http://damn.org.za/blog Just Another Damn Blog Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:36:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As promised in my earlier post, here's an update from my Picasa Album... As you can see, I'm apparently still on track to my goal weight... And, yes, being fit, lighter and much healthier does indeed feel very good! http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/06/24/picasa-update/ For all of us who have pondered the eternal question of what love really is, wonder no more! I have Jack Handey coming to our rescue: Love is not something that you can put chains on and throw into a lake. That's called Houdini. Love is liking someone a lot. Well, there ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/06/13/jack-handy-on-love/ Now I would hesitate to refer to myself as a professional when it comes to watershed moments, never having been paid for them, you see, but I certainly would have no issue referring to myself as an experienced amateur... In the the last year much has happened to me, and only ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/06/03/watershed-moments/ I've come to the realisation recently that, quite frequently in the recent past, I've allowed the words of others to express what I had felt. While there is nothing wrong with that per sé, and in fact much of the thrust of this post is given by the same sword, it ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/04/04/just-a-simple-little-epiphany/ Ernest Gary Gygax, one of the good guys, passed away on, fittingly enough, Games Master's Day, the 4th of March 2008. RIP Dungeon Master, and thanks for all the dice... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/03/07/rip-dungeon-master/ A very good friend of mine just sent me this quote. I wish I could find the original author, but the net's flooded with un-attributed copies. And now I, of course, will just exacerbate the problem... :-) Never take someone for granted. Hold every person close to your heart, because you ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/19/i-just-love-these-sea-shells/ If "Cold Wind Blows" is the one side of the coin, this classic from Billy Joel ever so eloquently highlights the other... While the former covers endings and that sense of loss when something wonderful dies, the latter -- this one -- is all about that sense of great joy and ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/17/the-longest-time/ Sun don't shine 'round here no more, since my baby walked on out that door. She broke my heart, make no mistake. All I did was give. All she did was take. But don't you know, where she goes, the cold wind blows. Well, my baby told so many lies. I ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/17/cold-wind-blows/ Saturday became take 2 of the Cansa Shavathon 2008, and I decided to go orange for that one. To be honest, I think I much prefer the green version... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/16/cansa-shavathon-2008-the-orange-version/ Yes, yes... I'm very well aware that the real Cansa Shavathon Day for 2008 is only on the 16th... My company had decided, though, that today would be an opportune day for that. I'll post some more photos of the other poor victims when I get them, but some of me ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/15/cansa-shavathon-2008/ Now this elicited a rather poignant smile... But, yeah. Things change. People move on... Bonne chance, ma chérie. Au revoir... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/07/many-a-true-word/ This would be so damned funny: If only it wasn't just so gut-wrenchingly true... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/07/virtually-true/ A friend of mine has heard that I've lost a kilo or two; and asked me for some photos... Well, here they are... I'll keep my Picasa Album updated as time goes by in case anyone else is curious... It's been a wild ride so far, but, damn, am I having fun! http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/02/07/what-a-ride/ It's been said that the second hardest thing in life is knowing which bridges to cross, and which to burn. The hardest is the regret of crossing those that you should have burnt, and having burnt those that you should have crossed... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/01/15/hard-lessons/ He was just sitting there, staring at the sea. Nobody quite knew what to make of him, the strange old man. But they considered him harmless. He was there every morning. As regular as clockwork; sitting there sipping his coffee from his flask at dawn, having his sandwiches, always the ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2008/01/08/a-storybook-love/ When I initially decided to write this post, I had thought to keep it sweet and short, wishing both my friends and enemies the same thing: may 2008 bring to you what you deserve... Up until a couple of weeks ago, that would still have been my stance, but one of ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/31/resolutely-wishing-for/ My friends sometimes get a bit annoyed with my refusing to acknowledge that Yankeeland has any meaningful contribution to make in International Society. They also wonder why I flat-out refuse to go to that country. Now since I'm of the opinion that there had in history only been three worthwhile inventions ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/17/ill-just-go-elsewhere-thanks/ Strangely enough, an issue I've been faced with quite frequently... ;-) http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/09/ah-yes-thats-a-known-issue/ As Caesar said crossing the River Rubicon on his way to Rome, "Alea iacta est"... And the die has truly been cast. While I'm writing this they're still in the air and I have no idea what they will fall on, but what I do know is that I will ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/09/alea-iacta-est/ I should be feelin' so happy to wake up each day in the sun. But I can't seem to raise a smile since this days begun. 'cos when you're feelin' so lonely, there's just one thing you need. Dark days in paradise, dark days indeed. I followed her to the airport, I got down on my knees. But she just ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/08/dark-days-in-paradise/ The hardest part about doing nothing is knowing when to quit. One can say much the same for feeling sorry for oneself. And the time for that has come for me. Thank you to all who've been patiently waiting for me to get my head out of my butt. And to ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/07/moving-on/ As Themba's stentorian snores had lulled me to sleep the previous evening, so they not so gradually brought me to a none-too-gentle awakening. Yep. Still here... With some caffeine fuelled enthusiasm I had decided that a shower was my first order of business. Alas, no, the miniscule alcove had not over-night ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/04/reflections-on-the-falls-day-2/ "Now, I've been to some dodgy places. No, I mean some really dodgy places. But that was behind me, I was convinced of that. I knew that that was history. Which doesn't explain why I am here. No, it really does not." These were some of my very first thoughts ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/12/03/reflections-on-the-falls-day-1/ It used to amuse me for the longest time that when I'm at my happiest I tend to be most quiet about it. It seems that I'm then so busy being happy, that I don't want to waste any time on non-critical things like blog entries. I used to think I ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/11/25/happiness-writes-white/ He had been quite happy in the aquarium, for quite a while. That was before, of course. But there was a time he'd been quite happy indeed. He could remember a time before the aquarium, swimming free. It hadn't always been fun, not always comfortable, but he could remember the feeling ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/11/17/catch-and-release/ This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper. The Hollow Men, T.S. Eliot. http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/11/11/if-only-it-were-just-the-world/ All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again. http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/11/11/lifes-like-that-sometimes/ The station is ominous at Midnight, Hope is a dead letter. Time to change tracks For something better. No local train now, long since departed. No way of getting back to where you started. I read these lines so many years ago, that I can't even remember which book I got it from. And yet they have stayed ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/10/18/of-universal-truth/ "Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love."   -- As You Like It, Rosalind, Act IV scene I Cynical, maybe; but true none the less I suppose. Bullets work better. http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/10/18/and-so-they-have/ I've been thinking. Therein lies the danger I know, but it's too late now. It has already happened. But I've been thinking: when is enough, enough? When does a wise man call it quits? When do you concede a fight, shake hands with your opponent and give him the hearty ... http://damn.org.za/blog/2007/09/06/enough-already/