Happy birthday, Dana

Today is Dana's birthday. My beautiful girl just turned 6.

It's also the 'birthday' (actually, self-government anniversary) for the Northern Territory of Australia -- the state I live in.

Sadly, going back even further than my beautiful girl has been alive, most Territorians 'celebrate' self-government by buying copious amounts of freely- (and legally-available) fireworks, and setting them off over a period of several days. Officially, fireworks are only legally allowed to be let off on July 1st, between 7pm and 11pm. However, not only do people let them off in the days leading up to July 1st, but also over the days (and increasingly weeks) after our anniversary is officially over.

Which would be fine, if:

a) it didn't scare the sh!t out of most pets, Dana included (I hate having to spend her birthday trying to comfort her as she shakes herself to bits); and,

b) there weren't w@nkers out there who think 2:48am is a suitable time to let off fireworks (like this morning, right outside my house). Or idiots who throw fire-crackers at passing cars (like at mine yesterday evening). Or even worse.

Sadly, it's these idiots who are making it harder for the law-abiding people of the NT to celebrate. Sooner or later it will get to a stage where enough people will be killed, maimed, or hurt, and enough people will become pissed off at the antics of the idiots, that this so-called privilege--we're the only state in the country that allows the public to do this--will be removed.

And seeing how badly it affects Dana on what should be the best day of her life, I can't wait.

Anyway, just to end on a less vitriolic note, my beautiful girl needs cuddling and comforting. Happy birthday, Dana.

P.S. Though I've had a new addition to the family (Jackie has joined Dana and I in our little family), I'll post about Jackie at a later date. If you want to see Jackie, though, have a bo-peep at my sister's blog (link is in the sidebar -- Higgledy-Piggledy).

Weird...

Without knowing any better, I'd almost believe the guy in the following photo (whose face is shrouded in shadow, and who is wearing short trousers) is my ex-boss... *lol*

Troy, you didn't happen to fly over to Vancouver to visit the set of Stargate Atlantis in the past year and a half, did you?


NB: Image courtesy of Gateworld.Net

It's remarkable how similar the mystery person is to Troy -- same sort of trousers, same sort of shirt, same sort of belt buckle, same sort of watch... even the same sort of general build...

But add the socks in as well, and it's uncanny the resemblance! :D

While on the subject of Atlantis

Took some quizes (the usual 'which character are you?' type)... Results below. :)

Which Stargate: Atlantis character are you?

McKay
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Who would be your best Stargate Atlantis buddy?

McKay: Shut up and think quick, if you lived on Atlantis you'd be spending your time with Dr Rodney McKay and neither of you would have a moment to spare if you're working on some doohickey with the potential to determine life or death...
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You scored as Carson, You are Carson Beckett! The doctor that everyone loves. You think human life is important, you honestly believe in the hypocratic oath First Do No Harm. Carson 83% Rodney 75% Elizabeth 67% John 50% Teyla 33% Aiden 25% Which Stargate Atlantis Charcter are you Most Like created with QuizFarm.com

I was both surprised and not surprised to find I'd matched Rodney twice (and had Rodney 2nd most compatible in the 3rd quiz)... I can tend to be an awful lot like Rodney (just not to the same extent as him) so I guess it's only fitting I matched him. :) Surprisingly enough, I also like Rodney's character the best in the show (David Hewlett's portrayal is nothing short of superb!) and it's easy to see why I would gravitate to a character that's similar to me in so many respects. *lol*

Still, Carson's not a bad person to match either... :D

Not so strangely (hope this doesn't offend any American folk reading *smile*) I matched two characters that are not American in the series. Carson's Scottish and Rodney's Canadian. I don't think I share a lot of traits with American people (to over-generalise the matter) so I'm not surprised I didn't match Shepperd, Ford, or Dr. Weir. And as much as I like Shepperd's humour and attitude, those are qualities I don't have to the same levels as he does...

Nevertheless, I wish the 2nd quiz ("your best SGA buddy") had resulted in Sheppard rather than Rodney... :)

Anquietas...

For anyone curious enough about the 'text' below, it's written in a fictional language called 'Anquietas' used by the Ancients -- a fictional race in the Stargate television series franchises.



