I thought that over for a long time and it began to make sense. I suppose that the whole point of the internet is that people like me who don’t run a multibillion dollar company can have their thoughts consumed just as easily as browsing over to the a television network’s site to watch the latest and greatest episode of whatever they desire. In light of this epiphany, I’ve decided to take the leap and start blogging. Before recent events, my life really was something that no one would really like to read. I was on a career path that I was happy with, and still am to the point that I may continue to pursue it. Everything is up in the air right now.

But I’ve come to realize that being up in the air isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s a certain appeal to uncertainty. Make no mistake, I’m terrified regarding what will eventually happen to me, that I won’t be able to live the life that I had aspired to. But again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are people who live lives completely different than the one I aspired to. Not that I don’t aspire to that life anymore. It’s just that I’ve realized that I can aspire to more than one thing. Life isn’t a straight line and it doesn’t necessarily follow the path we imagine that it will take. I’ve found that there will be roadblocks, detours, and even points where the bridge is out and you don’t find out about it until half of your car is hanging off the edge of an unfinished steel frame, a hundred feet above the rapids.

Such is life.

Well, it's not in my bloody book anyway.

The new season is now tantalisingly close and after the delirium and surprise of last seasons final day we can be forgiven for wanting to get started again as soon as possible. Aside from Euro 2008's reminder of just how far away England are from even coming close to winning a major tournament there has been little to get even remotely excited about. When hearsay along the lines of "a Jehovah's witness just told me he saw Fonzie in the City Ground car park!" is enough to make you spend all day desperately checking the Official Site for a photo of the world's coolest delinquent sporting a Forest shirt you know you've got problems. He didn't sign either.

It's fair to say any loose crumb of something even vaguely resembling excitement will do, anything to keep yourself entertained during a season devoid of entertainment. Even this yawnsome article was written in an attempt to kill some worthless minutes as we build up to the new season. The emergence of pre-season doesn't help that much either, it's still like waiting for Nicky Eaden to finish the 100 metres. As the anticipation builds time slows...it almost makes you wish that you could buy a Tardis at your local car dealer.

Of course there are some who remain apprehensive about the start of the new season and it's hardly surprising. It's going to take more than a last day promotion to sway some doubters who, perhaps understandably, remain in entrenched in a mire of negativity and cynicism. It's fair to say the realisation that there aren't any 'easy games' on paper anymore would be enough to provoke a deep seated sense of unease in the most dedicated of optimist. Indeed, the opener against a team who were two divisions above us last season will prove a stern test of our credentials.

Slight negativity aside however, who cares? What does it matter if Reading currently have more proven Premiership players in their squad than we do? Who cares that for the first time in what seems like eons we won't be favourite for every game? The truth is we won't know anything till the season starts and that's what we all want at the end of the day, the start. It would signal an end to this useless speculation on our chances, an end to nonsense rumours hatched in a futile bid to keep us all entertained and, most importantly, an end to all this bloody tedium.

The fans are ready, I just hope Forest are.

And I can never quite place the tune;
And I can never quite catch the beat.

Why Ecuador? I'd love to say something profound about the exotic draw of the Andes or another deep thought but, the truth is, it's where I got my job.

After years as a copywriter, marketer and all around entrepreneur, it was time for a major change. No, not a midlife crisis--I'm a bit beyond that. In reality this is part of a bigger plan for the near future. Leaving my wife behind is the hardest part but it's only for a year so I can survive. We'll make it.

At this point I have completed my training to teach English as a foreign language. I attended International House in San Diego and went through an incredibly intense program to obtain my Certificate in English Teaching to Adults, or CELTA. Believe me, it's much more fun to look back on it than it was during the actual course.

Over the next 6 weeks I will be preparing to move south to Loja, Ecuador, sorting out clothes, cleaning my computers, asking a million questions and preparing all manner of things for my wife to handle. So stay tuned...

