I’ve been wondering these last few days if there is a definite correlation between whether you are a day time website browser and a night time website browser as to what sort of website colour schemes appeal to you, Dark on Light, or Light on Dark?

This pondering occurred when I started noticing that if I am browsing the web during the day, I don’t tend to mind pages with a light background and dark text as much as I normally do at night. At night I tend to prefer dark backgrounds with lighter text colours, and I also seem to have a tendency to like these colour schemes in general. I also noticed that I tend to do most of my web browsing at night, which seems to indicate to me that the light has a major effect on my preference for darker colour schemes.

I’m interested in your opinions on this… What is your preference, and what do you believe drives it?

What would I have done differently if I were part of the founding members of Crossroads? During a discussion a few weeks ago I was asked what I would do differently and whether I would consider a different business model than a co-op. Lets take a fantasy trip back in time almost twenty years to when Crossroads was just a twinkle in the eye of a number of founding members, all the time remembering that hindsight is a wonderful thing. ;)

If I were one of the founding members I would have sat down with the other founding members and discussed with them what they would be willing to financially contribute each year as an on-going contribution. I would have stressed that even if we went with a co-op model for the way ahead, we would still need a significant amount of capital to develop any site we purchased into a viable sustainable business. I would point out that whilst we could start by contributing the bare minimum needed to get it going hoping that we quickly turn the site into a sustainable business, the reality could mean that we might not be able to get things going as quickly as planned. I would ask that we as founding members agree to continue to pay the agreed upon figure each time it is due, possibly suggesting breaking the payments into weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments rather than a lump sum each year.

I would suggest that we sat down and developed a business plan outlining the possible income streams taking into account who would be running them and doing research into the potential income they would earn as well as what they would realistically cost to get set up and where they would be located.

I would point out that if we chose an empty block of land then there would be significant amounts of capital that would need to be spent on infrastructure such as a work shed, power and equipment owned by the Group. I would suggest that the smart thing to do would be to purchase an existing working farm that could slowly be converted whilst still providing infrastructure and an income. I would point out that there could be the possibility of hiring a farm manager to continue the operation of the existing farm whilst the Group itself concentrates on the plans to convert the farm to a medieval site.

I would suggest that a co-op whilst being the ultimate in a fair and equal ownership model, means that everything needs to be approved by committee which may slow down development making it difficult to get to a sustainable state. I would suggest that whilst the Co-op model is probably the best for the people involved, there needs to be some very strict rules put in place to ensure people stay involved. Alternately a more business like model might be more appropriate.

There are a lot of things that have lead to putting Crossroads where it is today, and turning back time won’t fix any of them however time has shown us where the holes are. Personally I think there is still hope, however it will take the majority of members to realise they either need to start bailing, or get off the boat and lighten the load, and there only seems to be a few members still paying attention.

This is just my way of saying “I’m willing, but only if everyone else starts grabbing buckets and bailing too…”.

As some of you are aware I was until recently the Chairman of The Crossroads Co-op, a wonderful dream by a group of medievalists to create a place to provide an educational centre for medieval and living history studies. The goals of the members of Crossroads are not beyond the realms of possibility, and would provide a fantastic resource for a large group of medievalists to play learn and teach. So why then did my Chairmanship of this group only last five months? In short, due to my lack of faith in the greater portion of the Crossroads Membership.

It is no secret that Crossroads has some major issues ahead. Amongst the medieval community there have been many rumours and stories and a lot of bad blood between members. It is easy to see that the medieval community has lost faith in Crossroads ability to provide everything that was discussed almost twenty years ago when the project started. There has been some bad decisions made and some forced that have lead the co-op into a lull in member participation. The real questions is, is this lull terminal? Personally I believe that unless there is a major increase in both member participation and member financial contributions then yes, I believe it is terminal, though I also believe it is possible to turn this terminal prognosis around however it would require the membership to actually get involved.

You know I here these voices of Crossroads Members in my head telling me “It’s all very well me having these opinions, but you are new and haven’t been around during all the hard times”… You know what… You are right, I’m not hung up on the past. I see a possible future for Crossroads… I see what it can be with support from all of it’s members both financially and personally. The fact is that whilst Crossroads is a Co-op, it also needs to be a business, it needs to make money to support itself. Both the members of the Board and the membership at large need to realise this so that the project can move ahead. Hiding behind the “Not for Profit” status will only prolong the slow rot that has already set in.

