Would you like to:

• Decrease your work stress?
• Get more done?
• Be valued by your boss?

Then this article is for you.

Most people think that in order to get somewhere, they have to work hard. They're only partially right. While working hard can be a pathway to success, there are easier ways of doing it. This is called working smarter, not harder. And that's what we're going to talk about here.

Working harder is getting your head down and your bum up and doing more work than you usually do. This often creates more problems than what it solves, usually associated with stress. Working smarter, however, is finding strategies to get the work done without working harder. These strategies are usually designed to make your life easier, while giving you greater results.

If your work is task-oriented, then you might not find much value in this article, but even task-oriented work can be done smarter rather than harder. However, the greatest value in working smarter comes with results-oriented work. This is where the results are more important than how you get them.

1. Analyse the work that you do.
   What do you have to do now? What can wait until later? If you
   prioritise what's important, you can get them done without needing to
   get stressed doing something that's become urgent because you've waited
   until the last minute.
   
   
2. Learn to delegate.
   Some of what you do can be given to someone else to do. You don't need to be a manager to delegate work. If there's someone around you that has the time and the knowledge to do some of your work, pass it onto them. Being part of a team is not just about being available for others, it's also about handing around the work that the team can help you do.
   
   
3. Learn to say no.
   If someone wants you to do something, and you simply have no time to do it, say NO. Tell them that you've got more than enough on your plate already, and they'll have to find someone else to do it. Or, if they're your manager, you can give them the option of deciding what task you're working on that can wait for this new task to be done. Don't overload yourself, say no to extra work.
   
   
4. Schedule appointments with yourself.
   Book a meeting with yourself to do something that needs doing. Being in a meeting makes you unavailable to others, so you will have the time and the space to get it done.
   
   
5. Aim for results, not neatness.
   If you worry too much about how something looks, you can lose track of what's important. And what's important isn't the appearance, but the result of the work you're doing. The appearance can be worked on later, if it's that important. Focus on the result first.
   
   
6. Be aware of your value.
   You were hired to fill a position for a reason, usually because of your skills and your experience. The company you work for values this enough to pay you for it each week; you are an investment to them. They would rather not lose their investment. As long as you are achieving the results that you were hired to achieve, they will be happy with what you're doing, and will contine to support their investment - you. Worrying about your job security is only recommended if you're not doing your job! This is why you should work smarter, not harder, so that they will always be happy with what you do.
   
   
7. Be proactive and display initiative.
   Your company would love you to value them too, and to think of ways you can help improve the company and the way things are done. If you find something that needs doing, do it (as long as you have the time to). If you have an idea for how something can be improved, present it. You'll show yourself as a valuable asset to the company.
   
   
8. Take time out for yourself.
   This is probably the most important part of your work - time for yourself. Many companies want you to work for them 120% of your time, but if you leave nothing for yourself, you have an imbalance which adds to the stress. Google, for example, provide every one of their employers with one day each week where they can work on their own projects. You need to work on your own projects too. If you get the results your company wants from you, they really won't mind. And if they do mind, then find another company. The brain works best when it's relaxed, not stressed.
   
   
9. Be a miracle worker.
   Scotty, Captain Jim Kirk's Chief Engineer, would multiply the actual time it would take to do something by 3, so that when he did it in a third of that time, he was considered a 'miracle worker'. If you know something will take 1 day to do, tell them it'll take 3 days. If you do it in 2 days, they'll think you've worked incredibly hard to get it done, even though you know you took your time. You'll get the reputation of being a 'miracle worker' by giving yourself plenty of time to do it, and you do it without stress. Everyone wins.
   

I hope you find increased enjoyment in your work by using these tips to your advantage. Focus on the results, and your boss will love you. Look after yourself along the way and you'll love your job.

My very good friend Vicki was married yesterday to her new husband, Alan.  (Good men share a good name.  Hehehe.)  Deidre and I were there, enjoying the ceremony and reception, and I took over 200 photos. 

They had an 'official' photographer who was a friend who offered to take the photos for free.   I was their unofficial backup.  Which was good, 'cause the other guy seemed to hang around at the back of the church, while I was up the front from all kinds of different angles, getting all the good shots.  The other guy was there for photos between the ceremony and reception, but then he disappeared and was never seen again.  So it's a good thing I continued getting all the good photos.

I'll be putting them up on a website somewhere, so guests, etc, can see samples and then choose to buy those they want to.  I'll put some of the best in my own photo blog as well.

Due to Deidre's allergies, and how badly they're affected by the house we're in, we agreed to 'invest' in her health. As a result, I bought a secondhand Kirby vacuum cleaner. It's a model that I used to sell from 1990 - 92, but the real value of it is that it really cleans the carpets and gets the dirt and dust out of them (as well as lounge suites, curtains, beds and pillows, and all kinds of other stuff). I'm hoping that Deidre's health will improve as a result of the new, super-charged cleaning I'll be doing.

Two years of selling them, and cleaning other people's houses while trying to sell them, makes me an expert on using them. They're a pleasure to use! And now we have one of our own.

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This is exceptional news!  Star Trek XI is soon going to be made, directed by the same guy who created Lost.  The story is going to apparently centre on the early days of Kirk and Spock, when they met and went on their very first mission.

Wooohooo!  I'll be following this with great interest!