Also, let me make it clear that I do not write this to justify what I feel or do, or may do or whatever. I write it as it is. And I write, not really to tell a story or give advice. I actually think that I write this because it's me who needs advice. This is not gonna be your usual blog then. If only for that reason, this will probably be the only blog people will or may visit simply because they want to share their thoughts, to help me out, to provide clarity..or maybe people will visit because they like reading articles that they can relate to..or maybe they will visit because they just wanna know what's happening..and most people are like that..they just enjoy watching, reading, lurking...in any case, I don't really care (or is "mind" a better term?)...I will write here for as long as I have anything to write. Whether people visit is no concern of mine. It is welcome, but it is not a goal I have in mind.. <end>

This is the first of my brand new blog! It's going to be all about video games! I realized that when it comes to video games I am usually the one to do all the research about a game anyway so I might as well post news and info, possibly reviews, about the games I am looking at. When new games get announced that I'm interested in I'll post them here.

PlayCasts!
I have noticed a trend online where people are playing old NES and SNES games and putting the recordings on youtube and doing a commentary. I plan on creating some of those and posting them here as well. I'm thinking Legend of Zelda would be a good series to start with.

ScreenCasts!
I am also currently learning to program in Python/Pygame. I am going to be making a 2d puzzle type game. As I get better with coding, I plan on posting some tutorials in ScreenCast form. It will be me commentating the code I have made what it does and how I learned to use it. I'm working on setting up a resource center to so you can download the same images I use to follow along to create the game.

Affiliates/Yuwie
There are three main reasons to make a blog. Number one is for fun. That's the main inspiration behind this blog. The second is because you have valuable information. I would like to think in the gaming world I have some valuable information so I am definitely here to share it. The third is to make money. Most blogs ask for donations are put up loads of ads for websites they have never been to through google or whatever. I have decided to take a different approach. I will of course be putting up banners on my blog, however the goal is to make it gaming related. This first is the only exception. It's Yuwie. Yuwie is a social networking site that pays you. I figure if I am promoting something can pay my readers then its a good thing. The rest of the banners I put up will be all gaming related. I play a number on online games and I might as well just advertise for the games I already play.  If you would like to become an affiliate of this blog.  Please feel free to contact me.

If you need to contact me. Its savepoint11@gmail.com

Thanks for your time!

-Savepoint11 aka SP

Mahatma Gandhi

Stichting Verbeter de Wereld
Site: http://www.verbeterdewereld.org

Utrecht CS

Hello fellow bloggers, internet surfers, friends and family! Welcome to my brand spankin' new blog!

I've just spend the past hour creating the header for this blog so now I'm eager to get down to business, BLOGGING! You may have stumbled across this blog by accident or perhaps someone recommended it to you. That would be fairly awkward seeing as I haven't posted anything yet. But fear not! The bloggin' is not far away! Before I begin I'd like to state the things I'll probably be blogging about.

• Current Issues in the News (Down under)
• Whats going on in my life
• Things that spark my interest
• Disagreements among people
• My religion, Catholicism - Christianity
• Things that annoy me
• Celebs!
• Local news.
• Bento!
• And anything else that I feel like :D

So now we've established that, I'd like to welcome you all to my blog and I hope you have a fun time browsing around!

Once in a while you come across a blog entry that stops you in your tracks - and you think wow that is so in tune with me. Well welcome to an entry from the design blogger decor8. She gave up her corporate job to be an interior designer.

I love what I do, but sometimes I think I am crazy, I knew this was going to be a journey but I never realised how much that was going to be true. Like any travelling sometimes you are lying in a wet sleeping bag wondering why you ever contemplated doing any of this and other times you are discovering beautiful creatures and views you could never have imagined.

