I hope you all enjoyed my little quiz yesterday! Well done to all of you, especially to that Pichy guy. He submitted his answers to me via IRC and successfully demonstrated that A) He knew the correct answers to 10 of the 12 questions, and that B) He is an incorrigible smartarse. <3
1) What biological control measure for which I am quite thankful at the moment was first trialled in Australia on Wardang Island in 1938?
- Sorry John, but it was indeed Myxomatosis.
2) What is the common name of Aquila audax?
- The Wedge-tailed Eagle, or "Cocky Slayer" according to Pichy.
3) What was the name of the shrubber in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"?
- Roger
4) Which famous Australian has the nickname "Skull"?
- Kerry O'Keeffe
5) In which country is Ardbeg?
- Scotland! It is a distillery.
6) What is the common name of Fragaria x ananassa?
- Strawberry
7) Who wrote "Leaf By Niggle"?
- JRR Tolkien
8) Who directed the movie adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"?
- Terry Gilliam
9) Who hosted "Come and Get It"?
- Peter G'day Russell-G'day-Clarke
10) What is the correct dump-stat in Dungeons and Dragons?
- Charisma
11) Which former Australian minister first made the claim that passengers on SIEV 4 had threatened to throw children overboard?
- Philip Ruddock was first to make the claim.
12) What did I have for breakfast this morning?
- I'll accept 'cereal'. If anyone had guessed "3 Weet-Bix in hot milk, topped with cornflakes and Nutri-Grain", they would have immediately won the quiz forever.
---
And now, a bonus quiz!
In Neverwinter Nights 2, what is the name of the evil ranger who joins your party?
Which former Australian minister presided over a scandal involving kerosene baths?
Who was the eighth Catholic archbishop of Sydney?
Who did Ian Smith most famously portray?
In the chess piece relative value system, which other piece has the same value as a knight?
Who is channel 10's long serving entertainment reporter?
Which member of the X-men comes from a police force in a dystopian future?
Who said, "We was too late. The Reverend Grundy bit the ceiling"? A point each for the character and the actor.
Who was the first Australian politician to respond to an interview entirely in emoji?
Who was the executive officer of the USS Sulaco?
Wednesday, 5 August 2015
Blaugust 5, 2015: A QUIZ!
A QUIZ was due, and so a QUIZ you shall have. You know how these work: The quiz setter dumps a whole bunch of questions on you, the reader, that reflect his or her own intellectual biases with little to no regard to anyone else's predispositions.
1) What biological control measure for which I am quite thankful at the moment was first trialled in Australia on Wardang Island in 1938?
2) What is the common name of Aquila audax?
3) What was the name of the shrubber in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"?
4) Which famous Australian has the nickname "Skull"?
5) In which country is Ardbeg?
6) What is the common name of Fragaria x ananassa?
7) Who wrote "Leaf By Niggle"?
8) Who directed the movie adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"?
9) Who hosted "Come and Get It"?
10) What is the correct dump-stat in Dungeons and Dragons?
11) Which former Australian minister first made the claim that passengers on SIEV 4 had threatened to throw children overboard?
12) What did I have for breakfast this morning?
Pop your answers in the comments and I will judge you! Don't look at other people's responses until you have posted your own! Answers tomorrow.
1) What biological control measure for which I am quite thankful at the moment was first trialled in Australia on Wardang Island in 1938?
2) What is the common name of Aquila audax?
3) What was the name of the shrubber in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"?
4) Which famous Australian has the nickname "Skull"?
5) In which country is Ardbeg?
6) What is the common name of Fragaria x ananassa?
7) Who wrote "Leaf By Niggle"?
8) Who directed the movie adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"?
9) Who hosted "Come and Get It"?
10) What is the correct dump-stat in Dungeons and Dragons?
11) Which former Australian minister first made the claim that passengers on SIEV 4 had threatened to throw children overboard?
12) What did I have for breakfast this morning?
Pop your answers in the comments and I will judge you! Don't look at other people's responses until you have posted your own! Answers tomorrow.
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Blaugust 4, 2015: The Lost Temple of Koln Part 1
This post is also my entry in week one of Dave's Fantasy Challenge, in which we have to write 500-2,000 words of fantasy using two voted for prompts in a non-trivial fashion. This week we had 'skeletons' and 'gelatinous cube'. I went a little over the suggested word count, and I have to admit I copped out a little on the cube.
---
As the oily rags stuffed in the stone mouth caught the flame from the torch, the great stone doors shuddered; shaking off the dust of unknown years before sliding into the surrounding rock. Anix looked down the revealed corridor, his thin tail twitching with excitement, a slight grin playing on his lips. "You've done it, Caro. Fire opens the seal, as the crone told us!"
"I know for you it might seem like a homecoming, Fiendling, but we are staring into the open mouth of hell".
"If you think some forgotten temple is hell you'll have a rude awakening when you die, my friend," countered Anix, his smile dancing across his handsome face.
Kalia stepped up behind Caro to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You worry too much, old thief. Nagal guides plunderers like us and will hide us from the sight of the Flame!"
"But in Koln's own house, priest? Don't get me wrong I'm taking the chance, for a prize this great, but leave me my worry. It keeps me alive." Caro tugged at his greying beard as if for emphasis, the colour marking him as the elder of the group.
The fourth member of the party gestured to the opening with one delicate hand and a questioning look on his cruelly scarred face.
"You are right Janesz, let's go!" Anix was visibly eager, patting at his hatchets. The other two nodded, Kalia shouldering a stout pole about ten feet in length, Caro a thick wooden cudgel the length of his legs, wrapped with a cloth grip and a loop of leather to go around the hand.
Caro looked to the silent elf. "If you would speak us some light...?"
