Vigilant (2 of 3)

This is a continuation of a piece of fiction. If you haven't read Part 1, it starts here.

Otherwise, read on...

Vigilant (1 of 3)

Another piece of fiction from the past. This one is ten years old.

It's a bit long, so to save on mouse scrolling (and possibly build suspense) I'm going to post it here as a serial.

Part 1 begins here...

The Cost Of A Phone Call

This story was originally published (in an altered, interactive version) in Volume 2 Issue 1 of Dotlit: The Online Journal Of Creative Writing when I was a student at QUT. You can experience the non-linear version for yourself at the archived journal website. After choosing Vol 2.1, scroll down to the Hypermedia section.

For an old-school prose version, read on!

Albums of 2013: Part 2

Nearly three-quarters of the way through the year, here's some more albums I've enjoyed listening to in 2013.

More must-listen albums of 2013 so far... (in release order)

APRIL:

The Black Angels - Indigo Meadow

Killswitch Engage - Disarm The Descent

September Board Games (Zombies! / Ticket To Ride Europe)

Once again today was time for Blokes & Boardgames. There were two games planned for the day - Dave supplied "Zombies!", and I brought along "Ticket To Ride: Europe".

Orthanc

As mentioned previously, my online Lego order arrived this week. I went over to the post office first thing this morning to pick it up.

All built!

Kara got a photo of me when I got back. The box was massive.



Recommended for ages 14 up, the set itself contains over 2,300 parts and 5 minifigs. I'm not sure how much of the reasoning behind the age range comes from the building skills required, or just the sheer patience to endure four hours (and the rest) of sorting through plastic pieces and clicking them together.

Foreign language books

I have a growing collection of foreign-language books... and they're all either Asterix or Tintin.

It started in July 2005, when I was in Tromsø, Norway, with the purchase of "Asterix og Vikingene" (Asterix and the Normans) in a local bookshop. I thought the choice appropriate. It's also the most readable of my foreign-language books. With grammar not as far off English as you'd think, combined with context (I've read the English version countless times), I understand most of what I'm reading.

Asterix og Vikingene

Mum and Dad just got back from a holiday in Europe, travelling through Switzerland, Austria and Italy. I'd asked if they could look out for some specific Asterix titles in specific languages while they were there, and they delivered!

Happy Camper

I am a happy camper.

I made my first online purchase from Lego.com this month. Which also came with a free gift - a mini Kombi van.

Another happy camper...

If you look at their Shipping & Handling information page for Australian customers, you'll see the following information:

• Items in stock ship the next business day.
• All items ship from Europe.
• Delivery is within 13 business days.

Lego Cruise Liner

Early last year, I turned my Lego Police Boat into an Oil Tanker. Back in November, I used the same hull to create a cruise liner of my own design. Tonight I've been going through my Lego creations and dismantling them, sorting out the pieces before reassembling the original sets. I thought I'd already put the cruise liner pictures on my blog, but turns out I hadn't... so here they are.

The finished cruise ship.

The length-to-height scale is way off, but I was working with the longest hull I had, and wanted each deck to have standing room for minifigs.

I also wanted the following on board:

• Bridge
• Engine Room
• Crew Quarters
• First Class Cabin
• Restaurant
• Casino
• Pool