Read it you might begin your own journey now or at least understand why I did....

http://decor8.blogspot.com/2008/06/shop-girl-career-advice-for-creatives.html

I would love to hear what you think about this link.

http://www.google.com/trends?q=agree%2C+disagree&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0

Contrary to popular opinion, historical research has failed to prove that Betsy Ross made the first American flag.  In fact, the story that Betsy Ross made the first flag did not appear until 1870!  Betsy's grandson, William Canby, began the story by telling it to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.  He claimed to have heard the story from an aunt. 

In addition, no records of a Continental Congress committee to contract a new flag exist.  As a final blow to this story, the are no written records of payment. 

If there is so much evidence against this story, how did it circulate in the first place?  Well, someone spread the story and it was published in the 1876 centennial celebration.  It became so popular that now most people except it as fact.

Hawkins and his mother, the owners of the inn, are now left alone in the Admiral Benbow.  In a few hours the pirates will be there.  In fright, Hawkins and his mother flee to a neighboring hamlet for safety.  However, they foolishly decide to return to the Admiral Benbow in order to retrieve some money that the Captain owed them.  When the pirates arrive, Hawkins and his mother barely escape with their lives.

Along with the money, Hawkins and his mother found a treasure map.  Together with Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey, Hawkins decides to find the treasure.  In order to reach the island that held the treasure, they had to get a ship.  Unfortunately, the pirates found out about the treasure trackers and succeeded in joining the crew.  While on the way to the island, Hawkins overhears a conversation between the pirates and discovers their plots. 

Once on the island, the pirates attack the treasure hunters and kill a number of them.  Quickly, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and their followers take possession of a stockade on the island.  The pirates attack the stockade, but are beaten off.  Eventually, after a number of invigorating skirmishes, the pirates are beaten and the treasure is found.  Leaving some of the remaining pirates on the island, the treasure seekers return home laden with gold.  This is an excellent novel, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about pirates, the sea, and good writing.

 Do you find yourself with certain mundane tasks that you just keep putting off? Don't we all!

For me and Joe recently, it was getting to the spring cleaning and in particular, getting the carpets shampooed.

Instead of taking the day off yesterday for Canada Day; we spent the day cleaning up a storm. Not a barrel of laughs but there is satisfaction in real physical work, isn't there? And the results were worth it. The "pound" of cat hair that we extracted from the carpet and upholstery were reason enough to get this done, LOL!  ;)

So, if you find  yourself trying to "muster" up the effort to begin any project, chore, assignment....just begin! The inspiration/energy/moojooooo will follow; even if it's not there when you start. It really does work. 

Have a great Wednesday! G 

PS: What a gorgeous photo, eh? Joe's toes adds to the composition, don't ya think?  LOL  ;)

I am an accountant (ACCA Finalist) &  like to teach accountancy & related subjects.

Just entered Wordpress, so decided to press few keys. It says 'Write'  post/ page/ link.

Being New, I don't know the difference between post and page, but soon I'll know.

I have heard that wordpess also has some blogging software , I'll check in a moment.

Think thats about it, not bad for the first post, Now Lets see how it looks,

Take Care & Byes

• New job
• New car
• New laptop
• New mobile

more follows later, when I have the time ...

Do I do as some books say? “Start with a hook. Use one line or a conversation to draw readers in.” Or “Set up the story first. The surrounding environment can greatly influence later actions and foreshadow atmosphere and events.”

Perhaps I should listen to school teachers instead: “Start with an anecdote. You can use that creative license of yours to lead into the essay.” Or “Use a question or a definition.” Or “Begin generally then specify into the thesis. If all else fails, start with your thesis and go on.” (Of course, most of their advice, especially in the last couple of years, dealt with timed essays.)

I could always follow the most common tip: Write what you know.

Although good ones, these suggestions doesn't help me. They mostly concern, as that last counsel pointed out, the “what.” What I'm looking for is how to start.

“Put a pen to paper, d-u-h.”

Right... Maybe “how” is not the right word. “When” seems to be.