Janesz nodded, and opened his mouth. It could not be said that he spoke, as he said nothing that could be called a word in any language, and the sound made the rest of the party vaguely uncomfortable. Two balls of light appeared at the fingertips on his left hand. One he placed on the tip of Caro's cudgel, staining it as if with illuminating ink. The other he plucked with his right hand and placed in the air by his shoulder, where it bobbed merrily, shifting behind his head from shoulder to shoulder with a slight buzzing as if an insect.
The entrance corridor was unremarkable, a straight tunnel leading slightly downward into darkness. The floor was carefully cut squares of stone, the walls and ceiling solid rock worked nearly to a flat plane by many hands. Although four could easily walk abreast Caro led the way, carefully inspecting the path ahead with his lit cudgel, occasionally pausing to carefully inspect a crack in the stone, or have Kalia tap at the paving with her pole. Janesz was third, and Anix brought up the rear, occasionally peering behind them. It was always safer to follow in Caro's footsteps.
After around two hundred paces they found themselves in front of a large stone door, this decorated by a flame wearing a crown, the ancient symbol of Koln's priesthood. On each side of the door was an unlit brazier set into the wall, and empty seats in which guards would once have sat.
After declaring the door safe, Caro motioned Anix forward to push it open. The chamber on the other side was large, and they could not see the far wall. Janesz motioned to his little bobbing light, and it buzzed toward the centre of the room. With an arcane whisper from its master it brightened for a moment, illuminating a large circular chamber with seven doors around the wall, one of which they were peering in from. Five were of wood, some smashed, some simply open. One other, on the far side of the chamber, was of stone with a matching flame motif. Hung from the ceiling were a number of braziers which would once have lit the chamber brightly.
The floor was strewn with smashed furniture and the remnants of a long ago violence. Dried blood stained the stone near the skeletal remains of a few slain acolytes in faded red robes, and an armoured Knight of Koln, burnished steel breastplate deformed as by a heavy strike from a mace, lay slumped against the far door, rotted hand still clasping a the remains of a sword by his side. Some now unidentifiable beast the size of a bull was dead nearby, the floor stained a strange blue from where it had bled out. Four arrows jutted out from between its ribs, and its head was battered into a mess of bone fragments and dried skin.
It didn't take Caro long to clear the chamber, as any traps in an area meant for regular habitation would have been improvised after the battle, and soon they were all looking around. "It looks like you were right, Janesz. The marauders took what they could when they couldn't open the door to the inner sanctum."
Janesz acknowledged this with a slight smile.
"I know we'll find more of the same, but shall we check the other chambers anyway?" asked Anix.
Beyond the first door was a store-room of some kind, stripped bare. Beyond the second door was a bathing chamber, in which bronze plumbing had once carried water through from beyond the wall, in the direction of the next chamber. Much of the pipework had clearly been stripped and taken. A side chamber contained a number of pit toilets, one with the corpse of a Knight of Koln stuffed in head first.
The third door gave way to a series of chambers that had once been a dining hall, a kitchen, and a storeroom for food. Against one wall was a ladder leading up to a large cistern set higher than the chambers, and a two-person pump. The cistern was now empty.
Within the kitchen was a smashed trapdoor leading downward, with steps carved into the stone below as rungs on a ladder. "Should we see where it leads?" asked Anix. Janesz sent his light down in response. Peering through the hole Anix could make out a few objects. "There is some sort of slime on the floor, but I can't see what. A suit of armour, not Kolnite, I think, and an axe-head. A metal helmet, a bowl, a handful of coins?" He made to clamber down the ladder but was stopped by both Janesz and Caro. Janesz shook his head meaningfully and made his hand-sign for danger.
Caro elaborated further "There'll be a jelly cube down there. A slime creature that eats wood, flesh, bone and leather and leaves only metals and stone."
Anix looked sceptical.
"It's how they got rid of their trash, lad. That pit probably connects to the dunnies too. No point going down there and asking for more trouble than we already have coming." The scarred elf nodding emphatically at that.
Anix sighed at the two of them. "Spoilsports. I suppose you agree, Kalia?"
"No need for me to say it", she smiled.
The last three doors yielded only looted living chambers and a few more corpses. In the last, Janesz stood for a moment, before holding up a finger as if exclaiming. He pointed to four beds in turn, making a count on his fingers. With a theatrical flourish he counted two of the corpses on the ground in the same manner, then made a sweeping gesture indicating the surroundings.
Kalia frowned. "Yes. Yes! Too few bodies for so many beds! You are wondering where they are?"
Janesz smiled and shook his head, leading the way back to the central chamber, where he gestured to the inner stone door.
After clearing the body and other debris away from the door, and a thorough examination of the outside, Caro took out the cloth-wrapped bundle they had obtained from the crone. It contained an ornate steel key the size of a long dagger, inlaid with gold at the base in the familiar flame motif of Koln. They key had cost them a hefty sum, but the rumoured prize was worth it.
It fit easily into the lock in the centre of the stone door, but turned with great difficulty, the mechanism it drove having long been dormant. Eventually a loud clunk was heard, and they pushed the door inward. It took Anix and Kalia both, as there seemed to be some obstruction. Caro stood to the side, ready to poke his cudgel inside to see what would be revealed.
"It's a body". Caro could see an arm through the foot they had managed to open. He carefully slid through, eyeing the passage beyond for any hint of danger, and dragged it away from the door, allowing the others to get it open the rest of the way.
When they were all beyond the door, Kalia examined the corpse, another dead Knight of Koln, with armour and sword. "These markings. It seems he was burned in places."
"Look here!" Caro called them further down the corridor. "Bones. Clean and blackened". The complete skeleton of a person lay only slightly scattered at his feet, one humerus broken, ribs nicked, and the skull sheared in two. There was no evidence of clothing, or items of any kind.
"Be wary of the dead from here on out", said Kalia kicking the parts of the skull away from the rest of the bones.
