We flagellate ourselves for our performance at the gym

Yes Lawrence Arabia, you got it right alright.

Attending my new gym in Wellington is fun. I get to spot a whole new set of poseurs and voyeurs. Like the guy doing a 'lat pulldown' which involves lifting off the seat slightly, leaning far back and engaging in a full-body tuck in order to bring the bar down.

Or the go-go dance bicep curl. Or the lazy-row. I could go on...

Here's a tip: go with a weight that you can actually do correctly! Weights can be dangerous if used improperly, and even machines don't enforce good technique. Be careful out there kids.

You want a quick fix? Go buy an Abflex Kingomatic 9000.

Note: Flagellate (verb) not to be confused with Flagellate (noun). Or for a conservative take on Flagellate (noun) that helps defeat the liberal US media machine, go to http://www.conservapedia.com/Flagellate. Thank you.

Drains...

These guys explore drainage systems in Canada! And some nice photos and words come out of it all.

"The built environment of the city has always been incomplete, by omission and necessity, and will remain so. Despite the visions of futurists, the work of our planners and cement-layers thankfully remains a fractured and discontinuous whole, an urban field riven with internal margins, pockmarked by decay, underlaid with secret waterways." - http://vanishingpoint.ca/about.html

Thankfully indeed! Add it to your list of hobbies to take up.

A good date is hard to find

Yes, we all know a good date is hard to find. But for any event, there comes a time when you have to set the date and just be done with it! And, importantly, let everybody know the correct date.

Already I have been extremely put out and led astray by the VUWSA (that's pronounced view-sah, it's like UCSA uk-sah) and their orientation magazine. Luckily I checked several SpyMace pages and the VUWSA site itself to make sure I wasn't mistaken.

Spare a thought for all the first-year students, who, unknowing of such problems, won't be attending So So Modern at the San Francisco Bath House on TUESDAY night not WEDNESDAY. Yes.

So So Modern are a great band, I recommend seeing them at the earliest possible opportunity. Here is a picture of the crazy kids in their jumpsuits entertaining the indie kids at Camp A Low Hum.

Youf R our fytr

Youth are our future. They are the future payers of taxes, and the future lookers-after of the people always just a wee bit older than they are.

With this heady and noble mission in mind, I have become (thanks to Spanky) a 'political columnist' for www.theset.co.nz - the official SmokeFreeRockQuest website.

From time to time, I may post links to articles on said website, like this one by me: Politix: Your awkward introduction to the P-word!

Oh that's right, 'welcome to my blog'

Just remember reading somewhere that one should always welcome readers to the blog.

Welcome. This will be a place for needless and senseless commentary on all things mundane and fantastic. Including, but not limited to: the new city of Wellington; music; news; the WWW.

Under no circumstances should it be read. And Firefox and IE7 users, certainly please don't subscribe to it by clicking the little orange wavey icon up the top there.

Nickname etymology

Shauny or Shaunie? Tough question. As far as I can remember, the nickname was first given to me by a family friend, Helen, over two decades ago ouch.

Took a break for a while as 'Scrauny' dominated the mid-90's, care of The Scout Assocation of NZ. Also Shaunis (mid-late 90's), McGrrr (new millenium nickname project care of Lee Ann at Stats).

Then 2006 and a true dialectic was set up, between 'Shauny/ie' (care of Pip) and 'Bills/sy' (care of JuJu).

Which remains dominant, and whether any new contenders enter the running, remains to be seen. Wellington is, after all, fertile ground for nicknames.