At the moment the only means the Co-op has of raising capital is through the Membership as there is not enough infrastructure in place to open as a profitable tourist attraction or camp-site, nor would there be enough business even if there where. Covering just the minimum expense of running of the Co-op is also a futile gesture as all that does is prolong the inevitable. If the membership want to actually see the project succeed they need to be willing to contribute not only to the day to day running, but to future development. Businesses need Capital to get started, and not just the capital to buy the property in the first place, but capital to be able to fund development as well as paying for the expertise that the membership cannot supply. I’m not a fan of the Co-op structure myself, as it implies that we will all contribute equally and the history of Crossroads has proven that for the project to get as far as it has, that just doesn’t happen. For a Co-op to work everyone needs to be contributing equally and this clearly isn’t happening with Crossroads.

I’m beginning to have a growing fear of the way modern industrial society is heading.  The more and more I see of the way society is dealing with people the more and more I become scared that it is spiralling out of control.  In today’s society it is becoming more and more apparent that the only goal one should have is to make money.  It doesn’t really matter how you make it, it just matters that you make it, and for those that feel money isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, there is no escape.  Society these days effectively screams “Money, money, money!” and this pursuit of money has successfully driven a wedge between family life often meaning that both parents need to work in order to make enough money and kids are finding it harder to connect with their parents.

With money comes the technology to be able to keep in touch without actually you know…  having to keep in touch.  This lends us the false feeling that we are being social, yet more and more of us are using this as a means to retreat from society.  At the same time it gives others the means to sell more stuff we don’t need.  It’s this stuff that makes companies money, and they need to sell it to you to make their shareholders happy.  These shareholders are people that have done nothing but provide money to a company so that they can in turn make money.  It takes money to make money, and more and more of the worlds money is flowing up the money chain, whilst more and more people fall out the bottom.  These people who fall out the bottom are useless to the cycle as they cannot contribute to the materialistic, stuff generating world we currently live in.

Whilst money itself isn’t the cause of the problem, I believe the fact that more and more laws and law precedents are applied each year that restrict everything down to a financial base is.  Money is becoming the only legal solution to any issue, if you don’t have money, you don’t have a chance in today’s society.  Not only is money becoming the only way to deal with society, it’s become more and more an acceptable means of righting ones wrongs.  This leads to the fact that businesses these days are even weighing up their risks with potential profits and sometimes choosing to continue with the risk rather than putting more money into development.  More laws directing monetary settlements, and monetary settlements themselves seeming to be the only way to a satisfactory end, meaning that there is even more of a need for money.

The ever increasing need to have money to make money means that the majority of society are only ever going to be struggling to survive whilst those with money will continue to succeed slowly gathering up all of the worlds resources until there are only a few large companies controlling all of us.  No matter how much Governments try and legislate against it, today’s society is in a slow spiralling decline to an industrial society where we are all just numbers, and a small group of people will be controlling every aspect of our lives.  I challenge those of you with the means of researching the rise of the mega-companies to chart it’s inevitable end.  The only hope I have for society is that the end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012 brings with it a disaster of such proportions that society is given a chance to start again.

Am I a nutter to believe this?  Possibly.  All I know is that I am extremely unhappy in today’s society and that I do hope for some major change that will stop society continuing slowly on this seemingly harmless yet oh so dangerous course.

I recently came to the conclusion that I spend too much time using so called Social Networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and even friends personal blogs for the purpose of keeping in touch with what friends and family are up to.  “So What?” I hear you say, that’s what they are meant to be used for right?  But what about actually keeping in touch?  You know…  Picking up the phone and having a conversation, or arranging time to meet face to face and enjoy peoples company?  See…  I’m the sort of person that easily falls into the habit of not staying in touch with people, especially if I can see that their lives are moving ahead OK.  Facebook enables that continued contact without it actually being a contact at all.  Sure, it also allows us to let a broad range of friends and people know what’s going on in our lives without having to you know…  be social.  But for some of us this just allows further separation from those “friends” who we may or may not choose to directly interact with.