Imagine you met someone from the future who travelled back in time to tell you that 20 years from now:

• The 'Long War' had gone on for over 20 years, and the US was losing
• Muslims had nuked Israel out of existence and ruled the Middle East
• Muslims everywhere had risen up against non-Muslims, and as a result:
• Europe was under Muslim law and called Eurasia
• Some cities in the US had been nuked
• Russia had taken advantage of the US withdrawals from Europe and taken back its old regions
• China hada taken advantage of the US withdrawals from asia and taken over the asian region
• The US was losing, and the problem was because they weren't brutal enough.  The Muslims were brutal, and weren't afraid of dying, and as a result, they were winning.

What would you do now, if you knew that this was the future that would happen?

I posted the below comment on a blog post over here. It's such a shame that stupid right-wing commenters prefer hiding their heads in the sand. I posted this comment, which the loser deleted, 'cause he obviously doesn't want to debate the truth. Hey, I know people can delete any comments they like, but he asked for left wingers to comment, but then deletes their comments, while continuing to ask for them to comment. Like most right-wingers, he wants to stifle debate and hide the truth, suppressing the very freedoms they say they promote. Fracking idiots, the lot of 'em.

I'll ignore the insults, as I'd like to think that you're more intelligent than someone who uses insults to disguise their lack of intelligence. That can't be you, right?

Now, IF Clinton authorised the handing over of nuclear detonator blueprints to Iran, then that can certainly lead to interesting consequences. However... IF that is true, why isn't this information presented by the Bush administration as evidence? Why is all their so-called 'evidence' simply conjecture based on fears? The statement of someone's opinion in a book doesn't make it true, and the Bush administration isn't using that to back up their statements. All the Administrations' statements are based on suspicion and fear, without any evidence.

Expressing one's fears and paranoia doesn't make the subject of such fear and paranoia real. Evidence is what makes it real, and so far, there's been no evidence. Just like there's been no evidence of WMDs before and since the invasion of Iraq.

Which leads onto the next part of this debate, which IS still related to the Clinton issue.

Why do you, and other right wingers, prefer to latch onto issues that aren't real, in order to justify the actions of someone who is leading you into war with country after country, for no other reason than the expression of their fears? Why is it so hard for you to look at the illegal and immoral actions of the Bush administration, and so easy to divert attention to other people or events - like the Clinton conjecture - which may or may not have happened?

Why do you feel the need to justify Bush's activities by diverting attention from them? Why are you supporting something that is so obviously wrong, by pointing to other people who may or may not have done something wrong? There's no evidence apart from a single person's opinion in a book, and you're latching onto it as if it justifies everything that Bush is doing. By diverting attention from Bush's actions, it's as if you recognise it's a 'crime' and you feel the need to be complicit in the conducting of such crimes.

What about the evidence of Bush conducting illegal operations and activities, for no justification other than fear, with no real results other than the subjugation of your own freedoms?

Bush tells you that you must lose your freedom in order to keep your freedom, and you don't see the idiocy behind it! "Yes master, I'll give you all my freedom and become a slave, so that you can tell me I'm free. So that I can go only where you want me to go. So that I can do only what you want me to do. So that I can say only what you want me to say." And you call that freedom?

The more the US acts against 'terrorism', which is only becoming more prominent due to the US military actions in foreign countries, the more terrorism there's like to be. The more people you kill, the more you'll have rising up to avenge their deaths. There's no solution to this, other than to stop doing what it is that's causing it

Bush is actively creating the war that he allegedly wants to stop. "To stop people rising up to avenge the deaths of their loved ones, I'll kill more of their loved ones!" Sure, that'll work. Not.

Clinton started it close to a decade ago. Or did he? Wasn't it Rumsfeld, in the 80's, who went to Iraq and gave them chemical weapons to use against Iran? 'The ally of my enemy is my enemy.' The US went to war against Iran 20 years ago, by helping Saddam attack them. The person directly responsible for that is now your Secretary of Defense, who is responsible for planning attacking Iran... And so the war continues.

Your tirades about those against Bush don't change the fact that Bush is not acting in your best interests. The more you rant and rave about how wonderful Bush is, the more people are being killed by him, and thus by you because of your support. The more you support such actions, the more those who are being killed by you are going to want you dead. You're involved in a war of your own creation, and you're a participant by supporting it.

Do me the favour of responding with maturity.

Well, he showed he's obviously not mature. Case rested.

The other day I watched a movie called A Sound Of Thunder.  It was a sci-fi movie based on Robert Heinlein's short story of the same name.  Unfortunately, there was a lot wrong with the movie that didn't need to be.

1) The special effects mostly sucked!
These were the worst special effects I've seen in a movie in a long time...  the computer graphics representing a city in 2050 were no more special than what you would expect on an expensive television advertisement.  They weren't much better than a computer game's graphics.  Pathetic.  The creature effects weren't much different, although they were marginally better than the environment graphics.

2) The machinations of time travel sucked!
There was an explanatioin that changes in the past resulted in 'ripple effects', where those changes went travelled forward in time and changed everything in the future as a result of the change that occurred in the past.  *coughbullshitcough*  These changes occurred a bit at a time, where first the weather changed, then the plant life changed, and then the animal life changed, and then the humans would change.  *coughbullshitcough*  This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. 

The original short story (frack knows why they didn't just stick to the original concept!) had the changes occur like this...  You go back in time and change something.  You return to where you came from.  You find that the world you remember is now different, because of the change you made. 

I'm sure that the reason the movie screwed this up was so that they could have Jurassic Park-like effects, with strange creatures chasing people around in the present day, without having the people change until the last moments.

