driving with the mystic dwarf

Never accept lifts from strangers? Obvious enough.

Never accept lifts from colleagues? Less obvious and maybe in need of clarification.

Never accept lifts from colleagues you already suspect to be somewhat odd.

They just might insist on taking the wrong route. Get stuck in traffic. And then get lost.

They might insist on taking the tunnel instead of the bridge. When you need the latter.

All the while they might be playing mind-numbingly dull scuba diving podcasts featuring drawling Californians discussing Rebreathers in what sounds like the back room of a particularly grubby dive shop. Or down a well.

They might finally decide to drop you a few kilometres from where they had promised because otherwise it would be out of their way.

You might want to make alternate travel arrangements.

a brief history of the world

The People: “There sure is a lot to think about…”

The Man: “Don’t you worry about it, leave it to us, we’ll take care of it. Everything is under control.”

The People: “Good oh.”

The Man (comes back a little later): “Ah, there you are. Turns out we didn’t quite have it covered. Mistakes were made.”

The People: “Cripes! So who pays for the mistakes?”

The Man: “That will be you.”

The People: “Oh.”

trip advisor 3

Port Stephens, on the NSW coast, is a beautiful place.

It is a natural harbour bigger than Sydney’s, and a marine park full of dolphins and other sea life.

This draws in the tourists as well as numerous other attractions.

But, based on my numerous trips here…

Rumours of their Koalas appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

side effects

The fine print. It is worth reading sometimes.

Some of it may be lawsuit avoiding legalese but there are some things that we really should know. It is for our own good.

Because in some cases, the adverse effects turn out to be exactly what you were trying to avoid in the first place.

And sometimes these unfortunate ulterior outcomes are not even listed in the first place.

So in the interest of public safety, I have listed some common examples below:

Sleeping pills – Side effects may include insomnia

Anti-Nausea medication – Side effects may include vomiting

Going out for a quiet drink – Side effects may include crawling through the front door at 2am

Going to the shops for that one thing you need – Side effects may include a lifetime of servitude to Mastercard/Visa

Concentrating on finishing that important task/document/letter – Side effects may include hours on twitter/youtube/facebook etc.

It is not exhaustive but it is a start. Be safe.

And feel free to add your own.

Fine print – this may not be worth reading

beside you in time

Life is full of distractions. So many ways to pass time, you wonder where it goes.

Not that you wish it away, it just seems to slip by. Life is what happens whilst you’re busy making other plans.

And it can all get in the way. Everything that you think is taking your focus from where you think it should be.

Anyway, I have been distracted of late.

This is Hugo. He has just peed on his bed.

To the washing machine. Again.

mesurf in a lucky country

Regular readers of this might know that I am partial to a bit of surfing. And sometimes writing about it.

I was recently invited to contribute a few pieces to mesurf, a website produced for surfers by surfers.

I have been following the mesurf project since about the launch and love their work so it is pretty flattering to have been asked.

The first piece about Australia and surfing is now up: Lucky Country

For anyone coming here from mesurf for the first time, you might like to check out:

in your place

morning yearning

tempting fate

amongst the waves

For anyone else, I suggest you check out mesurf for information on all aspects of surfing from news, features, fitness, technique, profiles, interviews, the latest surf product releases…. oh and occasionally me.

trip advisor 2

Having been fortunate enough to spend a few days in Paris earlier this month, the usual thing would be an in-depth trip advisor-esque review.

A rundown of the city, the people, the food, the wine, the vibe.

So here it is:

Some people say that Paris is overrated.

I don’t.