I'm so relieved you are okay, even if that is a relative thing.








Oh SubRosa, I'm so sorry to hear you've been sick

Oh... ...*Takes step backwards*...( )...

Get well soon, both... ...I know how much fun those ailments can be to get over... ...

Best of well-wishes to Acadian and Rosa!

Thanks all around for the well-wishes. I was bad enough off yesterday that I spent almost the whole day in bed. Still not all better, but well enough to play today - and that's what counts!

SubRosa, I hope you beat that flu soon!

Same here, SubRosa. If you are still sick after a week, you are either refusing to stop working and overdoing it so your body can't kick it; or this isn't a stomach virus but food poisoning - or you have become critically dehydrated.

Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast is the flu diet; and no butter on anything - no dairy products period.

Drink plenty of Gatorade or water to replace your electrolytes (bananas also replace electrolytes) - no caffeinated drinks as they worsen dehydration.

*mALX cracks whip in direction of Detroit*

"Get better soon!"


@ Acadian - you scared me to death, since 2009 you've never once been ill, never taken a day off the forums. Freaked me out, I was worried sick!


"Geez, I'm the healthiest person on here this week!" *mALX polishes apple on chest*

Forgot about me, did you?

Well, technically, bird health is a relative thing,

Yikes, Acadian and SubRosa, I hope you both feel much better this afternoon!

(And if you receive a Cure potion from a Nord, remember to chew it carefully.)

Now I am worried. Acadian is missing for the first time in years at the same time that Putin goes missing in Russia. Is there some connection here that I should be concerned about?

Calm down, comrade....

No, the time to worry about that is when Foxy goes missing. There can only be One.

*wanders in sheepishly*

Hi everyone! Remember me? >>

I wandered off because I was busy with other things, both fandom and RL, but somehow I can never stay away from Chorrol forever. Recently I've wondered how you all have been doing, found myself wanting to reread all the lovely stories on here, remember Julian and Jerric and Teresa and Maxical and Ra'jirra and Athlain and all the other wonderful characters that grace this site... and, yep, start writing Adryn again.

Oh yeah, speaking of being busy with things in RL:

As of a few weeks ago, you can now officially call me Doctor Kaz. (By which I mean: I haven't graduated yet but the paperwork is on its way and a hardbound copy of my thesis now graces not just my bookshelf but also my university's library. Wooo!)

Now all I have to do is find a job. >>

How AWESOME !!!!! Congrats Kaz!

Thank you!! The "last year" of my PhD ended up lasting three years so it got quite distressing towards the end. But I am now done and it is over and I am so happy!

The idea of making a hardbound copy of your thesis is amazing; to have a copy of it - but for the university to include it in their library is outstanding! Now you have to make it into a game book and add it to your game's Mages Guild library! I'm still lamenting not being able to get your last book into my game!

Yay! Welcome back and congratulations, Doctor Kaz!!

Good to see you back, Kaz, and congrats on your doctorate!

You do realize that you're now over-qualified for just about any job.

Especially politician.

Could I ask for a certain stress-releaving prescription..?

Congratulations! (from one doctor to another) I know how hard it is to get that last degree!

Thanks, everyone!

@mALX - I know, right? I sadly won't be able to reread my thesis for at least another few months because if I spot a typo right now I will actually explode but it's there should I ever have the desire... and is something I can hit people over the head with should they dare to doubt that I have a PhD that said, it's over 170 pages of hardcore maths so probably a little excessive for the Mages Guild!

@ghastley - I knooooow I have a hilariously over-the-top nowhere-needs-that-much mathematics background for anything bar academia (which I don't want to go into). At least the jobs I'm looking into are often happy to consider mathematicians looking for a change...

@mirocu - not that kind of doctor, I'm afraid! Although I can now absolutely confuse people should anyone ever ask "is there a doctor on this plane?" on a flight I'm on

@haute ecole rider - I KNOW RIGHT. I'm seriously more than ready to be done with university at this point you have... probably a very good idea, lol.

DOCTOR Kazaera! Welcome back and congratulations! That is a great accomplishment.

Awesome! Feels good to finally be done, doesn't it?

Congrats Doc!!!...Well done that clever person!!... ...

Happy Easter, guys!


Anyone doing anything fun this holiday?

Just the usual.

Gaming, sleeping and reading.

And trying to avoid jobs around the house...

Well, I´ll be gaming, sleeping and eating. Slight adjustment from your activities...


Eggs and candy that looks like eggs... That´s what Easter is about!

My problem is that I had to give up eating. I got too fat.

These days I just sit on the couch without moving. Eat no calories. Burn no calories.

