peers, and basically inform them that their basic skills need some work...

Today was the first day of what has been named "The Travelling Roadshow", in which myself and couple of other Trainers started the ball rolling on a project that is going to make a lot of people a bit upset, I suspect. In St. John, we train people in First Aid - something I think you all know. But to do so effectively, our own skills as Trainers need to be top-notch. And unfortunately, this isn't the case with everyone.

So it was decided that a small group of us would need to demonstrate several important skills and evaluate said same skills of a group of our peers, to make sure their standard was acceptable. They would then go out and do the same with another group of Trainers each, with one of us along to supervise - and so on. Now, you may think that it sounds like quite an honour - to be selected for such a job out of almost 300 Trainers we have in St. John. I gotta tell you, it's not quite as good as you might think.

Lemme tell you, when people feel that they shouldn't be having to do something, they decide to make life difficult for you. I had a room full of people who were picking what all three of us were doing to bits. At least to begin with, that was quite difficult to deal with, but I got the hang of it eventually and settled into it without taking it all too personally. We got through the day, and I'm hoping the Trainers present picked up some new skills, but I'm not about to hold my breath on it or NEthing.

What made everthing THAT much more difficult was the fact that at that time when we started - I had been awake for almost 20 hours, and so was a bit vague myself. It is now somewhere more like 36 hours since I slept last, so I need to finish this up in a minute and get some sleep. I've finished my whinge now - back to more interesting topics... :P

Well, it's time for another Quote Quiz, ladies and gentlemen. Now, I haven't had a whole lot of time recently to watch any DVDs, so this one will be based on a movie I quite like which I watched a month or so back. (I have backlog of DVDs to watch as well, Znuggles - picked up three seasons of the West Wing on DVD over the weekend. GREAT show - even if it is about American Government... :P)

Same rules as before, people. I will name three actor type people from a given movie. I will also supply a quote that one of them made during the movie. Your task is to not only guess the movie, but to try and sort out which of them spoke the line(s) - one point for each task. Mr. Znuggles' is even with the Lady Tinoshke now (six points apiece), so c'mon Bam! And feel free to join in Stan - I'm sure you'll be able to stab in the dark like the rest of 'em. :D

Ready? Here we go! The actor's names are...

Robert Downey Jr.

Penelope Cruz

Charles S. Dutton

And the quote is...

- "And even if you tell the truth, no-one will listen. And you know why? 'Coz you're crazy. The more you try to prove them wrong, the crazier you'll appear. You're invisible now - can you feel it?"

Let's see how you do on this one. Tried to make it not quite as easy as the first one. :D