The truth is there are a large number of uses for Facebook, and we all use various aspects of it each day.  Sometimes we use it to keep our friends informed of what we are up to, sometimes it’s used for advertising and sometimes it’s used to invite friends closer, in an effort to get people socialising more.  It all really comes down to how you yourself use it.  Yes, it is just a tool, but a tool that has so many uses that sometimes it can harm friendships as well as help them.

For me, facebook seems to enable me to become more of a hermit, more of someone who doesn’t get out, and doesn’t feel the need to get out as I seem to have all the friends I need on fthere.  But then, over the years the Internet has done that for me in various other technologies as well, starting with IRC which was the initial Internet addiction.  Yes, I have a problem but it’s one that I seem unable to beat as society keeps leading me back to it.  Sure, ultimately it’s me who has the final say in the end and me who keeps listening, knowing I have a problem but still returning…

The following items are on offer reasonably cheaply.  Feel free to make a reasonable offer, no offer will offend, however they may be rejected. ;)

• 6 Month old LG 32″ full HD1080 LCD TV.  (Want $800.)
• 4 Month old LG HDD/DVD Digital Recorder.  (Want $240.)
• Toshiba SD-890KY DVD Player with HDMI output
• 6 Head Stereo Akia VCR with jog and shuttle.
• 19″ Soniq LCD TV with RGB Input. (Want $200)
• 22″ Chimei LCD Computer Monitor with DVI and RGB Input. (Want $200)
• 3.4Ghz Pentium Hyper-threading Computer with 2Gb RAM, and 2x 120Gb HDD.
• 2.4Ghz AMD Computer with 1Gb Ram and 120Gb HDD.
• HP LazerJet printer 4100n with duplexor.  (May go on Ebay)
• 2.4Ghz Toshiba Laptop with 768Mb RAM and 30Gb HDD.
• 1.6Ghz AMD Sony Laptop with 512Mb RAM and 20Gb HDD.
• 2 x Cisco 7941G IP Phones (1 experimented with, 1 never opened. Complete with Power supplies).
• 100Mhz Trio CS-2120 Occilliscope (CRO).   (May go on Ebay)
• ETI et-131 Variable Power Supply.
• Hakko 907 Variable Temp Soldering Iron.
• Numerous UHF Radio equipment to be listed soon.
• Numerous Computer/Communications Cables – Too many to mention, but if you are after something specific let me know.
• 3 Single Board Computers (2 x 300Mhz, 1 x 600Mhz) hard to find.
• Canon FB 630U USB Scanner.
• Fenton PowerPal 425 UPS (needs new Battery).

Thats it for now, though keep checking this same location, as I add more or take stuff off thats no longer available.

I need an escape from life…  I have come to the conclusion that I own far to much stuff, and even more junk or PUJ as my Dad calls it (Potentially Useful Junk).  The thing is this PUJ and junk and Stuff is weighing me down, and keeping me trapped in one place.  I need to get rid of it, and I need to reduce my life to a point that I am happy to just pick up and move where things are happening at the time.  This may be more procrastination, or it may be me finally making an effort to develop in life.  I guess only time can tell…

So, if this idea of a possible new plan is to take shape I need to liquidate the assests I have and turn myself into someone who has no debt, not much stuff and is free to travel and work as needed.  Stay tuned to this space for some reasonable deals on Stuff and possibly even PUJ…  The junk will just be chucked or given away.

Woohoo!!!  I’m so excited, I have just published my first Period Archery document, hopefully it’ll be used world-wide to help people with their Period Archery.

OK, So that might be a little over enthusiastic.

The document I’m talking about is a means of simply printing 10 copies of the one page, and joining them all together to make a Period Target Face.  It’s by no means the easiest way to make a period target face, but it does only require glue to put together and gives you a fairly strong almost 3 ply target face with the correct period markings.  Why do it this way?  Some people may find it the easiest way, not having access to a large sheet of paper or cardboard, or just not haveing the means to draw accurate circles with 3, 12 and 30cm radii.

You can also choose to use this document as a template or a reminder of the period scoring system by cutting along the division line you can have a template to remind you where the scoring divisions are on a normal 60cm target and what their points values are.