Many joys of the Festival of Renewal™ to you all...Whatever your religion - or lack thereof... ...

As is the tradition...Here's a song about peace, called - as it happens - Easter...

Which makes you wonder how a rabbit got involved!


Having tipped the scales at over 300lbs (oh wait, you're down undah… make that 140kgs) myself at one time I assert that moving more and eating better is the best solution.

There’s a painting project in the works here. Walls, not canvases. I’m doing my best to stay out of it. The prep work is done and I just saw a paint can go past. It’s about to get serious.

Since I’ve reached the age where I can live off of about 12 calories per day, most of my meals look like they belong in a rabbit dish. I exercise so that I can drink.

Oh!! Here’s something fun. This morning’s rearrangements provided me with my own desk in front of a window! It’s The Girl’s old desk, so the surface is thoroughly decorated with her engravings and magic marker drawings. I moved my bouncy chair in there. Maybe I’m ready to write sitting down again!

140kg, yeah, thanks! 300lb means nothing to us Aussies, all I know is that it means 'offensive lineman' weight.

I guess 140 could really be a problem. Not so much if you are Shaq height, but otherwise a nasty weight. However I found that eating healthy is boring, so I have decided to just stop eating. Ice water is all I need. (just joking!)




Oh man, that is horrible! Why is it that other people always want to drag us into their outlandish ideas? Can't they see that Beth games have 1000 hours of game play? Between work (or school), socializing, sleeping, eating (not me, of course) and grocery shopping, there is only 27.33 minutes a day left for gaming and reading...

Just a note; by not eating you´re lowering your body´s metabolism, meaning it burns calories at an even slower rate. This is a defense mechanism against starvation.


Also, Happy Easter, everybody!

If you are looking for cool ways to explore and make use of your over-the-top interest in math, don't do what I did (expend it guesstimating people's electric bills at XMas times) - instead think of how some of our other math-lovers have used theirs - like Phil Thompson.

Phil created a way to turn your computer keyboard into a music keyboard - the Gingerbread: The Mandelbrot Music Generator. He went on to make several awesome fractal music albums with it.

When your life's blood is numbers, fractal is your second nature; welcome to your world/universe, lol.


http://www.last.fm/music/Phil+Thompson/Organised+Chaos


(Chimera is my favorite).









Drink some water, burn calories walking to the bathroom to empty out?






Rabbits are always involved.

Or bunnies. Especially bunnies

Rodenitia Rules!

My city (Melbourne) is finally back on the normal time zone after six months of daylight savings.

Woo hoo!! After living in the dark every morning I finally get morning sunshine for the next month until it gets dark again for winter. Sure, the one hour daylight saving is great for the rich and elite, who get to sit outside with their cappuccino and their designer wife, but poor people like me never get to see the sun.

Working early and then Oblivion gaming until midnight is a disaster. I even have to take Vitamin D supplements...

Does the rest of the world have to put up with these things? Or are only Australians this stupid??

Goes dark again? Blimey, it´s only Easter!! We´re not even close to Midsummer for crying out loud!


And most of us are not close to Midsomer either....

What bothers me is in the Fall season they set the clocks back here, meaning the school children have to stand outside in the dark waiting for the school bus, and it so cold out too. I always wonder how many small children are hit by cars because they are so small and hard to see in the dark. I drove my children to the bus stop, but saw many who walked down long dark country roads during the time of day everyone is leaving for work. (leaving early also because of the stupid time change).

I think in the Fall they should put the clocks ahead an hour so the schoolchildren can sleep in till daylight is there so they aren't out in the dark and cold. At least wait until the sun is up; I mean the whole point of it was supposed to be so we used less electricity by getting up later with the sun when it rose later in the winter - well if they put the clocks back at that time it is kind of bass-akward to the point of changing the clocks.

Winter Wolf, you’re not alone. I used to leave home in the dark to drive to work, spend all day in a building with almost no windows (my office was in the bowels of a factory), then drive home in the dark. I always parked facing where the sun would rise, and I lived for that first day when I would see the edge of it peeking up over the hill before I entered my dungeon for the day. I put full spectrum daylight bulbs in my light fixtures so that I wouldn’t hang myself before spring. As a result I had the best indoor plants ever in that office.

Happy Easter!!

Seriously, I only get to see the sun for one month a year in the morning. How the world can see Australia as the land of sun-baked deserts and Gold Coast sun is beyond me. I never see daylight now that the government has extended daylight savings for another 2 months each year. It was never this bad when I was a kid.