The corridor extended only some ten paces beyond the door before a set of stone steps plunged down into blackness. On Caro's advice, Kalia's pole led the way, checking the steps and the space above them, though she needn't have bothered. They reached the bottom and found themselves at the open threshold of another large chamber into which Janesz sent his light. Thirty blackened skeletons, standing around the circular chamber, turned to regarded them as flames filled the stair behind them.
The heat of the fire forced them forward as with the clicking of bone on stone the skeletons ambled toward them, exhibiting an unnatural grace.
"Buy me time!" cried Kalia, as she grasped at the icon hanging from her neck before beginning to mumble prayers.
Caro and Anix stood at the fore, cudgel and hatchets at the ready. Kalia behind them, with Janesz who simply watched and waited. The nearest two skeletons charged, arms outstretched, pinpricks of eldritch light in their eye sockets. Anix ducked under the grasping arms of the first, bringing both hatchets into the skeleton's sides, one shattering part of the ribcage and the other neatly shearing the spine. Caro was slower, batting off the first grasping bony hand but the other grabbed his forearm, causing him to cry out in pain. "They're burning!" Anix saved him with a quick kick to the legs of the skeleton, knocking it off balance and allowing Caro to bring his cudgel down with a heavy two-handed swing which shattering the skull of his foe. "Don't let them touch you," he warned, nursing his arm, as Kalia continued to mumble.
The remaining skeletons had gathered into a group, a shimmering distortion of light evident around them as of a great heat as they closed in. Janesz spoke unwords of power and Caro and Anix felt a chill as their skin took on a blue, icy hue.
Anix grinned and leapt at the nearest skeleton and shouted, "Thanks Elf!" Caro more cautiously moving to back him up. Anix was a wild dervish, delivering whiplike strikes to bone while dodging most attempts to touch him. Those few that did connect did not burn him, steam instead rising from his skin. And so it was with Caro as he battered stoutly at the throng of grinning skulls. The two were still receiving cuts and gashes from the sharp bone for their efforts, but held back the throng.
Kalia strode into their midst, icon of her order held forth. "Dead bones moving, bound to this place by the shackles of Order, disperse! Disperse unto the dust of Chaos! Go now to the final fate of all living things! Disperse!" With a burst of multi-hued brilliance, power slammed outward from Kalia into the surrounding skeletons. The nearest turned to dust instantly, those further away crumbled to the ground in splinters of bone, the unnatural heat vanishing as they fell.
Kalia slumped to the ground breathing heavily from exertion. They were safe again for the moment.
---
As the oily rags stuffed in the stone mouth caught the flame from the torch, the great stone doors shuddered; shaking off the dust of unknown years before sliding into the surrounding rock. Anix looked down the revealed corridor, his thin tail twitching with excitement, a slight grin playing on his lips. "You've done it, Caro. Fire opens the seal, as the crone told us!"
"I know for you it might seem like a homecoming, Fiendling, but we are staring into the open mouth of hell".
"If you think some forgotten temple is hell you'll have a rude awakening when you die, my friend," countered Anix, his smile dancing across his handsome face.
Kalia stepped up behind Caro to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You worry too much, old thief. Nagal guides plunderers like us and will hide us from the sight of the Flame!"
"But in Koln's own house, priest? Don't get me wrong I'm taking the chance, for a prize this great, but leave me my worry. It keeps me alive." Caro tugged at his greying beard as if for emphasis, the colour marking him as the elder of the group.
The fourth member of the party gestured to the opening with one delicate hand and a questioning look on his cruelly scarred face.
"You are right Janesz, let's go!" Anix was visibly eager, patting at his hatchets. The other two nodded, Kalia shouldering a stout pole about ten feet in length, Caro a thick wooden cudgel the length of his legs, wrapped with a cloth grip and a loop of leather to go around the hand.
Caro looked to the silent elf. "If you would speak us some light...?"
Janesz nodded, and opened his mouth. It could not be said that he spoke, as he said nothing that could be called a word in any language, and the sound made the rest of the party vaguely uncomfortable. Two balls of light appeared at the fingertips on his left hand. One he placed on the tip of Caro's cudgel, staining it as if with illuminating ink. The other he plucked with his right hand and placed in the air by his shoulder, where it bobbed merrily, shifting behind his head from shoulder to shoulder with a slight buzzing as if an insect.
The entrance corridor was unremarkable, a straight tunnel leading slightly downward into darkness. The floor was carefully cut squares of stone, the walls and ceiling solid rock worked nearly to a flat plane by many hands. Although four could easily walk abreast Caro led the way, carefully inspecting the path ahead with his lit cudgel, occasionally pausing to carefully inspect a crack in the stone, or have Kalia tap at the paving with her pole. Janesz was third, and Anix brought up the rear, occasionally peering behind them. It was always safer to follow in Caro's footsteps.
After around two hundred paces they found themselves in front of a large stone door, this decorated by a flame wearing a crown, the ancient symbol of Koln's priesthood. On each side of the door was an unlit brazier set into the wall, and empty seats in which guards would once have sat.
After declaring the door safe, Caro motioned Anix forward to push it open. The chamber on the other side was large, and they could not see the far wall. Janesz motioned to his little bobbing light, and it buzzed toward the centre of the room. With an arcane whisper from its master it brightened for a moment, illuminating a large circular chamber with seven doors around the wall, one of which they were peering in from. Five were of wood, some smashed, some simply open. One other, on the far side of the chamber, was of stone with a matching flame motif. Hung from the ceiling were a number of braziers which would once have lit the chamber brightly.