This made-up language is used heavily (though not often accurately or even logically) in both the 'Stargate SG-1' and 'Stargate Atlantis' television series, but moreso for Atlantis. In fact, Stargate Atlantis is based/set in the lost city of the Ancients (i.e. Atlantis) so there are tons of these symbols scattered around the place.

The best thing about this so-called language (created by a graphics designer on the shows) is that it has a 1-to-1 correlation between the Ancient characters and the English characters of the alphabet (i.e. you don't need to translate the Ancient into an intermediate language and then interpret that into English.)

There are pages similar to this (a forum on Gateworld.net) that not only discuss this alphabet, but provide users the ability to download computer-installable fonts to replicate the symbols, and even provide 'practice phrases' to assist you in learning to 'translate' the characters (you will need to have the font installed to be able to see it on the above forum though, otherwise it just appears like normal English.)

Though of course it's very easy to 'cheat' by just copying and pasting the Ancient text into a text editor and changing the font to something different to provide the 'translation' automatically, it isn't that hard to 'learn' the symbols themselves. :) In fact, within 10 minutes I was able to translate whole phrases fairly easily (though a bit slowly -- not sure I'd ever read Ancient as fast as I do English...) The only real issue with the Ancient alphabet--as it currently is--is the fact that the 'F' and 'U' characters are identical, which leads to delays while you're trying to work out the word based on its neighbouring characters... :(

Apparently the graphics designer on Stargate Atlantis that was responsible for creating this alphabet stated that he had 'fixed' the problem earlier this year; it may take some time to actually determine, though, which character (U, F, or possibly both?) will be changed... once that happens, no doubt an updated font will be released. :)

Oh, in case anyone wants to 'verify' the above Ancient text--if you were translating it--or you just don't care either way (*grin*), then it's my blog's title (Infrequent) in the larger sized font, and the blog description (Random...pace) in the smaller sized font. :)

Cheers,
Pete.

For Maria...

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Maria,
Happy Birthday to you.

:)

Happy Birthday, Sis.

Love,
Pete.

News to make my sister happy...

Looks like Chelsea beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final this morning. My sister is an avid supporter of Chelsea, so I know she'll be very happy with the result. :)

FA Cup Final report: click here

Congratulations, Chelsea!

Spider-Man 3

For a rabid Spider-Man fan like myself, you'd be surprised to hear that I haven't been to see the 'Spider-Man 3' movie yet...

It's odd, but from what I've been able to find out (lots of hearsay) about this latest installment of the franchise, I get a feeling of ambivalence about it. I have this gut-wrenching feeling that I'm not going to like it much (disappointed, maybe?), yet every time I see a trailer for the movie on TV or online, I can't help saying 'Wow!' to myself... :) What's worse is that I always tell myself straight after seeing each trailer: "I've GOT to see the movie!" *lol*

Regardless, I know I will go see it (and probably soon). The notion of seeing how Sam Raimi has brought 'Venom' to life is just too powerful. And it doesn't hurt that I kinda like Topher Grace as an actor -- it will be interesting to see his take on playing a villain. :)

Matt, have you been to see it yet? I read in your blog how you and Jarret had planned to go and you had to pull out at the last minute due to a swim meet... did you reschedule? Care to give me your review/views on the movie? :)

And for those of you that can remember the old Spider-Man animated series, the theme lyrics are posted below. Enjoy. :)

Spider-Man Theme Lyrics
Words by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Bob Harris

Spider-Man, Spider-Man,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size
Catches thieves just like flies
Look out!
Here comes the Spider-Man.

Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead
Hey, there
There goes the Spider-Man.

In the chill of night
At the scene of a crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man
Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
Wealth and fame
He's ingnored
Action is his reward.

To him, life is a great big bang up
Whenever there's a hang up
You'll find the Spider-Man.

April 25 - Anzac Day

LEST WE FORGET

Pet Peeve

Anyone who knows me, knows I like reading online fiction (usually "fanfiction" in its many genres). This leads me to a personal pet peeve: grammar and spelling mistakes.

I'm not immune, mind you -- I've had my fair share of both through time. But some authors either don't care (often quoting that they don't care for reviewers to point out their spelling/grammar mistakes), or just don't make the effort to write to a semi-professional standard.