3) The theory of time travel sucked!
Due to the ripple effects within the movie, they discovered that they couldn't travel back beyond the time location of the next approaching ripple.  So they instead theorised that if they travel back to hundreds of years before the change occurred, they could then 'slingshot' forward to where the change occurred.  *coughbullshitcough*  If they could travel back to hundreds of years before the change, they could frackin' travel back to where the change occurred! 

Ludicrous bullshit that made no sense, on top of bad special effects, made this movie a waste of time.  Which was a real pity, because the story and the concept were excellent. 

I'll take this opportunity to say that the theory of time travel behind this story is one that I absolutely don't believe is possible.  This theory of time travel is such that you could go back and kill your mother before you were born, therefore preventing you from going back and killing your mother before you were born....  A paradox without resolution.

The only theory that makes sense is the 'alternate reality' theory.  This is the one where if you go back in time to kill your mother before you were born, then a new reality branches off from that point which doesn't include your birth.  This reality is then that much different without you having an effect on it.  You would exist in it only as the time traveller who went back in time to prevent yourself being born.  Since you now exist in a reality where you were never born, which is different to the reality you came from, you can never return to your own reality.

Any attempt to go back in time to change the past, or even to leave behind evidence of your presence, would immediately create a new reality where such things happened.  If we, in our reality, ever find evidence of time travel to the past, then it could only mean that our reality is the result of that change.

I don't think the evidence of time travel will ever be found in our reality.  I also don't think that any time travel experiments will be successful.  I believe the only success will be when they can work out how to detect and travel to the alternate realities.  That will be the only way they can monitor the results of changes to reality, by making the change and then detecting the reality that resulted from that change, and seeing how things turned out.

I can also imagine that it would lead to exploitation.  If you have the ability to change reality and then see the results of that change in a reality that's not your own, you can experiment with anything you like.  You can create realities based entirely on your desire to see the results of chemical, biological or nuclear warfare or experimentation.  The possibilities are endless, as there is no limit to the number of realities that can exist, and the number of possibilities to explore.

Technology like this would be hundreds, if not thousands of years in the future.  It would make humanity 'gods', able to monitor a reality and manipulate events within it, with each manipulation creating new realities.

How do we know that 'God' wasn't actually a highly advanced race or being that technologically manipulated our own race, and the result is legends of God that we have today.

Anyway... A Sound of Thunder wasn't worth watching.  Don't see it, you won't miss anything.

Deidre and I went to look at a rental property this morning, to see if it's somewhere we'd like to move to.  The place was nice, and we'll be taking it if the landlord decides we're the ones he wants.

And that's where the small world comes into it...

The landlord is an ex manager from where I work, who I used to have a good rapport with.  "Oh God, not you," he said today, when he recognised me.  The rapport was still there.  And then, it turns out that the current tenants are also people I know, who are good friends with one of my good friends!  "He's getting the place," he said to the landlord when he recognised me.  We all had a good laugh.  The landlord reminded us that he was committed to seeing a whole bunch of other people as well, but he didn't worry about the rental reference we had.  "I don't need that," he said.  We left with a good feeling, not only about the place, but about our chances.

It's funny, but Lee Pletzer has been looking around for a place for over a week now.  We look at one place, and get these things happen to us...  Maybe not funny for Lee though...  (Sorry Lee!)  But I better not count the chickens before they've hatched.  We don't have the place yet, we just have the good feeling.  So we'll see.

UPDATE: We didn't get the place.  Interesting coincidences, but nothing else.  Ah well...

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My posts and articles on dating and relationships seem to be enjoying a lot of interest. As a result of this, I've subscribed to some RSS feeds of various sources to inspire me to write more such articles, but with my own perspective.

Many writers and sites offer advice on dating and relationships from the female's point of view, and many men think that if they understand what females are writing about, in relation to their wants, needs, likes and dislikes, then they'll understand women more and be better able to relate to them, thus ensuring more successful dates or relationships.

Unfortunately, this is completely wrong.

Most women don't really know what they want. You hear it all the time. "I just want a nice guy who'll treat me with respect," they cry out, sobbing, on the shoulder of the nice guy who's always there for them but completely invisible to their wants and needs.

It's the guys that don't treat them with respect that they're often attracted to, not because of the lack of respect, but because of other qualities that those 'jerks' have.

Challenging. Confident. Funny. Mysterious. Sexually appealing.

Nice guys often don't have those qualities, and so they're the ones often losing out.

The perspective that I write about is: how to be challenging, confident, funny, mysterious, and sexually appealing, without being a jerk. You'll find such articles in the dating and relationships categories. And due to their popularity, and my own passion in encouraging men to be themselves (instead of what they think women want them to be), I'll be writing a lot more dating and relationship articles from now on.

It was a very enjoyable Easter weekend... Meeting Lee Pletzers and his wife, getting engaged, calling all our friends and family with the good news, and catching up with people we haven't talked to in a while, and talking about / planning our engagement party and wedding.

It's been enjoyable, but boy, are there going to be some interesting times ahead!

This is my second engagement, but the first time I've actually asked someone to marry me. The first time I was engaged was with Michelle, back in 2000. She actually asked me to marry her, and then she went and bought an engagement ring the same day. I thought, at the time, that we were in love, and that she was just excited, and that she was non-traditional.

However, the truth was that she was suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, which affected a whole lot of her judgements and attitudes. I was naive at the time, and thought that she just was extremely excited about life. How wrong I was.

