Online quizzes

I've sussed what all these online quizzes are really for - they're games. It's not a "tell the truth and be amazed" scenario, it's a game of skill in which you must try to manipulate the quiz to get the answer you want. Case in point: Which David Bowie Are You? (with thanks to paracelsus). I knew which David Bowie I wanted to be before knowing which ones were available, and I got him - '90s Bowie. So I "won." I'm not usually terribly competitive, but this seems like a new hobby I could get into (although I'm going to resist the temptation to post the results of lots of quizzes here).

On the other hand, my days of happy quiz competition may be numbered. Here's an otherwise rather good Lord of the Rings quiz which, despite its simplicity and beauty, doesn't really capture what I now feel is the essence of the online quiz - simply because if you don't like the outcome, you can just choose the character you want. Why bother with the game when the prize is freely available?

Visitation!

It's time to head north for the weekend and hang out with my parents - and what fun it'll be! No idea what we're going to do - maybe check out the Harry Potter ride at MovieWorld, possibly make Mum and Dad see Lord of the Rings with me (making it three times for me, but only one for them)...

Thinking about how much I'm looking forward to seeing my parents makes me think, as I often do, that I am lucky to have such a good relationship with them. I sometimes sarcastically remark that it has something to do with the fact that we have lived apart from each other for many years, but really I think that I just have a lot more in common with them than most children seem to have with their parents. Particularly my Mum - we're disturbingly alike. And we make the most of it when we do see each other. So it's all good.

Anyway, I'm off in a couple of hours; any requests for Gold Coast/MovieWorld presents should be made right now. :)