Hope some of you find it useful. I have included a link to the PDF File below.

PeriodTargetFaceA4_v1.pdf

Over the last few months I have heard a number of people from different aspects of my involvement in both the SCA and Crossroads insist that discussion should be open to all and easily accessible.  I can see why they believe this, but personally I feel slightly differently.  My view is that the important discussions should be open to all but not too easy for the masses to participate in, my reasoning for this is that if we involve everyone who’s even just slightly interested then yes sure, we are likely to get more people getting involved in the discussion, however what happens is that those that do get involved are usually only involved in the discussion when it’s turning up in their email inbox.

If people don’t need to work at something even just a little, if it’s as simple just replying to an email that turns up, then they’re less likely to be invested in what they are discussing, they are more likely to just share their idea’s and move on.  In fact, a lot of these people wouldn’t even bother at all if it wasn’t for the fact that these emails are sent to them.  Email has an uncanny ability to get people involved even if they normally wouldn’t, but is that involvement necessarily a good thing?  Whilst any input is a good thing, people sometimes feel that the input they have contributed is the best way to proceed and they can get into large discussions trying to make people see that their solution is the best solution…  This can just confuse things.  Unless there is someone in control, someone who the buck stops with, then excessive discussion can just prolong moving forward.  Ever heard the term “designed by committee”?  Open discussion by anyone without control is just like having a big committee where there are too many people suggesting their own solution.

For people to actually participate in online decision making, they should have to actually go somewhere specific and have a proper means of making a decision such as a poll.  This is the reason I am pro forums for proper discussion and participation.  They attract those that are actually willing to take the time to go somewhere and read/participate.  They weed out those that don’t have the time or aren’t willing to make the time and allow a better medium for those that want to actually participate.

I’m really excited as tonight I have started my IT Cert4 course in Website design. I’ve been looking forward to this course and was very disappointed last Thursday when I was sick. This course is hopefully going to start my career in web content.

This evening we were looking at actual design concepts, which is where I probably need a lot of help. It’s good to have some theory to understand why certain designs are really interesting whilst others don’t really.

I have recently been put into a position where my energy and enthusiasm to communicate and get things organised can possibly be put to good use.  I guess my only concerns are that the people I am working with do not share the same energy and enthusiasm which will mean that my expectation to have these people actually communicate and trust either other to share their thoughts without fear may mean that I will be quickly disappointed.

I am someone who does like to discuss things excessively, as I feel that it’s a good way to ensure that most aspects have at least been thought through.  I feel it’s a also a worthwhile process for everyone involved to express an opinion as the only thing that silence indicates is a lack of commitment.  Sure look I understand that sometimes people don’t have the time to get involved, however I believe they need to make the time if they are in a position of responsibility.  Anyway, I guess maybe my expectations probably need to be toned down otherwise I’m going to get rather annoyed and disheartened.

Warning, reading further may be a case of ‘To Much Information’ for a lot of people.  Read on only if you have an open or inquiring mind secure in the knowledge that you have been warned.

AMI, the company that has for the last 3-4 years been marketing a simple solution to premature ejaculation have an interesting marketing campaign.  See quite simply the only people who really need their services are those that aren’t really getting enough sex in the first place, those that don’t have regular partners, or those that get it less than once a week.  Having discussed this issue with a few people, tested the theory myself and having known men at both sides of the spectrum, I believe that the issue is simply a matter of not getting enough sex.  I’m not saying that this is the be all and end all solution, and that this will work for every guy, but women; if your man isn’t lasting as long as you would like, then it might simply be a case of not having sex often enough.  Personally I would suggest 2-3 times in a night, 2-3 times a week.  I’m sure there’s a more scientific explanation, but you won’t hear it from me, instead you’ll here supposition and personal theories…

The penis seems to know the difference between a guys hand and a real woman and I think it really wants a real woman.  So much so that it is so sensitive to the feel of being inside a real woman that when it hasn’t for longer than a week or two it just can’t help but be all excited.  Think about it like this, the sexual response in a man if you cut it right back to animal instinct, is there purely to promote the continuation of his seed.  So the little head is basically going to try and get that seed into the woman as soon as it can just in case it doesn’t get another chance.  The less sex a guy has had, the more chance his little head is going to be desperate to get that seed into the woman.  Therefore ladies, if you pick up a guy whilst out dancing and end up heading back somewhere for some fun, chances are if the guy lasts a long time chances are he probably had some other woman not that long ago, if the first time it was over in a minute or less, then chances are the guy hasn’t been with a woman in at least 2-3 weeks.