The floor was strewn with smashed furniture and the remnants of a long ago violence. Dried blood stained the stone near the skeletal remains of a few slain acolytes in faded red robes, and an armoured Knight of Koln, burnished steel breastplate deformed as by a heavy strike from a mace, lay slumped against the far door, rotted hand still clasping a the remains of a sword by his side. Some now unidentifiable beast the size of a bull was dead nearby, the floor stained a strange blue from where it had bled out. Four arrows jutted out from between its ribs, and its head was battered into a mess of bone fragments and dried skin.
It didn't take Caro long to clear the chamber, as any traps in an area meant for regular habitation would have been improvised after the battle, and soon they were all looking around. "It looks like you were right, Janesz. The marauders took what they could when they couldn't open the door to the inner sanctum."
Janesz acknowledged this with a slight smile.
"I know we'll find more of the same, but shall we check the other chambers anyway?" asked Anix.
Beyond the first door was a store-room of some kind, stripped bare. Beyond the second door was a bathing chamber, in which bronze plumbing had once carried water through from beyond the wall, in the direction of the next chamber. Much of the pipework had clearly been stripped and taken. A side chamber contained a number of pit toilets, one with the corpse of a Knight of Koln stuffed in head first.
The third door gave way to a series of chambers that had once been a dining hall, a kitchen, and a storeroom for food. Against one wall was a ladder leading up to a large cistern set higher than the chambers, and a two-person pump. The cistern was now empty.
Within the kitchen was a smashed trapdoor leading downward, with steps carved into the stone below as rungs on a ladder. "Should we see where it leads?" asked Anix. Janesz sent his light down in response. Peering through the hole Anix could make out a few objects. "There is some sort of slime on the floor, but I can't see what. A suit of armour, not Kolnite, I think, and an axe-head. A metal helmet, a bowl, a handful of coins?" He made to clamber down the ladder but was stopped by both Janesz and Caro. Janesz shook his head meaningfully and made his hand-sign for danger.
Caro elaborated further "There'll be a jelly cube down there. A slime creature that eats wood, flesh, bone and leather and leaves only metals and stone."
Anix looked sceptical.
"It's how they got rid of their trash, lad. That pit probably connects to the dunnies too. No point going down there and asking for more trouble than we already have coming." The scarred elf nodding emphatically at that.
Anix sighed at the two of them. "Spoilsports. I suppose you agree, Kalia?"
"No need for me to say it", she smiled.
The last three doors yielded only looted living chambers and a few more corpses. In the last, Janesz stood for a moment, before holding up a finger as if exclaiming. He pointed to four beds in turn, making a count on his fingers. With a theatrical flourish he counted two of the corpses on the ground in the same manner, then made a sweeping gesture indicating the surroundings.
Kalia frowned. "Yes. Yes! Too few bodies for so many beds! You are wondering where they are?"
Janesz smiled and shook his head, leading the way back to the central chamber, where he gestured to the inner stone door.
After clearing the body and other debris away from the door, and a thorough examination of the outside, Caro took out the cloth-wrapped bundle they had obtained from the crone. It contained an ornate steel key the size of a long dagger, inlaid with gold at the base in the familiar flame motif of Koln. They key had cost them a hefty sum, but the rumoured prize was worth it.
It fit easily into the lock in the centre of the stone door, but turned with great difficulty, the mechanism it drove having long been dormant. Eventually a loud clunk was heard, and they pushed the door inward. It took Anix and Kalia both, as there seemed to be some obstruction. Caro stood to the side, ready to poke his cudgel inside to see what would be revealed.
"It's a body". Caro could see an arm through the foot they had managed to open. He carefully slid through, eyeing the passage beyond for any hint of danger, and dragged it away from the door, allowing the others to get it open the rest of the way.
When they were all beyond the door, Kalia examined the corpse, another dead Knight of Koln, with armour and sword. "These markings. It seems he was burned in places."
"Look here!" Caro called them further down the corridor. "Bones. Clean and blackened". The complete skeleton of a person lay only slightly scattered at his feet, one humerus broken, ribs nicked, and the skull sheared in two. There was no evidence of clothing, or items of any kind.
"Be wary of the dead from here on out", said Kalia kicking the parts of the skull away from the rest of the bones.
The corridor extended only some ten paces beyond the door before a set of stone steps plunged down into blackness. On Caro's advice, Kalia's pole led the way, checking the steps and the space above them, though she needn't have bothered. They reached the bottom and found themselves at the open threshold of another large chamber into which Janesz sent his light. Thirty blackened skeletons, standing around the circular chamber, turned to regarded them as flames filled the stair behind them.
The heat of the fire forced them forward as with the clicking of bone on stone the skeletons ambled toward them, exhibiting an unnatural grace.
"Buy me time!" cried Kalia, as she grasped at the icon hanging from her neck before beginning to mumble prayers.
Caro and Anix stood at the fore, cudgel and hatchets at the ready. Kalia behind them, with Janesz who simply watched and waited. The nearest two skeletons charged, arms outstretched, pinpricks of eldritch light in their eye sockets. Anix ducked under the grasping arms of the first, bringing both hatchets into the skeleton's sides, one shattering part of the ribcage and the other neatly shearing the spine. Caro was slower, batting off the first grasping bony hand but the other grabbed his forearm, causing him to cry out in pain. "They're burning!" Anix saved him with a quick kick to the legs of the skeleton, knocking it off balance and allowing Caro to bring his cudgel down with a heavy two-handed swing which shattering the skull of his foe. "Don't let them touch you," he warned, nursing his arm, as Kalia continued to mumble.
The remaining skeletons had gathered into a group, a shimmering distortion of light evident around them as of a great heat as they closed in. Janesz spoke unwords of power and Caro and Anix felt a chill as their skin took on a blue, icy hue.