Not only was I naive, I was also extremely weak and insecure. I thought that when she was having her mood swings that she was just highly emotional, and that things would get better if I just hung in there. I thought that she was needing my support, and with enough support, she'd get through all the difficulties that she was having, and things would be so much better on the other side of those difficulties.

I was wrong though. Throughout her extreme highs and her extreme lows, the more I tolerated her actions, the more she did them. The more she did them, the more I felt responsible for them. In the end, it was just a horrible situation that I was so extremely glad to be out of.

My second engagement is so much different. I've been with Deidre 15 months now. She's proven herself to be more alive to me than anyone else has been, and has become closer to me than anyone else I've ever been close to. She's been the one who has most inspired me to grow, and who has herself been inspired by me to grow. We have been growing together for over a year now, and the time was right for us to move forward with a more serious commitment to each other.

And so I asked her to marry me.

Ever since then, the really cool thing has been that Deidre has become so much happier, and felt so much more stable and secure. For me, it's like a major step has been reached and passed, and we've become a lot closer for it.

Now we're planning the engagement party and moving foward with the wedding plans too... At this stage, the engagement party is going to be in May sometime, and the wedding is probably going to be around September 2007. Because of the fact that all our family and friends are scattered across Australia and New Zealand, deciding where to have it has been the most interesting aspect of the plan. We're leaning towards New Zealand at this stage, mainly because it's easier to plan something in the place you're living. Cheaper too.

You will, of course, be updated as things move forward.

We're both pretty excited about it all, as you would probably expect. :-)

• Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
• The NPT gives every state the right to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes
• As a member of the NPT, Iran is submitted to regular inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• There has been no evidence found by anyone, anywhere, including the IAEA, that Iran is developing nuclear weapons
• In 2006 Iran resumed its nuclear energy program, according to its right as a signatory to the NPT
• India, Pakistan and Israel are NOT members of the treaty
• India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons, while the Israeli government refuse to confirm or deny they also have them

For the US to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear energy is illegal, according to the NPT that they are all signatories to. But when has international law and treaty membership stopped the US?

Remember, there has been no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

So what does it all mean, really?

It means there's a Bush Administration that wants to lie their way into another war, by planting false information into the media and American people about Iran, in order to obtain support for another war. Nothing new really.

Except this time I expect America is going to get a few nasty surprises when they realise the repercussions of such actions.

After enjoying a nice breakfast delivered to our hotel room, relaxing during and after it, we then packed up and went for a walk. Here are some random photos for you.

I'm writing this from a hotel room where Deidre and I are staying for the night. It's a special night. This is how special...

About a month ago or more, we started searching for an engagement ring. About 3-4 weeks ago we found a ring that she liked, which was one I actually picked out for her to try on. It was a gold ring though, and she preferred it to be in white gold. So we asked for a quote, and I gave my name and number for them to call.

A few days later, they called and told me the price. It was more than what the gold ring was, but still 'within budget', so to speak. I got them to go ahead with the order. I told Deidre, however, that it was too expensive and we need to continue looking. She was very disappointed, as you would expect, but we continued looking for a ring.

When I got them to go ahead with the order, I also called Deidre's father, and asked him if he minded me asking his daughter to marry me. He didn't mind at all, and was 'tickled pink' that I'd done the traditional thing and asked him.

I got the ring almost two weeks ago, but Deidre and I continued to 'look for a ring'. Tonight, however, was the night. I had booked the hotel room 3 weeks ago, around the same time that I confirmed the go ahead on the ring, along with dinner and breakfast.

Deidre thought we were just doing dinner, but that was just the beginning. Earlier today I checked in to the room and set it up a little, putting the ring onto a dark cushion on the bed, so it would be seen when we entered the room. After dinner, which was nice and romantic, I took Deidre to the room, which was also a surprise to her.

In the room, I waited for her to see the ring, but she didn't, so I got impatient and picked it up, held her close, looked into her eyes, and asked her to marry me, while holding the ring for her to see.

"Oh my God!" was repeated a few times, before she finally said "Yes!"

Needless to say, we're both very happy!

So now I better get back to her... she's watching tv while I'm doing this post. Not very good form to keep her waiting too long now, is it?

Back in February, 17th - 21st, Deidre and I went to Sydney for a wedding of one of her cousins. I've FINALLY got the photos of that period up. Please click on Photo Blog at the top of the page to access the Oz Wedding photos.

I know it's taken me a long time to put them on here. Thank you for your patience.

If you're one of those who know Lee Pletzer then you'll know that he's just moved to Wellington (New Zealand) on the 12th April. We met up on Thursday 13th and went out to dinner that night, enjoying a nice Indian meal and getting to know each other. Lee, his wife Ami, me and my partner Deidre. We had a very nice time, and it was great catching up with someone who also blogs, and is also a writer.

I say 'also' because I like to think of myself as a writer... well, I write this blog! But I'm not as far 'advanced' as Lee is, with publishing my own books. But I'm getting closer and closer each day.

Anyway, Lee has a funny accent. *grin* He's a kiwi (New Zealander) who's been living in Japan for 10 years, and has been surrounded by Japanese speakers, as well as American. As a result, his accent has become something that sounds like a cross between a kiwi/Japanese/American. Interesting... :-)

We caught up again yesterday, where Deidre and I drove them around Wellington to show them some of the sights, and enjoy the beautiful day that Wellington had yesterday. Here are the best photos of yesterday, showing you some of the sights that we enjoyed. Lee will have some more of his own photos soon on his own blog.