This whole sexual performance thing that society and AMI are promoting is simply a means of evening the field when it comes those that have enough and those that don’t.  Now I’m not trying to say what they are selling is a bad thing, or that guys that know the secret to lasting a longer time are a bad thing either.  Hell, I’m not even trying to stand up for those of us that don’t get enough and therefore are well, premature.  All I’m trying to say is that in my opinion there’s an easy natural answer to why it happens, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it is fixable without drugs and that marketing and society are to blame for it being a bugger issue than it needs to be.  I guess the real question is how does it effect YOU.  For some it might mean a few more hours of enjoyment is needed to bring spice back into a waning relationship, for others it might be a means of making a moralistic or judgement call.  These are only my own opinions and observations, do with this information whatever you choose.

People try and convince me more and more each day that we are Human and not animals; and that we should act more Human…  I still think the  animal instincts in us explain a lot about who we are and why we do the things we do.  No matter how much people try and tell me they don’t and that they shouldn’t, I will always believe this even as culture and civilization try to cover up those instincts.

Wow…  Talk about slackness and procrastination…  The article below was written back in November…  In fact early November.  So, why bring up a failure to publish like this?  why not quietly delete it and hope that no-one ever notices that it was ever started?  Two reasons, firstly; It’s good to acknowledge ones mistakes, then move on and do better next time.  Secondly; This is a blog designed to document well…  me and my life.

It’s amasing how slack and lazy one can get when there is no real reason to get up in the morning. You might start thinking that On no, here comes another whinge about being unemployed, but no, fear not. The reason for this topic of thinking is to throw some idea’s out there, some may be right, some may be wrong… But now they are “Out There” do do doo do!

This follows on from a conversation I had with a friend on Thursday night about the need to get up and do stuff even if you don’t have a job to do. Now this friend was suggesting that you get up at 6am and go for a walk, which is one thing I have always found difficulty in maintaining. I can get up at 6am one or two times in a row and go for a walk, but all it takes is one rainy day or any other excuse not to and I’m back to sleeping till 8… 9… 10am. This friend was suggesting that this is normal behaviour and that it takes someone who’s slightly manic to make it work.

I have no idea where it was going from there, after all, it’s been 3 months.  Meh, maybe I should start getting up and going for a walk each morning again.

… And it only took me a whole month to come up with it.

Over the last 6 months I have been rather depressed about not having any goals in life, and well…  having nothing to strive for was getting very depressing.

This year I’m hoping to change that.  I have decided to get qualifications as a web developer, and as such I am now enrolled in a Certificate 4 course for Information Technology (websites).  This course should take about 12-18 months to complete.  Hopefully if I get a part time job in between, then I can survive on AUStudy for this time.  The issue is that AUStudy is a significant chunk less than Newstart, so I’ll have to make sure that I have enough part time work to maintain an income.  If I can manage this, I shall continue that way until I complete the Diploma level course and look for full time employment with a government department.

Thats my plan…  My Goal for the next 12-18 months.  I’m not going to set a longer term one until after I have achieved this one as well.  So, for all of you who actually read this, please feel free to help me stick to and encourage me towards completion of this goal as your support will help greatly.

There a whole lot of people having a go at the failings of Apples new iPad, citing things such as it doesn’t support Flash, it’s not multitasking and even it lacks connectivity.  But I don’t see these as problems with it, as quite simply I don’t see the iPad as a replacement for a computer, but more as a supplement for a computer.  It is quite simply a large iPod Touch with some additional software touches to take advantage of the large screen.  However the possibilities of putting that to some valuable uses are amazing.  It can supplement your computing experience by becoming the open manual beside you as you learn a new piece of software.  It can provide you with a means of moving a document to a mobile platform so that you can take it over and show your boss.  How many of us geeky people have either their laptop open beside their desktop computer or have dual monitors to increase productivity.  Usually the second monitor or laptop is there to provide us with a quick look at our email inbox, or some sort of semi-static document, that’s a perfect use for the iPad.  The future no doubt will bring with it an App that allows you to drag documents to your iPad from your desktop and have those documents displayed at the same page you were at on your desktop.