Anix grinned and leapt at the nearest skeleton and shouted, "Thanks Elf!" Caro more cautiously moving to back him up. Anix was a wild dervish, delivering whiplike strikes to bone while dodging most attempts to touch him. Those few that did connect did not burn him, steam instead rising from his skin. And so it was with Caro as he battered stoutly at the throng of grinning skulls. The two were still receiving cuts and gashes from the sharp bone for their efforts, but held back the throng.
Kalia strode into their midst, icon of her order held forth. "Dead bones moving, bound to this place by the shackles of Order, disperse! Disperse unto the dust of Chaos! Go now to the final fate of all living things! Disperse!" With a burst of multi-hued brilliance, power slammed outward from Kalia into the surrounding skeletons. The nearest turned to dust instantly, those further away crumbled to the ground in splinters of bone, the unnatural heat vanishing as they fell.
Kalia slumped to the ground breathing heavily from exertion. They were safe again for the moment.
Monday, 3 August 2015
Blaugust 3, 2015: Winter Warmers
I do tend to be a little unrestrained with food and drink around July and August. I think it is a combination of the cold weather, short days, and the birthday season that triggers my indulgence in such comforts. Today I'll talk about a few eateries I have been enjoying lately.
Bracegirdle's is a local chocolate shop/cafe business run by a former teacher of mine and his wife, a chocolatier. They make an exceptional hot chocolate; rich, creamy, and with near perfect froth. Many of you are aware that I've had some strict rules about the consumption of chocolate for the last nine months, as I have serious self control issues when it comes to food. Chocolate used as an ingredient is one of the few ways I can indulge in it, and so this is an excellent treat for me. Comes in milk, dark, or white.
A big, hearty breakfast is important in Winter, especially if you have a bit of a hangover from a weekend of conventioning while a little ill, and two little drinks at an after party. I ended up at Our Little Cafe in Mt Barker on the Monday afternoon post-AVCon. Unfortunately positioned on the shady side of the street, and thus never as busy as they deserve, they dish up a solid all day breakfast. While not as fancy as some, a plate with eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, and a hash brown is pretty darn good. Add to that an order of Canadian crumpets with butter, bacon, and maple syrup, and you are on your way to a happy stomach. Their vegetarian option is good too.
If you are feeling a little fancier with your breakfast cravings, try Aldgate Providore & Cafe. Though a little less recent, I went there for a hangover cure after Tamara and Paul's excellent wedding. Everything was delicious, my only problem with it being I wanted more on my plate/board.
Nairne is happily home to what many believe to be the best Indian restaurant in the state, Chingari. It is definitely the best of the half dozen or so that I have tried. Their Vindaloo is superb, expertly combining blazing heat and rich flavour that lingers perfectly, where other restaurants would sacrifice one for the other. The owner did me a favour when I had a cold with a Vindaloo just before closing recently, which I won't forget in a hurry. Some of their dishes tend to vary a little, possibly depending on who cooks them, or whether it is at the start or end of a pot or some such, but the Mutter Mushroom, Aloo Ghobi, and Beef Pasenda all get very big ticks of approval from me. My mother will also rave about their Naan, and she can't find any to match it in Melbourne.
Although the exact opposite of a "Winter Warmer", I will include Gelato Bello here because I have been there more times than were good for me recently. Though I do love their chocolate, vanilla, and caramel flavours, they really shine when it comes to the fruits. Their apple and banana gelati are amazing, but the real star of their current range is the mango. The only one I have ever had that beats it is their Apricot flavour. It is an absolute travesty that it was unpopular enough that it got discontinued, and I frequently threaten to make a special order of a couple of tubs one Summer soon.
Bracegirdle's is a local chocolate shop/cafe business run by a former teacher of mine and his wife, a chocolatier. They make an exceptional hot chocolate; rich, creamy, and with near perfect froth. Many of you are aware that I've had some strict rules about the consumption of chocolate for the last nine months, as I have serious self control issues when it comes to food. Chocolate used as an ingredient is one of the few ways I can indulge in it, and so this is an excellent treat for me. Comes in milk, dark, or white.
A big, hearty breakfast is important in Winter, especially if you have a bit of a hangover from a weekend of conventioning while a little ill, and two little drinks at an after party. I ended up at Our Little Cafe in Mt Barker on the Monday afternoon post-AVCon. Unfortunately positioned on the shady side of the street, and thus never as busy as they deserve, they dish up a solid all day breakfast. While not as fancy as some, a plate with eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, and a hash brown is pretty darn good. Add to that an order of Canadian crumpets with butter, bacon, and maple syrup, and you are on your way to a happy stomach. Their vegetarian option is good too.
If you are feeling a little fancier with your breakfast cravings, try Aldgate Providore & Cafe. Though a little less recent, I went there for a hangover cure after Tamara and Paul's excellent wedding. Everything was delicious, my only problem with it being I wanted more on my plate/board.
Nairne is happily home to what many believe to be the best Indian restaurant in the state, Chingari. It is definitely the best of the half dozen or so that I have tried. Their Vindaloo is superb, expertly combining blazing heat and rich flavour that lingers perfectly, where other restaurants would sacrifice one for the other. The owner did me a favour when I had a cold with a Vindaloo just before closing recently, which I won't forget in a hurry. Some of their dishes tend to vary a little, possibly depending on who cooks them, or whether it is at the start or end of a pot or some such, but the Mutter Mushroom, Aloo Ghobi, and Beef Pasenda all get very big ticks of approval from me. My mother will also rave about their Naan, and she can't find any to match it in Melbourne.
Although the exact opposite of a "Winter Warmer", I will include Gelato Bello here because I have been there more times than were good for me recently. Though I do love their chocolate, vanilla, and caramel flavours, they really shine when it comes to the fruits. Their apple and banana gelati are amazing, but the real star of their current range is the mango. The only one I have ever had that beats it is their Apricot flavour. It is an absolute travesty that it was unpopular enough that it got discontinued, and I frequently threaten to make a special order of a couple of tubs one Summer soon.