I agree mALX. Most days I find myself rushing to work each morning just to make the 6.30 am start and I am still half asleep when I leave for work. If a person is riding a push bike in the dark I doubt that I will see him.

Thanks Grits! A dungeon. Yes, I can relate to that. The first time I see the sun all day is at 4 pm. Madness I tell you!

is there a line between actual full on social anxiety and just being really awkward

Hi, ImpSnob and welcome back! Not sure really how to answer your question. I've always found in casual social situations that being nice to others generally gets you the same in return, which bolsters your confidence and helps make things more comfortable. Dunno if that helps or makes sense. Perhaps even mentioning your social awkwardness in a lighthearted way can help - you know, serve as an ice breaker and conversation starter. Nice to see you back!

When you are in your teens there really isn't much difference in the way they feel, we've all been through that period in our lives too - believe me, it gets better, even though it might not feel that way while you are living through it!

If it feels like you are having trouble swallowing or are turning bright red or stuttering - welcome to the club, we've all gone through that in our teens. It is just a rough time, because there is so much you are learning about yourself at that time, so much your body is developing about itself - not to mention gender confusion issues - that is a given in your teens.

Just realize this: No matter how well others around you bluff it off or appear to be handling it, they are all going through the same thing with you.

Hope that helps to know.

Awkwardness is...well, its awkwardness. Everyone goes through it, like what mALX said. People just get a little better dealing with it.

Social anxiety makes you want to do anything, anything to avoid talking to people. It can make you feel like you need few minutes of quiet and solitude if you spend too much time socializing with people, no matter how mice they are and how much you really do like them. It creates what feels like (to me at least) a sensory overload.

Or some people feel like its best not to speak because they will be judged harshly, so they wind up just not saying anything at all. This can be anything from a phone call or ordering food or casual conversation. (Also why I rarely post). Of course, it varies from person to person.

*judges Jacki from her post*



Nah, just kidding


I don´t think I have social anxiety but I definitely need my alone-time and I most definitely can have awkwardness. I have found that at happenings such as New Years etc at my parents´ I quite enjoy being in the room next to where the others are which also happens to be the room where their computer is... And this is despite it´s always the same two or sometimes four relatives whose company I do enjoy.

Very true Jacki, but people with extreme levels of anxiety disorder would love it to be like that. It almost sounds pleasant.

For some people it can also be so bad that you cannot talk to people while at the same time you cannot not talk to people. Believe it or not the worst time is actually the down time when you are alone and resting. Your body will not shut off. You wake up in the morning with blood pressure hypertension, now think about that, you have only be awake 30 seconds and you already feel like you have run a marathon, and it also stops you all day from even sitting, or doing things like study, reading or computer gaming. You know that you need to be with people and yet are also held back by the ingrained beliefs and thoughts of what others think or see in you.

Which is why it is connected to hypochondria in many cases, of course.

Forget depression. Social anxiety is 100 times worse. It gets into your bones and joints and the whole body aches. Nobody will understand unless the live it 24 hours a day, years on end. It is the most debilitating condition known on earth that one can put on one's self.

Oh, and stay away from sugar. The most addictive drug known to mankind makes you very hypersensitive to everything.

Great in some circumstances, like gaming until 4 am but very bad for anxiety disorder.

So, Impy, after all this sage advice, get back here and tell us how it's goin'!

So I'm sitting in front of the 'puter feeling miserable with a cold. Yup, an early spring cold. The weather outside is beautiful as only warm April weather can be in the Northern Hemisphere (sorry, Wolfie and all the other Southerners).

The past two days have been hectic with the rollout of the new Apple Watch. I've been talking to people all day long both days, helping them try on different watches and bands, and probably picked up this darn bug from one of them, in spite of my precautions. Oh well. At least I'm off today.

I figured it would be a good time to troubleshoot the backup of my Win7 partition. It is supposed to back up to a 1 TB internal drive in Bay 4 on my Mac Pro (Win7 is in Bay 2). But now it's telling me it's out of space. WTF?? What do you mean it's out of space?? Ugh! So I have an external drive that is already formatted for Win7, and I'm running a new backup to that one while I figure out what to do with the internal backup drive. I hate the way Win7 runs backups - apparently it does a FULL back up every time, not incremental the way the Mac's Time Machine does. So it takes forever to run the backup (with just Oblivion, I'm up to over 200 GB because of the hi-res texture files). And that means I really can't play the game while it's backing up. And I keep forgetting to turn it on before I leave for church on Sundays, so it has three whole hours to back up while I'm off doing other things.

Oh well. I'm off to make another pot of tea and nurse this cold out of the window!