We have all seen the SciFi movies with the data tablets that they just slide data across to and then move it off to somewhere else, or show colleagues…  that’s exactly what the iPad is.  It’s just a prototype version of those wonderful SciFi data pads.  It’s certainly not a laptop replacement or a games console.  It’s a tool to manipulate data, and sure, at the moment it is a little over priced, but just like Mobile phones and every other piece of technology as more and more people start using it, the price will drop until you can pick them up for under $200 and I’ll probably have 3 or 4 of them around the house, which is what I assume Apple were hoping for when they built the iPad.

I resisted purchasing an iPod, as I didn’t see the reason for having a piece of technology that couldn’t to as much as my mobile phone.  My Mobile phone has all of the functions that an iPod does and some more, and I really didn’t see a need to add another piece of technology to my collection that I would only use for one function.  Hell…  My mobilephone gets used more for music and entertainment than it does for phone calls…  so why be carrying more?  But The iPad has given me a reason to want one, and that simply the convenience of being able to read PDF’s, books and other data comfortably without having to start up my laptop and wait for all the bloatware to start before I can get into it.  The ease of use and the fact that there are minimal distractions whilst using it make it a fantastic tool to supplement a technogeeks arsenal.

Lets think of some other uses for the iPad…  Hmm  Lets save our students backs for instance, instead of carrying around kilo’s of paper books, they can have all of their text books available to them on the iPad, AND still have access to their laptop to actually work.  Effectively the iPad is an iPod for those who work with or read documents and need a larger screen to better display that information and the fact is I’m sold…  and I’m going to be working at finding a job even quicker now so that I can afford to get one myself.

Back in November my home PC kinda died and in the attempt to resurrect it I ended up back using Windows XP.  Now being a versatile person who has experience with Windows, Mac and Linux I didn’t really care what was on there as most of the applications I use are all web based and OS independant.  I did enjoy a few easily setup parts of Windows, and the fact that I could run some games that were not fully supported on Wine, however the OS has been glitching for the last week or two and I have now decided that it needs to be Ubuntu-fied.

I shall sacrifice the ease of Windows connectivity with my devices for the slightly more difficult but oh so much more stable Ubuntu.  The need to be Windows compatible is not something I am willing to put up with glitches and reboots for.  I am not willing to put up with Windows simply because the masses say that it is the best thing to do, I shall struggle slighlyly for connectivity and pursue the freedom that is Open Source, and the luxury of a built in App installer that knows what’s compatible with the software and where to find it.  I shall put up with a slightly more difficult path and wear my geekhood proudly!

For Linux is the system, the power and the future and I shall succeed where countless other geeks have done so, or my name isn’t Syridian.

I watched the DVD “The Ugly truth” the other day and I was actually quite surprised how much I agreed with the sentiments of the character of Mike.  Maybe that makes me a bad person, I don’t know, but I just couldn’t help agreeing with most things he said.  I’m only interested in a relationship with a woman for one reason and that reason is sex.  Thats not to say I can’t form a caring relationship and be friends, just that if there is no sex in a relationship or the sex is a one way deal where only one of us seems to want it, then it’s just easier to be purely friends.  I’m not going to be as offencive as Mike and say that all men are like this…  Personally I like to think they are, but there will always be someone out there who would take offence at that.

Sure, I really not the best person to talk about love and relationships.  The longest relationship I have had is 6 months, and every woman I have actually felt any real love for hasn’t felt the same for me.  Maybe I’m picky…  Maybe I’m just too damn honest…  Maybe I’m not honest enough.  Either way, I have had enough experience with dating to know that I’m over the whole chase / looking for the one thing.  I guess I’m at the point that I’m happy to see what happens, and hope that there’s enough interest from both sides to keep things going.  I don’t understand relationships without an active sex life, personally the only reason I see for having a relationship that is more than just a caring friendship is so that you can have a safe and active sex life.

