19 posts tagged “qotd”

What words make you giggle (no matter how old you are)? 
Submitted by Margurette.  

Dingbat would be one. For some reason I find that word hilarious. I also like the German word "kaputt". One word I heard over the weekend which made me laugh is "goona", one of the Australian Aboriginal words for shit (the "oo" is pronounced in a similar way to boofhead). There's a place in Brisbane which was called Goona - until they found out what the word meant.

Are you taking a vacation this summer (or this season)?  Where are you headed and who's going with you?

This winter I hope to have a short 4 day weekend trip to Tasmania if I see a good deal with the airfares. I really felt cheated with the winter in the Blue Mountains last year - only a handful of wintry days. I'll have a much better chance of experiencing winter in Hobart. I'll be going on my own. After this breakup, it will be good to catch up with my family and friends down there.

What item(s) do you have to prevent yourself from buying at the grocery store? 
Submitted by Places Unknown.

Savoury snacks like Barbecue Shapes (these aren't found in the US, and were one of the things I really missed when I was living in Minnesota), cheese stringers, and of course, chocolates.

What books did you love as a child? 
Submitted by hearts. 

There are so many. I was lucky because my mother was a librarian and for a while she was getting a lot of samples from publishers, which she usually gave to me. I loved choose your own adventure books and the first game books, such as the Warlock of Firetop Mountain. I'd go onto waste a lot of time on them in my teens.

But back to childhood, I also liked the Lotus Caves by John Christopher. Also anything by Nicholas Fisk and Monica Hughes and Ruth Chew and Roald Dahl. Going further back, I remember liking Asterix and Tin Tin books. One of my favourite books in my primary school library was Fungus the Bogeyman. There was a time when I really liked Richard Scarry books. The earliest books that I remember seeking out were the Mr Men books, my favourite ones were Mr Silly and Mr Daydream and Mr Messy.

What's the best way to spend a rainy day?
Submitted by Vee.

I would sleep in until the soft sound of rain entered my dreams. Once out of bed, I would brew a pot of tea, and open all the blinds and curtains, drinking my tea looking at the mist and rain. Occasionally I would glance at a newspaper (which somebody else had got from outside). Then I would go back to bed for another nap. If it was still raining after that, I would put on some old bushwalking/hiking clothes and my raincoat and go for a walk in a rainforest. It could be Sassafras Gully. I would breathe deeply the rich loamy scent which is the smell of a rainforest in the rain, and see the vivid wet colours and listen to the loud exuberant birds and the bubbling of the invigorated creek. I would not mind if I were saturated, because when I finished my walk, I would have a long hot bath with my bathroom window slightly open, letting in the sound of the rain and the occasional cool drop.

What's your musical horoscope?  (Put your music player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.)  Inspired by Stephanie.

This random sample makes me appear way more mainstream than I am, but I guess I'm getting over feeling so worried about that stuff these days.

Woman on the tier, Suzanne Vega
Dani California, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Soak up the sun, Sheryl Crow
Never Win, Fischerspooner
Sorry (Paul Oakenfold remix), Madonna
Star, the Hampdens
Someday, Kylie Minogue
Running up that hill (a deal with God), Kate Bush
Lift me up, Moby
To your love, Fiona Apple

I still can't believe that there's no Björk or Aimee Mann there.

What is your browser's default home page set to?
Submitted by Kelev T. Cat.

At work, it's my library's catalog - because I never know when I have quickly have to look up a book or database - and I need to know right away if it's not working properly.

At home, it's my backpack useful links page. It's just a private backpack page which has a some of the URLs which I use a lot. It's boring but useful - and quick loading. I used to have my Google page as my home page, but then I loaded too many apps onto it and it became too slow. There's nothing worse than a slow-loading home page.

What's the nerdiest thing about you?

I'm a Dr Who fan. I'm not just talking about the cool new episodes with Billy Piper, David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston, but going way back to Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. I am also a Buffy, Angel, and Firefly aficionado. But for me, fandom has its limits. I've never been to a convention, and can't ever imagine myself going to one.

What's your morning beverage of choice?  Coffee, tea, juice?  Homemade or store-bought?

It depends on the type of day it is. On weekends and other days when I'm not feeling hurried, I like to brew a

pot of tea - with leaf tea. Unfortunately, on many week days, I feel that I don't have the time for this. On these days I have instant coffee - not because it's good (it isn't) but because it's quick and does the job of helping me wake up. On the really bad days, when I'm running late or hardly got any sleep the night before, I grab a red bull or V drink.

What are your favorite and least favorite words?  Any reasons why?
Question submitted by Byrne.

I don't like the word "subpoena". I don't like the way it sounds or looks and it's often used for cruel and unfair legal purposes (not all the time, I admit, but it's still a yucky word).

I like the word "tarn" for a small highland lake. I like the way it sounds, and looks and the memories it evokes of walking in places like the Tarn Shelf and the Walls of Jerusalem in Tasmania.