Please enjoy.

This is Lee, Ami and Deidre, overlooking sunny Wellington from Mt Victoria lookout.


Wellington harbour and a departing cargo ship.


A better view of Wellington and the harbour.


Courtenay Place is the 'centre' of Wellington, being where many of the restaurants, cafes and nightclubs are, as well as other entertainment venues. This isn't the best view, but it's the view from the lookout.


A closer view of the marina.


Next, we went for a drive around the bays. This is a jetskier enjoying the water.


Ami enjoying the view at Scorching Bay.


Near Lyall Bay.

The ferry on the left is going to the south island (Picton) while the ferry on the right is returning.


The three of them again. (Lee will have some photos of me taken on his camera... whether they get put onto his blog remains to be seen.) :-)


The beach we were standing on.


And that concludes the photos of the Writers in Wellington. I hope you enjoyed them.

In my regular travels around the internet I don't often find something that makes you just sit back and go 'wow'. Moments like that are very rare.

But I was browsing a gaming forum today, and someone posted this picture. It took my breath away.

It's not often you find a bathing suit so... stylish. I like it! I liked it so much, I wanted to share it with you. I hope you like it too.

I'm hearing a few rumours here and there that Easter is the time for the US to use nuclear weapons against Iran.

We'll see...

My friend Kath sent me something by email that made me want to put it on my blog.  I found a better version on the net that I'm quoting here.  It's been changed slightly for grammatical corrections.

Next time your morning seems to be going wrong, the children are slow getting dressed, you can't seem to find the car keys or you get stopped by every red traffic light, don't get mad or frustrated.

Thank God instead. God is at work watching over you.

After September 11, I happened to call a man on business that I didn't know and have not, nor will ever, talk to again. This day, he felt like talking.  He was head of security of a company that had invited the remaining members of a company who had been decimated by the attack on the Twin Towers to share their office space.  With his voice full of awe he told me stories of why these people were alive and their counterparts were dead.

All the stories were just little things.

• A head of a company got in late that day because his son started kindergarten.
• Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts. 
• One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off in time. 
• One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident.
• One missed his bus. 
• One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.
• One's car wouldn't start. 
• One went back to answer the telephone. 
• One had a child that dawdled and didn't get ready as soon as he should.
• One couldn't get a taxi.

There were other stories that I hope and pray will someday be gathered and put in a book. The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, but then developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a band aid.

That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone, all the little things that annoy me, I think to myself...

This is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.

I have often known this myself, so that when things happen that have the potential to annoy me, to prevent me from getting where I want to go, in the time that I want to take, I sit back and wonder about what I'm being kept from. What potential misfortune am I being saved from.

And I look up into the sky and say "Thank you," to whomever is watching over me and keeping me from harm.

When those annoying things happen to you too, be thankful for them. You just don't know what harm you're being prevented from experiencing.

Thanks to the recent court case involving Dan Brown, author of 'The Da Vinci Code', and the authors of 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail', we have been able to learn all of his secrets to writing a good story. Thanks also to Slate's 'The Dan Brown Code' for writing about it, so that I can summarise Dan Brown's successful writing secrets for you here:

Essential elements to have in the story

1. It needs some kind of secret society, secret government agency, or a shadowy force involved
   
2. A 'big idea' that contains some kind of moral 'grey area'
3. Hunt for treasure of some kind
   
4. Takes place over a 24 hour period
5. Has a simple person pulled out of a familiar world who becomes the hero
6. Make the hero an expert in their chosen field
7. Pair the hero with an expert of a different field, allowing plenty of discussion and debate between them
8. Have the character's last names be only two syllables
   

Tips for writing the story

1. Write every single day, 7 days a week
2. Start writing before dawn
   
3. Take a break every hour and exercise
4. Research the material

(Hat tip to Welcome to Writesville.)

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7. The bird flu hoax  
8. Moving to Australia.  Not  
   
9. Moral dilemmas and connecting the dots  
   
10. The facts of the Holocaust  
    

Top 10 keyword searches

1. chinese backstreet boys
2. bird flu hoax
3. boston legal stick it
4. asian girlfriend
5. quinium
6. boston legal stick it speech
7. alan howard
8. how to make your girlfriend happy
9. utstarcom ppc-6700 / xv-6700 / htc apache
10. forgiving someone you don't want to

Top 10 referring websites

1. chancelucky.blogspot.com/
2. del.icio.us/
3. www.leepletzers.net/blog/
4. vagrantmuse.blogspot.com/
5. www.blogexplosion.com/members/surf.php
6. del.icio.us/tag/dating
7. del.icio.us/nzalan/personal_development?page=2
8. www.fantasyscribe.com/blog/
9. www.buggerall.com.au/tags//pag/6
10. del.icio.us/nzalan/personal_development?page=3

Thanks Chance.  You're still the best referrer to this site!   :-)   As can be seen, the del.icio.us site has become a great source of referrals to this blog.  Thanks del.icio.us!

Here's a photo of Geisha, our new kitten, taken last night.


Reflections in a pond, Kaitoke Country Gardens (just north of Upper Hutt, Wellington).


A flower at the same Country Gardens.


This was sunrise today, taken from the lounge room window.

I found a great post called 18 Ways for Blogger to Beef Up, which inspired me to create my own top 10 list of things that would improve Blogger using some of their tips, and some of mine. While they have 18 of 'em, I think that the following are the things that are most important for most bloggers.