A lot of people would claim "why should they?" and point out that these authors are amateur writers (i.e. not being paid for their work). While in many ways this is relevant and true, nonetheless having an author trying to better themselves and their standard of work has its own benefits: i.e. a happier audience; a more appreciative audience; and, ultimately, an audience that is likely to keep on reading. There have been many a time when I've come across the fourth or fifth error in the space of half a page and thought to myself, "Bugger that! I'm not going to waste any more time trying to cope with these speed bumps along the way of my (attempted) enjoyment of this work."

(but not in so many words... )

Sadly, this is a valid concern for a lot of people reading fiction online. I, at least, persevere -- I give the author a fourth or fifth chance; many other readers would be lucky to give them a second chance, let alone more, when reading such stories.

So, with that in mind, following are presented some grammar/spelling tips for potential authors:

(note: these are just some of the more irksome 'errors' I come across on an almost daily basis.)

"breath" vs "breathe"

breath = one (and generally only one) exhalation/inhalation of air

e.g.
He took a deep breath before launching into his explanation.
She let out a startled breath when the corpse suddenly twitched.

breathe = the autonomic process of breathing (i.e. taking breaths)

e.g.
"Breathe, damn it!" she urged, as she continued to resuscitate her boyfriend.


"close" vs "clothes"

close = 1) to shut something; 2) be near an object

e.g.
A deep voice bellowed, "Close that window before I catch my death of cold!"
Hugging close to the surface of the ocean, the fog lay heavy, dark, and dangerous.

clothes = garments; articles of clothing (things that people wear)

e.g.
My clothes were muddier than the Nile delta.


"lightning" vs "lightening"
this one is a common mistake...

lightning = the streak of light often accompanying thunder during a storm

e.g.
Lightning arced across the heavens, sending the superstitious folk fleeing.

lightening = 1) the process whereby something becomes lighter in colour; 2) the lessening of a burden or the lessening of a weight

e.g.
Lightening their mule's packs resulted in it picking up speed.
The bright flash lit the sky, lightening the dark heavens momentarily.


"their" vs "there" vs "they're"

their = belonging to 'them' (possessive pronoun)

e.g.
The police officers confiscated their skateboards.

there = 1) over there (a different location to 'here'); 2) "in that place"

e.g.
"Go over there, and apologise to Moira right now!"

they're = equivalent to "they are" (and ONLY "they are"!)

e.g.
The hospital spokesperson said that they're in a stable condition.


"sole" vs "soul"

sole = 1) the part of the foot that touches the ground; 2) 'the only one' ("alone")

e.g.
My sole bled profusely after stepping on the nail.
The sole survivor of the avalanche spoke at a press conference today.


soul = a human being's 'essence' (the spiritual part of a person's being)

e.g.
He poured his soul into his music.


"heel" vs "heal"

heel = another part of the foot (back part in this case)

e.g.
Her heel felt as if it was rubbed raw; so much for buying a smaller sized shoe!

heal = where an injury or malady is repaired/fixed/healed

e.g.
The scars would remain, but the fractured soul would eventually heal.


"too" vs "to" vs "two"
you'd be amazed how many people this one irks...

too = 1) "as well"/"in addition"; 2) "more than (enough)"

e.g.
Before I could feel jealous, my dad said, "You can come to the pool too."
The car drove too fast on the slippery roads, and ended up in a ditch.

two = the number 2 (enough said!)

to = almost everything else not covered by the above two definitions

e.g.
"To boldly go where no infinitives have been split!"
Where can I go to have a good time?
To err is human; to really #%@&$ up takes a computer.


"its" vs "it's"
another 'favourite' of mine, and one which will be covered more in a later section...

it's = "it is" (and ONLY "it is"!)

e.g.
"It's with great regret that I have to tell you..."

its = a thing (or aspect of something) that belongs to 'it'

e.g.
Its bark is worse than its bite.

Note: I won't repeat this, as it's blindingly obvious when you think about it -- as a general rule, when deciding whether to use its or it's, attempt to speak the sentence out loud, and substitute 'it is' in place of it's/its. If the sentence sounds right (i.e. 'it is' sounds right in that context), then you're usually safe to use "it's" instead of "its".