There are so many stories and ideas in my head, good ones if I may boldly add. But they are like the dialogue you hear on the street, the places you walk through, and the people you brush past; they all hold this great story within. However, this greatness doesn't mean writing from the moment of conception to the last breath or even beginning with what you see or hear in that second because, well, it just isn't logical or sensible or, shock shock, enjoyable.

Humbert didn't start his testimony with a description of confined space. I heard Howard Roark's laugh before anything else. The Boy-Who-Lived began with The-Parents-Who-Died; and I can only wish to see the light and dust form the elusive Stargirl.

So many wonderful stories began with a strand plucked from a tightly-woven world. How do they see it? Where in this ball of string can I also make the first cut? It would be nice to know.

I don't want to begin with a joke I heard on the street if it doesn't forward the plot. I don't want to write about a baby's first steps if it doesn't shed light on a person's character, and I don't want to write about Bob's every breath because, as great as he is and the life he lived, it will bore me (and everyone else).

But how can I start a life if life itself is wondering when and how it started? How can I start a story if Earth's shape illustrates the lack of a clear beginning?

I found one answer in Lajos Egri's The Art of Dramatic Writing: Calling the beginning the “Point of Attack,” he writes, “[The play] should start when something is at stake (necessity), when a conflict begins its ascent to a crisis, when a decision, which will precipitate conflict, has been made, or when the character experiences a turning point in life.”

Good answers—I can already think of previous stories that began like that. And my stories? This blog? Well, I can think of a few beginnings; I also think I should learn more about the characters and plots in my head to pinpoint the right time. When I'm done with that, I'll face my next problem: the first words themselves.

Until then, I thought I'd honor a few of my earlier teachers by beginning this blog (or ending this entry) with a question:

In a lifetime of words, how do you know which is the right opening? How do you choose? When does the beginning start?

(Currently listening to: Sigur Ros)

Begin

Zomervakantie en na de zomervakantie, nog meer vakantie.
Vanaf nu heb ik officieel niks meer te doen, op werken na dan.
In februari was ik begonnen met de eerste fase bij ESPT, deze had ik goed doorlopen met een boven-gemiddelde score.
In maart mocht ik terug komen voor de 2 selectie fase, dit duurde de hele dag (van 8:00 tot iets van 17:00). Bij deze selectie fase wouden ze kijken hoe je bent als persoon, hoe je bent in een groep etc aan de hand van groepsopdrachten.
Voor die fase kon je de volgende uitslagen krijgen, door, back-in-one-year en afgewezen. De eerste spreekt voor zich, de tweede betekend dat ze wel een mogelijke vlieger in je zien maar voor dit jaar nog ‘te jong’ bevonden wordt. Het laatste spreekt ook voor zich, neem ik aan.
Mijn uitslag was, back-in-one-year. Ze waren over het algemeen zeer positief en zagen veel positieve dingen om de opleiding te doen en om vlieger te worden, dit is uiteraard goed nieuws. Het enige waar ze over twijfelden was of ik (als 18-19 jarige) goed terecht zou komen in een veel oudere groep (doorgaans zijn er studenten van in de 20). Daarnaast was ik in hun ogen soms wat ‘afwezig’ tijdens de groepsopdrachten. In ieder geval, ik ben niet afgewezen en mag na een jaartje terug komen.
Ik heb met EPST afgesproken dat ik in december weer zou bellen om opnieuw Fase 2 van de selectie te mogen doen. Tot die tijd ga ik werken, voor de evaring en de centjes uiteraard .
Ik had ook gekeken naar vervolgopleidingen, maar de meeste spraken mij niet aan.

Maarre, blijf mijn blog volgen. Zal om de tijd nieuwe verhalen plaatsen.

Mathijs

We have mellowed, grown old; and I wonder if all our bretheren would age just as we did. All of that emotion, working late nights, tearing alone (but never crying, that is never manly); all that collecting under our eyes, making the sagging skin a litting more conspicious every day.

I try to be so sad but I can't help but realize that you can only be so sad before sadness turns around and slaps you because you were getting too close to his backside.