Sunday, 2 August 2015
Blaugust 2, 2015: Elysium
Today I was supposed to be going to a family birthday party out at Dad's place, for the half dozen of us with July and August birthdays. Unfortunately this got cancelled due to a couple of illnesses. So, left with a Sunday to fill, I did what any sensible person would do and stayed in bed until midday. Admittedly I was up temporarily to make myself some porridge since I don't have anyone around to make it for me, but I got back in bed pronto.
After that, I spent the afternoon murdering English Ivy, brushcutting the 'lawn', and applying the chainsaw to logs of wood I got from work. All in all, a very normal-person kind of Sunday. The only problem with this is that it isn't exactly inspiring Blaugust content, so I'm going to talk about board games instead like an enormous nerd (I know my audience!).
Elysium is my current jam. I was first exposed thanks to a promotional copy AVCon was given for use at the most recent event. Being in charge of the board games, it was obviously my duty to try it, so I took one for the team along with John and Ale. I ended up loving the game and buying my own copy after the convention was over.
Elysium is essentially a set collection game, with a few interesting twists. First, taking cards requires that you have a particular coloured pillar available, you needn't spend it. However, you are then required to reduce your future choices by sacrificing one of your coloured pillars. This makes for interesting gameplay as you are managing versatility, not resource use. Your opponents can see what choices remain to you on future turns, and either frustrate your goals or try to avoid having their goals frustrated by you.
Second, the cards you are collecting are kept in one of two areas: Your active area (Domain) where cards can do things, and your scoring area (Elysium) where your cards are placed in sets to score points at the end of them game. All cards are first placed in your Domain, and then you have to figure out when and how to best transfer them down. Transfers are a themselves a somewhat scarce resource, operating in tandem with gold.
Third, player order changes throughout the game. This is managed by players having to select a 'quest' at some point during the card acquisition phase. Each quest has a number of gold, transfers, victory points, and a position number. Once the acquisition phase is complete, the transfer or 'Elysium' phase commences, and players first adjust their positions in the player order before gaining the appropriate resources. Finally they transfer the cards they want and are able to transfer, before the next acquisition phase commences.
Player order is important as certain bonuses for sets are only available to the first or second player to complete them. Further, a better position in the order naturally gives you more card choices next time around. In a given round (epoch) it is often a sensible option to forgo an early pick of the cards in favour of getting the most advantageous quest, positioning yourself for the next epoch.
Fourth, the game has eight 'families' of cards, representing gods of Greek myth. During the setup, five are selected to form the play deck, the combination of families heavily influencing the style of play dynamics in the game. So far, I have only played with the suggested starting five, and have found play interesting and lively across the half dozen games I have played. I am looking forward to trying some new combinations which will significantly alter the strategies involved.
The suggested starting families are Zeus, Hephaestus, Athena, Poseidon, and Hades. Zeus cards primarily give direct victory points while in your domain, and suit a player who prefers to accumulate these during the game instead of relying on points for sets at the end of the game. Hephaestus cards augment the accumulation of gold, which is used for paying for transfers. Further, some Hephaestus cards allow the conversion of gold to points, which is otherwise impossible. Athena cards allow for card cycling, better use of citizens (wild cards which when used in sets attract a minor score penalty), and improved versatility in general. Poseidon is the most aggressive of the families, with cards that force card discards, and loss of gold and victory points (importantly affecting all other players). Hades cards are, fairly obviously, useful for giving more transfers than would otherwise be possible.
Currently I have encountered two very hard to beat strategies utilising the starting set. The first involves attempting to make a set with five 'Gathering' cards, one from each family. These cards grant a point bonus for each card within the set from different families, allowing a maximum of five bonus points per card, and thus twenty five for a set of five of them, on top of the regular scoring for the set, and the likely bonus award for a full set of rank one cards. This, in addition to another set or two and some in-game point accumulation is extremely strong, and it is advisable to prevent a player from dominating the Gatherings.
The second involves direct point gain and augmentation with Zeus, ideally supplemented with gold to points conversion from Hephaestus. Zeus has cards that grant additional points for points already held. If you focus on direct accumulation throughout the game, and are allowed to take these cards, the resulting bonus is formidable indeed. If you are lucky enough to get 'Sacrifice', the Hephaestus card that allows you to directly trade gold for points during the game, you can make this build truly scary.
The three families I am yet to try are Ares, Apollo, and Hermes. Ares cards add a mechanic called 'Prestige Points' (PP), which grant a sum of victory points determined by your PP relative to the other players. Apollo cards allow you to access cards that are not yet available for selection during this epoch, essentially allowing you to select things ahead of others. Hermes cards allow a degree of re-use for already discharged effects, and otherwise tweak situations to your advantage.
I am interested to see what strategies will come out of the combinations I have not tried. The 'Gathering' strategy will be present no matter the combination, but no Zeus will certainly make things a little interesting. I am particularly keen to try a fairly aggressive game, using Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Athena, and probably Hades.
In any case, is is clear that I have a lot to learn yet and I'll be playing this game with friends whenever I get the opportunity. I heartily recommend you give it a go.
After that, I spent the afternoon murdering English Ivy, brushcutting the 'lawn', and applying the chainsaw to logs of wood I got from work. All in all, a very normal-person kind of Sunday. The only problem with this is that it isn't exactly inspiring Blaugust content, so I'm going to talk about board games instead like an enormous nerd (I know my audience!).
Elysium is my current jam. I was first exposed thanks to a promotional copy AVCon was given for use at the most recent event. Being in charge of the board games, it was obviously my duty to try it, so I took one for the team along with John and Ale. I ended up loving the game and buying my own copy after the convention was over.