For example, "It's no use crying." sounds right even when you convert it to "It is no use crying." Therefore, in this instance, "it's" is the right form to use. However, "It's cry echoed around the valley." doesn't sound right when converted to "It is cry echoed around the valley." So in this case, it should be "its" instead of "it's" that is used in the sentence. Always attempt to convert it's/its to 'it is' in your writing, and if it makes sense, then "it's" is the right choice; if it doesn't make sense, or you're not sure, then use "its".


"lose" vs "loose"

lose = 1) "mislay"/"be deprived of"; 2) the action of removing something; 3) opposite of win

e.g.
"How did you lose your virginity?"
"Lose the hat, soldier!" barked my CO.
"Don't lose the race, or you won't go to the Olympics!"

loose = "not tight" (opposite of tight)

e.g.
Her clothes hung loose on her anorexic frame.


"taut" vs "taunt" vs "taught"

taut = tight; stretched tight; not a lot of give

e.g.
His muscle shirt was taut across his chest.

taunt = tease (usually in a bad way); ridicule; call names

e.g.
The children continued to taunt Bo Peep for her (lack of) shepherding skills.

taught = something that has been instructed/educated to a person

e.g.
The teacher taught us to do our sums right.


"dying" vs "dieing" vs "dyeing"

dying = the process of ceasing to exist

e.g.
She lay dying, her blood soaking scarlet into the sand.

dieing = No such word! Never use this! On pain of death!! Shame on you!!! :)

dyeing = the process of changing an object's colour from one colour to another

e.g.
The dyeing produced wishy washy results; my hair would not recover for weeks!


"strait" vs "straight"

strait = narrow channel of water between two larger bodies of water

e.g.
She'd never sailed the Straits of Gibraltar before.

straight = in an unbending line; direct

e.g.
"Straight ahead, and on till morning."


"waste" vs "waist"

waist = the part of the human body below the ribs and above the hips

e.g.
My waist line has not recovered from the Christmas binge eating.

waste = 1) rubbish; 2) spend frivolously

e.g.
The waste basket is overflowing.
He can waste time like no one's business.



Okay, with the spelling out of the way, let's deal with grammar next.

"Mum" vs "mum" (aka "when to capitalise nouns")

This also applies, of course, to Dad/dad, Sis/sis, Bro/bro, Aunt/aunt, etc.

This is a common one to get 'wrong', but it's also a hard one to explain. The best way to explain when to use the lowercase form of any of these addresses/titles is when used in conjunction with the words 'my', 'your', 'his/her(s)', 'their', etc. If you use a qualifier in front of the address (e.g. my father; their uncle; her sister, etc.) then the address is lowercase. When used alone, without one of the qualifying words, then it should be capitalised (e.g. Uncle Steve; Mum and Dad; Sis; Grandma, etc.)

For example:
Mum and Dad were away when the house was burgled.
My mum and dad are often too busy to notice me.



Keep In Character (aka "nationality matters")

On the subject of 'mum' as we were previously discussing...

A character's nationality is ULTRA IMPORTANT in fanfiction. If you are writing about a British character, the character must speak British English, not American English (or Australian/Canadian/New Zealand English).

e.g. he/she must say 'Mum' instead of 'Mom', or 'Arse' instead of 'Ass', or 'Mobile' instead of 'Cell Phone'.

This is regardless of the author's own nationality. Though I'm not as strict with word spelling outside of speech (e.g. using the American word in narrative portions, but the British English version in speech), it's usually a better idea to just use the one form of the word regardless.

e.g. His mom continued to glare at him, even after he said, "I'm sorry, Mum."

The above just looks tacky, even though strictly speaking an American author is well within his/her rights to use their native spelling in non-speech portions of the text.

Which is why I'd recommend using a different word in narrative portions of the text where this issue may arise (e.g. use 'mother' in place of mom/mum, as mother is universal to both spelling systems).