I think that more women should watch “The Ugly Truth” and take heed of the leasons of Mike, he has some interesting and truthful things to say in amongst some stuff that is well…  Ugly. ;)

• heads off to cart rocks and build walls. #
• heads off to hang out at Charlie's on Beissel. #
• is going to become a lazy bohemian and hang out at a cafe/resturant all day. #
• Looking forward to the end of the silly season and potential employment. #

As a person who isn’t much of a celebrater of things, it’s been an awfully long time between organising celebrations for me.   These days I am hopeless with remembering other peoples birthdays and have only recently gotten around to getting a birthday calendar organised for friends and family.    Whilst I heartily attend other peoples parties, I haven’t thrown myself one in MANY years, usually avoiding celebration on my birthday entirely.

Last time I threw myself a party it was a going away party for when I left England and returned to Australia.  The party itself was Awesome!  But I was highly biased.  It started off at a lovely little English pub, where I was plyed with drink after drink until I was drinking 4 parts bourbon and 1 part Coke out of a pint glass as people were either buying me a straight bourbon to add to my bourbon and Coke, or were buying me double bourbon and Cokes.  The party then moved to a little resturant that I had hired for the night exclusivly, allowing us to continue drinking as well as get a great feed, and also keep going until the wee hours of the morning.  I remember waking up the next day still drunk, still feeling great…  And then I got on a plane and left England.  The party was a raving success as all of the people from the job I had in Enland as well as friends I had met in the two years I was living there all turned up to help see that I had a good night.

I have never really been game to attempt to repeat such a great party, as I didn’t want the memory of that night to disapear into obscurity.  However since reconnecting with a few of the people from when I was in England I have wanted to live those fun times again.  So in late Feb or early March there may actually be something that is very rare happening…  I may actually throw a party.  Stay tuned.

It’s a weird world we live in…  full of weird traditions.  I remember Christmas differently as a kid than I do now and I’m not sure if this is because Christmas has changed for my family, or because I’m just seeing it from a different perspective.

As a child, I remember the putting up of the christmas tree really meant something.  The tree was a magical thing with decorations that would come out each year and be something to play with army men on or drive matchbox cars along it’s branches.  Each year I would be a little taller and able to play a little higher in the branches.  Each year there would be the old favourite decorations that I remembered from last year, and maybe a new one that I or my sisters had made at school.  We would wake up early on Christmas day, and excitedly await our parents waking up so that we could open our presents.   Some years we would have family drop in on us, other years we would go visiting other reletives or friends, dropping off presents, maybe getting some.  Admittedly when my folks split up, it was a boon for us kids, as we would then have 2 Christmases…  But I think thats when the whole degredation of Christmas started.  There were some great christmases, and some crappy ones in there.  I was introduced to the concept of gift value and slowly the mystique started wearing off.  The larger family started laying down gift giving rules so that they would feel better.  The Secret Santa concept was introduced to limit people to only buying a gift for one adult and funnelling their money into buying for the kids.  Personally I think all this does is teach the kids more that Christmas is all about getting presents.

Personally I’m a little over Christmas these days…  I’m over the commercialisation of it…  I’m over the keeping up with the Jones’ of it…  I’m over all of the stress and arguements it causes in families simply because of those previous two. Maybe I saw things differently as a kid, and missed the stress buildup in my parents?  Maybe it was there and Christmases haven’t changed all that much, it’s just my perspective that has changed…  I don’t really know.  This Christmas was nicer than most, as whilst there was the whole extended family thing with the stress and the Secret Santa thing, there was also a nice immediate family get together on Christmas Morning.  It was wonderful and it was almost what I remember about Christmas.

Christmas started off as I believe, a Pagan celebration of the middle of Winter, and the coming of spring.  A celebration of a new year and a new chance to make life better.  The gift giving should be small and purely a token of love and friendship, the feasting should be provided by all as a community/family effort rather than provided by a small few.  Organise everyone prior to the event rather than just have a couple of people preparing a feast on the day.  Bring back the fun of Christmas I say, instead of the stressful controlled and planned Christmas’ that I’m seeing and not really enjoying over the last few years.  Bring back the small immediate family get together on Christmas morning.

Maybe I will start enjoying Christmases again.