1. Categories and Tagging
Everyone else does it, it's high time Blogger did too. We all want categories, and with the social bookmarking that's going on these days, Blogger needs to get with the times.

2. RSS Feeds based on Categories or Tags
Not everything on a blog is related to what the reader might be interested in. Maybe they'd be interested in only some parts of what a blog is about. For example, my blog has a lot of posts on all kinds of different 'categories'. Wouldn't it be good to subscribe to an RSS Feed only of the category or categories that you have an interest in? Of course it would.

3. Scheduled posts
Sometimes it'd be great to write a post now but schedule it to be posted later, so that you don't need to be around to do it at the time. Like when you're going on holiday and you want to make sure your blog remains active while you're away.

4. Plug-in support
Wordpress has 'widgets', little plug-ins that add extra functionality. These would be great for Blogger to have as well, allowing greater customisation and functionality with your blog.

5. Blogger + Google Calendar
While a calendar could be included as a 'widget', Google Calendar is apparently coming out soon, and would be a welcome part of blog integration. You could replace the Archives functionality with the Calendar, allowing calendar dates to show up as links which lead to posts done on that date.

6. Photo archives
Blogger allows image integration into the blog, but has no way of archiving such images. It'd be great to have a Photo Archives page, possibly called 'photo blog page' or something like it, allowing you to access all the images on your blog in one location.

7. RSS Feed aggregation
There are blogrolls that link to various other blogs, and there are RSS readers that show headlines or small amounts of content from other blogs. Having the two integrated in some way, so that you can bring together various headline or content feeds from your favourite blogs to be shown in your sidebar, would be a good thing.

8. Better comments
Adding the comments form to the bottom of each post would be a much better idea, so that visitors can quickly add their comments to the page without having to go to a separate comments page.

9. Better blog flagging
Blogger currently has 'flag this blog' as an option when you browse through various Blogger blogs, allowing visitors to flag blog that they consider objectionable in some way - including spam. They should improve it with a drop-down list, so that you can select 'spam' or 'offensive' or 'add to blogroll' or 'add to RSS aggregator'.

10. Better spam control
I really hate having to fill out that 'captha' image thing every time I add a frackin' comment to my blog, or someone else's. I should only need to log in once and fill out a captcha, and then every time I want to fill out a comment from that point on, I shouldn't be bothered by that captcha crap. And sometimes you can't even read the lettering on the images they use, and have to fill it out multiple times before you get it right. It sucks!


So there you have the ten most important things - as far as I'm concerned. Please feel free to add your own things that you would like to see, by adding a Comment to this post.

1) George Bush claims that material which is currently classified, was declassified in order for him to leak it, and then classified again.

Ummm... isn't that really just bullshit? Isn't that simply leaking classified information? Isn't that a crime called treason? Isn't that a punishable offence? Is anyone planning on punishing George Bush? Or are we just going to see Americans roll over again and say, "Oh ok. If Bush says it's true, it must be true. If he says it's ok, it must be ok. No problem."

2) The Bush Administration is talking about using nuclear weapons on Iran. To make sure they don't use nuclear weapons themselves. Because using nuclear weapons is bad. So Iran needs to be nuked by the good nuclear weapons before they build and use the bad nuclear weapons. Sure, makes sense to me. Not.

Apologies if you don't like reading about the adventures of my character in the game of Eve Online, but you don't have to read it. For those of you that don't mind reading them, I hope you enjoy them as the creative writing that they're meant to be, where I transfer the events of the game into an ongoing story. I'm using it as practice for my writing skills, and will continue for as long as the game inspires me to do so. :-)

I've been thinking about various options available to me, and I feel I'm getting close to finding a role I can fit into. I like the idea of being part of actions against the lawless, but I don't like the idea of persecuting those who realise the error of their ways and want to change.

So I've come up with the idea of continuing as planned within the corporation I'm part of, where I end up being involved in covert/stealth operations against pirates, individuals or corporations involving themselves in illegal and immoral activities, while also 'freelancing' as a guide and bodyguard for those who seek redemption. Naturally, they have to be serious in their attempts to enhance their security status up into the positives, and if they engage in anything 'illegal or immoral' then my co-operation ends and I actively engage in their destruction.

It's obvious that I need to have quite a high level of competence to fulfil these goals. Those who have negative security ratings are usually highly competent themselves, which is how they've got to where they are (eg. through winning many battles). Why the hell would they want a 'bodyguard'?

I'm hoping that the idea of assistance and protection from someone with a positive security status, such as myself, would be attractive to those who seek redemption.

It's a possibility, as I said, but an interesting one. Time will tell if it's the career path I actually end up in, or if it's just the fantasy of someone without any experience of how the real galaxy works....

To be continued...

I've done things no man should ever have to do. But hey, so has everyone else! So why should I be any different?

That's what I keep telling myself... I'm not so sure I'm convincing myself though. Just because everyone else does it, doesn't make it right. Right?

I was planning on getting my skills up, and joining an appropriate corporation, so that I could engage in activities that would help clear the galaxy of all those scum that prey on others. Those loser types who go around killing others, just for the 'fun' of it. But I've had a few interesting experiences to make me question those goals.

As part of my training, I was involved in the assassination of an apparently enemy agent. I couriered some fuel that would be used on his ship, but the fuel secretly had a detonator in it. I watched him undock from the station and move away before activating the warp drive. That's when the detonator went off.