Proper Nouns

What's a proper noun? Basically it's a name (over simplifying here, but...) For example, Microsoft is a proper noun. So is Nike. Another name for 'proper noun' is 'proper name'. So when speaking about a generic "sneaker", which is a noun (aka common noun), you don't capitalise it. But when speaking of a particular brand of sneaker--e.g. Nike--it must be capitalised.

some examples:

common noun: city; proper noun: Paris
common noun: person; proper noun: Jennifer
common noun: dishwasher; proper noun: Whirlpool
common noun: computer; proper noun: IBM
common noun: parent; proper noun: Dad


Possession vs Plural (and then plural possesions)

Disregarding the oddities in the English language, pluralisation is normally achieved by adding an 's' to the end of a word. e.g. car (singular) -> cars (plural). There are exceptions, of course, which would take almost as much space to cover just by themselves as I've already raved on about here.

Object possession, on the other hand, is generally indicated by adding an apostrophe and an "s" (i.e. 's) at the end of a word. e.g. the computer's hard drive; the car's radio, etc.

Note: This applies to objects only; it does not apply to the pronouns 'my', 'your', 'his', 'her', 'our', or 'their'. They do not have a different spelling for their possessive forms, as these ARE their possessive forms.

e.g. their car; his wallet; our wives, etc. don't require the apostrophe, nor the trailing 's'.

The only exception to the above rule is the pronoun 'it'. 'It' has a different spelling for its possessive form, but without the apostrophe -- i.e.: the possessive form of it is its.

All very confusing, I know, but it all boils down to common sense.

1. Don't add an apostrophe when making a word its plural form. e.g. PCs is right, PC's is wrong; and
2. Don't add an apostrophe to 'it' to make the possessive form.

Where things become tricky is when you start talking about plural possessions. i.e. when discussing the possessive form of more than one object/person. In such cases, the apostrophe doesn't go BEFORE the 's', it goes AFTER the 's'.

e.g.
singular possession: computer's mouse (a mouse belonging to a single computer)
plural possessions: houses' driveways (the driveways belonging to two or more houses).

On rare occasions, you can even use this rule to determine whether the object is singular or plural (provided the author is worth their salt).

e.g. "our dad's cars" is different to "our dads' cars". The former means the cars belonging to a single person (our dad); the latter means the cars belonging to more than one person (our collective fathers -- i.e. my father, your father, and however many other fathers we're currently discussing).

Another example is the one stated just above: houses' driveways and house's driveways. The former means the collective driveways of two or more houses; the latter means the collective driveways of a single house (i.e. where the house has more than one driveway).

Of course, in the above examples there have been more than one of both the objects and the subjects (houses and driveways, and fathers and cars). However, the same rules apply even when talking about one thing that is possessed by multiple objects/people. For example, if my parents are co-owners of a store, then this is indicated as follows: my parents' store. It doesn't matter that there is only one thing that is being possessed (the store) -- the important qualification is that is it possessed by more than a singular entity. As such, the apostrophe STILL goes AFTER the s.

Be careful with plural possessions. :)

Anyway, I'll leave it here for now. There's lots more I could be ranting and raving about, but this is a good primer if any potential authors are serious about improving their standard of writing.

Oh, one final thought: if you're going to write seriously, get yourself a beta reader! Or preferably more than one. :) Good luck with your writing efforts!

P.S. In case you haven't picked up on it, overuse of !!!s and ????s is also a no-no. :) You should never use more than one ! or ? to end a sentence.

Happy Birthday, Michael

Michael, Happy Birthday, mate.

:)

When you're next in town, we should celebrate with a drink or two. Just say the word!

 

February 19, 1942

Today is the 65^th commemoration of the Bombing of Darwin.

Around 10am this morning we had a fly-over of F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets over the city centre while the annual commemorative service was held at the Darwin Cenotaph.

The Bombing of Darwin (note: wikipedia link) was the Pearl Harbour of Australia. Unlike the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the Japanese air force bombed Darwin for over 21 months (Feb. 1942 through to Nov. 1943), killing over 243 people, and injuring from 300 to 400 people; most of the deaths and injuries were suffered during the two air raids on 19th February, 1942.

Some links to today's commerorative ceremony (note: external links below):

• The Australian


• ABC News Online


• Post Chronicle


• The Age

LEST WE FORGET