Elysium is essentially a set collection game, with a few interesting twists. First, taking cards requires that you have a particular coloured pillar available, you needn't spend it. However, you are then required to reduce your future choices by sacrificing one of your coloured pillars. This makes for interesting gameplay as you are managing versatility, not resource use. Your opponents can see what choices remain to you on future turns, and either frustrate your goals or try to avoid having their goals frustrated by you.
Second, the cards you are collecting are kept in one of two areas: Your active area (Domain) where cards can do things, and your scoring area (Elysium) where your cards are placed in sets to score points at the end of them game. All cards are first placed in your Domain, and then you have to figure out when and how to best transfer them down. Transfers are a themselves a somewhat scarce resource, operating in tandem with gold.
Third, player order changes throughout the game. This is managed by players having to select a 'quest' at some point during the card acquisition phase. Each quest has a number of gold, transfers, victory points, and a position number. Once the acquisition phase is complete, the transfer or 'Elysium' phase commences, and players first adjust their positions in the player order before gaining the appropriate resources. Finally they transfer the cards they want and are able to transfer, before the next acquisition phase commences.
Player order is important as certain bonuses for sets are only available to the first or second player to complete them. Further, a better position in the order naturally gives you more card choices next time around. In a given round (epoch) it is often a sensible option to forgo an early pick of the cards in favour of getting the most advantageous quest, positioning yourself for the next epoch.
Fourth, the game has eight 'families' of cards, representing gods of Greek myth. During the setup, five are selected to form the play deck, the combination of families heavily influencing the style of play dynamics in the game. So far, I have only played with the suggested starting five, and have found play interesting and lively across the half dozen games I have played. I am looking forward to trying some new combinations which will significantly alter the strategies involved.
The suggested starting families are Zeus, Hephaestus, Athena, Poseidon, and Hades. Zeus cards primarily give direct victory points while in your domain, and suit a player who prefers to accumulate these during the game instead of relying on points for sets at the end of the game. Hephaestus cards augment the accumulation of gold, which is used for paying for transfers. Further, some Hephaestus cards allow the conversion of gold to points, which is otherwise impossible. Athena cards allow for card cycling, better use of citizens (wild cards which when used in sets attract a minor score penalty), and improved versatility in general. Poseidon is the most aggressive of the families, with cards that force card discards, and loss of gold and victory points (importantly affecting all other players). Hades cards are, fairly obviously, useful for giving more transfers than would otherwise be possible.
Currently I have encountered two very hard to beat strategies utilising the starting set. The first involves attempting to make a set with five 'Gathering' cards, one from each family. These cards grant a point bonus for each card within the set from different families, allowing a maximum of five bonus points per card, and thus twenty five for a set of five of them, on top of the regular scoring for the set, and the likely bonus award for a full set of rank one cards. This, in addition to another set or two and some in-game point accumulation is extremely strong, and it is advisable to prevent a player from dominating the Gatherings.
The second involves direct point gain and augmentation with Zeus, ideally supplemented with gold to points conversion from Hephaestus. Zeus has cards that grant additional points for points already held. If you focus on direct accumulation throughout the game, and are allowed to take these cards, the resulting bonus is formidable indeed. If you are lucky enough to get 'Sacrifice', the Hephaestus card that allows you to directly trade gold for points during the game, you can make this build truly scary.
The three families I am yet to try are Ares, Apollo, and Hermes. Ares cards add a mechanic called 'Prestige Points' (PP), which grant a sum of victory points determined by your PP relative to the other players. Apollo cards allow you to access cards that are not yet available for selection during this epoch, essentially allowing you to select things ahead of others. Hermes cards allow a degree of re-use for already discharged effects, and otherwise tweak situations to your advantage.
I am interested to see what strategies will come out of the combinations I have not tried. The 'Gathering' strategy will be present no matter the combination, but no Zeus will certainly make things a little interesting. I am particularly keen to try a fairly aggressive game, using Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Athena, and probably Hades.
In any case, is is clear that I have a lot to learn yet and I'll be playing this game with friends whenever I get the opportunity. I heartily recommend you give it a go.
Saturday, 1 August 2015
Blaugust 1, 2015: Blaugventions
Ladies and gentlemen, once again I'm back for Blaugust, that most auspicious of calendar months. As is traditional, I shall now declare the rules I'm following:
1) I shall write a minimum of 31,000 words for the month.
2) I shall write a minimum of 31 posts.
3) I shall endeavour to have new content up each day, but I'll forgive myself if I don't.
Knowing me there will be more than a couple of posts about plants, probably a couple about games, and I hope you will stick around when I inevitably delve into my psyche, pull up some dreck, and put it on display for all to see (Though I made myself a promise to be less maudlin this year, which disappointed Thom. Unfortunately for him I've been in a good mood lately so I'll probably manage it. Oh well Thom, there are always the later seasons of M*A*S*H!).
---
Some of you may not know that I came back to AVCon this year after a long dummy-spit. That delightful scamp John (or was it Ale?) asked if I'd like to run a board games section, and because I'm a mad fool I even said yes! I'd returned as an attendee last year, but it was an empty experience as nearly everyone I'd wanted to catch up with was busy running things. This may have influenced my decision.
On the whole, I had an excellent time. There are ways in which I wish I had been better prepared, though John and Ale and Denzil picked up my slack (Thohn, Thale, Thenzil). There were also many things that hadn't been considered ahead of time by anyone that we now know to improve in the future. But for a first time out, for AVCon-run tabletop, it kicked butt.
It was good to be involved again, especially in such a way as to be insulated from any potential committee politics, drama, worry, or fury-building. I was able to contribute to running something in association with a bunch of my friends and have people enjoy what we'd done, which was what AVCon was for me in the beginning. I have declared that Tabletop should be the AVCon Retirement Village for tired old warhorses, and I'm actively recruiting (assuming they'll let me be involved again next year).