I left the system before they could lock it down, but I've found out that the investigation included some of our own agents, so 'nothing was found'.

I can remember seeing the explosion, and seeing a couple of nearby ships reeling from the shockwave. But mostly, I remember seeing his face when I delivered the fuel and he signed off on it. I remember him looking just like me. Well, a bit different, but he was the same race.

The solidity of life is only a temporary illusion. As I did to him, someone else could do to me. It could only be a matter of time before someone tries that on me. I might piss someone off somewhere, and boom! I'm gone.

I'm not sure this is something I'd like. Gee, ya think?! Yeh, I think.

And then I was reading the stories of another pilot of this galaxy, who has been writing about his exploits. A bit like me, but he's been doing this longer. He is actively engaging in hunting down pirates, and 'bad guys', people who are on the lower end of the security scale (eg. -0.1 and lower). He was hunting someone who was actively working on getting their security scale back into the positives. They were trying to do 'good things', feeling bad about their actions, and seeking out their redemption.

He absolutely disagreed with bad guys seeking out redemption. He felt that he was their redemption, and the only redemption for them was death. He hunted this person until they were killed by he and his friends. His justification was that they had done the same to others, and so he was 'doing unto them as they did unto others'.

It made me think. I know people can make mistakes. I know that people can choose the wrong path, and do things that they don't like to do, but circumstances make it seem as if it's the best thing for them to do.

I've actively assassinated someone who had done nothing wrong to me. All I had to go on was what someone else told me. Where is the line between me and the person who was hunted down for killing others?

What makes one form of killing right, and another form of killing wrong? Maybe all forms of killing are wrong?

I'm going to be investigating my options, my beliefs, my morals and ethics. And above all, my career in this galaxy. I'm not so sure I want to be an assassin, even of the bad guys. Especially since the only bad guy I've encountered so far apologised for destroying my ship and paid me a quarter of a million in restitution.

Maybe bad guys are just misunderstood and confused. Maybe they need someone to show them the way they should be following.

How can I be involved in that?

I'll think about it.

The Martian Anthropologist was writing about God today in his post called Dragon in my Garage, saying, "if you can’t back up a claim with evidence, it is not worth considering." He also said, "I’m not going to believe in something just because it makes me feel better."

Why not? Why not believe in something if it makes you feel better?

I've had this argument with a friend of mine back in Canberra, over the years. It's their fatalistic belief as well that if it can't be physically proven, then there's no point considering it.

To me, this kind of argument is completely ignorant. If everyone had this attitude, we wouldn't have the discoveries that we've had over the thousands of years that mankind has been around.

History itself has shown us the fallacy of this attitude, where scientific discoveries have occurred because people look for ways to prove the existence of their beliefs. The belief comes first, and then the evidence comes later. Columbus believed the Earth wasn't flat, and he believed that if he sailed far enough he wouldn't fall of the ends of it. The Wright Brothers believed that if man was meant to fly then he'd have wings - so they created the wings! Galileo believed that the Earth wasn't the centre of the universe.

Most people who went against contemporary evidence were branded as heretics, fools, etc. Sometimes people were even killed for speaking out against commonly held beliefs, which were considered sacrosanct.

"Everyone knows the Earth is the centre of the universe! You just need to look how the sun and the stars and the moon revolve around us! What fools would look for 'evidence' that's in front of their very eyes? Kill them!"

There's an interesting statement I read many years ago, which I've always remembered, and is always appropriate.

For those who believe, no evidence is necessary.
For those who don't believe, no evidence is enough.

A man was arrested and 'hauled off a plane and questioned for 3 hours as a suspected terrorist' - because of the music he was listening to.

'Playing The Clash made me a terror suspect'

The taxi driver who took him to Heathrow Airport felt that his choice of music was 'questionable', and that by playing that music, he was probably a terrorist.  So he called the police.

"A terrorist was just in my taxi!  I could tell 'cause they were listening to The Clash and Led Zeppelin!"

And, of course, based on those choices of music, the police stormed the plane and arrested him.  Naturally, really.

Well, 'naturally' if you're living in a climate of fear and stupidity, that is.

Deidre and I got ourselves a new kitten tonight, which is small, cute and fluffy. Yeh, I know, it's gonna get older, bigger, not-so-cute and probably very fluffy. But hey, it's what we both decided on, and it's what we both want, and it's going to be very cool.

Except Eve doesn't like it. As we thought. But Eve will just have to get used to it. :-)

I think she's (yes, 'she') about 6-8 weeks old. She still squeaks instead of meows. I'll be taking her to the vet tomorrow, to get her checked out and stuff. Or Friday... or as soon as I can get her checked out. She cost $5 from some people who had kittens they didn't want. Much better than the $150 - $250 from pet stores, etc. Yes, I know, there's still the costs of vet care, etc. It's ok.

I'll provide some more photos later, as we take more of them over time.

UPDATE: We're probably going to call her 'Geisha'.

I've joined a new game called Eve Online (read the FAQ), which is exceptionally good. It's better than World of Warcraft, and has become my 'game of choice'.

EVE is a massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) set in a science-fiction based, persistent world. Players take the role of spaceship pilots seeking fame, fortune, and adventure in a huge, complex, exciting, and sometimes hostile galaxy.

As a result of my enjoyment about it, I'm going to be writing the continuing adventures of my character, as an exercise in creative writing, and to record the interesting developments of the game for me. It's also to promote how good the game is, and if you would like to join as well, you can contact me . Maybe you might like to join the same corporation I'm in.