Importantly for an introverted nerd like me it was a great chance to be social. There were a good dozen people I got to talk to that I haven't seen in years, and it was an excellent chance to get to know a few folk I'd only seen on the periphery of my social circles. I even got to meet a few interesting new people, of all things. Once upon a time AVCon people were the best people, and it seems like things are almost coming full circle for me in that regard. Good old AVCon.
My other convention experience this year is going to be PAX in Melbourne. A few of us are planning a road trip, which should be delightful. As I'll be one of the drivers I promise I'll take maddening detours to see plants.
PAX is unlike AVCon. I went last year as an enforcer (volunteer), which was a good experience but I found that there was so much to see and do that having half of my convention time taken up with what was essentially work left me with too few opportunities. I suspect that given a year or two of attendance I'll get this out of my system, but for now I'm genuinely interested in the panels, the demonstrations, the tabletop hall...
Oh my but the tabletop hall is wondrous; a magnificent sight to behold. It is very likely I'll spend a fair bit of time there, shopping and playing games with friends and strangers. So this time around PAX gets my money and not my effort.
1) I shall write a minimum of 31,000 words for the month.
2) I shall write a minimum of 31 posts.
3) I shall endeavour to have new content up each day, but I'll forgive myself if I don't.
Knowing me there will be more than a couple of posts about plants, probably a couple about games, and I hope you will stick around when I inevitably delve into my psyche, pull up some dreck, and put it on display for all to see (Though I made myself a promise to be less maudlin this year, which disappointed Thom. Unfortunately for him I've been in a good mood lately so I'll probably manage it. Oh well Thom, there are always the later seasons of M*A*S*H!).
---
Some of you may not know that I came back to AVCon this year after a long dummy-spit. That delightful scamp John (or was it Ale?) asked if I'd like to run a board games section, and because I'm a mad fool I even said yes! I'd returned as an attendee last year, but it was an empty experience as nearly everyone I'd wanted to catch up with was busy running things. This may have influenced my decision.
On the whole, I had an excellent time. There are ways in which I wish I had been better prepared, though John and Ale and Denzil picked up my slack (Thohn, Thale, Thenzil). There were also many things that hadn't been considered ahead of time by anyone that we now know to improve in the future. But for a first time out, for AVCon-run tabletop, it kicked butt.
It was good to be involved again, especially in such a way as to be insulated from any potential committee politics, drama, worry, or fury-building. I was able to contribute to running something in association with a bunch of my friends and have people enjoy what we'd done, which was what AVCon was for me in the beginning. I have declared that Tabletop should be the AVCon Retirement Village for tired old warhorses, and I'm actively recruiting (assuming they'll let me be involved again next year).
Importantly for an introverted nerd like me it was a great chance to be social. There were a good dozen people I got to talk to that I haven't seen in years, and it was an excellent chance to get to know a few folk I'd only seen on the periphery of my social circles. I even got to meet a few interesting new people, of all things. Once upon a time AVCon people were the best people, and it seems like things are almost coming full circle for me in that regard. Good old AVCon.
My other convention experience this year is going to be PAX in Melbourne. A few of us are planning a road trip, which should be delightful. As I'll be one of the drivers I promise I'll take maddening detours to see plants.
PAX is unlike AVCon. I went last year as an enforcer (volunteer), which was a good experience but I found that there was so much to see and do that having half of my convention time taken up with what was essentially work left me with too few opportunities. I suspect that given a year or two of attendance I'll get this out of my system, but for now I'm genuinely interested in the panels, the demonstrations, the tabletop hall...
Oh my but the tabletop hall is wondrous; a magnificent sight to behold. It is very likely I'll spend a fair bit of time there, shopping and playing games with friends and strangers. So this time around PAX gets my money and not my effort.
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Story Time - Yellow
This micro-story exists because it is two in the morning and I had imagery cluttering my mind.
Yellow
The park was empty save for a little old man with flesh the
colour and texture of wet paper. I could
see him sitting alone on the bench, under the flickering fluorescent light,
tearing a loaf of bread into small pieces with his pudgy fingers; pieces which
he cast on the ground just beyond his little circle of light as if feeding the pigeons.
Every now and then he would stop for a moment and adjust the little round
spectacles that perched on his nose, and look to where he cast the bread with a
doting smile before tearing more pieces.
Having observed the little man I felt uncomfortable and
would not have gone near, save that crossing the park was the fastest route to
my Jane. I was careful to tread only outside his light so that he might not
regard me, but as I made to pass by my foot broke the back of some small living
thing that died with an unpleasant squeak.
I froze under sudden scrutiny, looking down at a dozen pairs
of black eyes looking back, mouths full of bread. The little old man regarded
me with a sorrowful expression amid his drowned-man’s wrinkles, a tear welling
at the corner of his eyes which he proceeded to daub with a mustard yellow
handkerchief. No word did he speak, and no further move did he make, that
little pallid man looking at me. A creeping fear gripped my heart as I stepped
backward with a small bow, stammered apologies dying on my lips, and hurried
away through the park.
My footsteps on the concrete path sounded hollow and clumsy
in my hurry and I soon slowed my pace deciding that I had been ridiculous,
taking a moment to calm myself by breathing in the early autumn air. A small
sound came to me then, of tiny claws on a hard surface, and I looked about me
seeing nothing. I happened to glance back towards the bench with its circle of flickering
fluorescent light in the distance, and the little man was gone.
Something entered the left side of my back with a swift
upward strike, and was quickly removed. I spun around and the little man put a
small knife in my stomach and twisted before letting go. I would not see Jane
this evening, it seemed. I clutched at the knife, and slowly fell to the ground.
The little pallid man with his many-folded face stood above
me, his eyes small and black, as he took the mustard yellow handkerchief from
his breast pocket and wiped his bloodied fingers on it, then placed it over my
dead eyes.
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