The Beginning

Hi, I'm Black Claw. You might know me from.... well, ok, you won't know me at all. But one day, you will. The name 'Black Claw' will strike fear into the hearts of the lawless. I hope you won't be one of 'em.

Anyway, I know that's going to be quite a while away. At the moment I'm going through Training Academy. My God, what a boring place that is! But I know it's necessary. Without this training, how am I going to become one of the legends of the galaxy? How am I going to be able to strike fear into the hearts of those who have no fear? Yes, training is important.

Unfortunately, it's also embarrasing on occasions. The other day I went to destroy a simple drone as part of combat training. Now, previous training against 'pirates' had been very successful, but this drone? After five minutes of flying around it and firing at it, I had to give up. My weapons weren't even causing a flicker in its shields! Disgusted, I flew away, leaving it behind. However, after a couple of courier missions to make some money, followed by a quick weapons upgrade, I returned.

"Yeh, that's right! I'm back! Didn't expect to see ME again, did you! Hahahahaha!" I know, the broadcast was useless, as it was only a drone. But it made me feel sooo much better! After a couple of quick blasts, the drone was destroyed, and I returned to base with a big smile on my face. The guys bought me a beer each, so that was definitely worth it.

On one of my recent training missions, things changed for me. Changed a lot. Changed for the better, in fact. I was travelling through a star system when I stumbled upon a lone traveller at the jump gate I was about to use. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, as they've done in the past when something important's about to happen. Wondering what it might be, I thought I'd contact this traveller and strike up a conversation.

Jinx Nebulafyre was his name. Strange name, but he seemed like a nice guy. I asked him if he knew of any corporations that were involved in covert / stealth / black ops, as that was the kind of thing I wouldn't mind getting involved in. He froze, his face staring out at me from the screen.

"Are you psychic?" he asked me.

"Sometimes," I said. This was the truth though, as I've often thought that those hair-raising moments were some kind of psychic affect, trying to tell me when something was about to happen that would be good for me. This was one of those times.

It turned out that he was involved in a corporation that engaged in just those activities, and I was immediately invited to join his corporation's recruitment comm link. After talking with a few people, who asked me what my goals were, and why I wanted to be part of their organisation, I was gifted two million credits! Holy mother of God!

I asked what it was for, and was told it was to buy a ship. Thanking my lucky stars, I immediately bought myself a brand new Frigate that I could start using immediately, and which could also be fitted out for covert operations. It was only a few jumps away, and so I headed there immediately.

This was when I had another experience, which initially was really bad, but actually turned out ok. I jumped into a system and was immediately attacked by someone! It all happened so fast, I couldn't find them to attack back. I also knew I was in no position to capably defend myself, as I was still in my training ship. A 'rookie ship', as they called it. I did the only thing I could do, and that was to warp away.

However, it took the unseen enemy only 3 shots to destroy my ship. One shot to penetrate my shields, another shot to destroy my armour, and the final shot to destroy it. My cockpit capsule ejected from the flaming wreckage and immediately engaged the warp drive, using the command I'd given before the ship was destroyed. As I streaked away from the ambush site in my little capsule, I sat there reading the report that the CONCORD police had sent to me as a result of the combat. It gave the name of my attacker and what weapons were used to destroy my ship, as well as a few other interesting bits of information.

I knew it would be foolish of me to try and get revenge. I had neither the skill or the capability of delivering such retribution. Thinking about it, I decided to just appreciate the experience for what it taught me. Smiling to myself, I composed a message to my attacker, thanking then for my first such experience, but politely asking them not to do that again if they ever encountered me again. I sent the message, and then went to sleep.

It was only a short while later, however, that I was woken up by the comm system beeping at me. It was a reply from my attacker, who apologised for the attack, saying he was only testing new weapons, and that he hoped the money he was paying me would make up for it. I checked my account and found, on top of the two million that was already there, another two hundred and fifty thousand credits! I couldn't believe it!

I sent him back a reply thanking him for the payment, and that maybe I'd be happy for him to attack me again...

The generosity of some people around here seems to be quite amazing, even from those who have attacked me. Unbelievable.

I eventually made my way to the station that was housing my new Frigate, and after installing my pod into it, I took off to the HQ of the corporation that was inviting me to join. They were 24 jumps away, so it took me a while to get there, but I finally made it. After having a quick shave, I left the Frigate - which was a much better ship than the 'rookie ship' - and met the corporation's senior members. I signed their application form, and they welcomed me into their company.

"What next?" I asked, and they told me to return to what I had been doing. They would provide information, advice, assistance and training where needed, but I wasn't ready yet to be part of their operations. That would take time, but they hoped it wouldn't be too long.

With a nod and a thanks, I left them, returning the 24 jumps back to the Training Academy. It doesn't seem so boring now. I look around at my classmates, and wonder how many of them are members of a corporation yet - a black ops corporation at that - and with over two million credits in their account! I felt extremely lucky and happy to have such resources available to me already, and the training missions had a completely different feel to them now. With a smile, I went back to studying the details on the latest training mission...

To be continued...

I saw this movie last night and, as I expected, I loved it. What wasn't there to love? There was a very distinct message for the people that watch it: don't be afraid of your government.

So what is the movie about? It's about power lending itself to corruption, to create the illusion of fear and danger. It's about freedom, and doing whatever is necessary to keep it. It's about ordinary people standing up to oppression.

A message for the times.