Fastways have now taken two weeks to delivery a parcel from less than an hour away. This afternoon I phoned them to find out whether I could come and pick the parcel up myself, and ended up on hold for 25 minutes before being cut off. When I phoned back, I got on a IVR merry-go-round.

I always considered myself to be pretty proficient at using the Microsoft Office suite, and most of the hints and tips that I find on the web are usually things I already know. However, I just came across a series of Office tips from Payne consulting, covering Excel, Outlook, Word and PowerPoint, which included quite a few very useful things that I never knew about. Here are some highlights:

One of my favourite games of all time is a very DOS game written in 1983. It is essentially a murder mystery. Similar to Cluedo, you have to figure out which of the 7 guests did the deed, which room was the scene of the murder, and what implement was used in the crime.

I recently bought something from a TradeMe auction, and paid immediately hoping that I would get my hands on it pretty fast. Unfortunately, the trader used Fastway Couriers (http://www.fastway.co.nz/).

I know it's a while away yet, but I think we should all celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day on September 19th. Make sure you check out the How-To guide. We wouldn't want anyone to commit a social faux pas like confusing "Avast" with "Ahoy". If you fancy using your pirate lingo to appeal to the opposite sex (or the same sex, pirates don't discriminate), make sure you master the pirate pick up lines. It may even help reduce global warming.

I hereby renounce my faith in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, having recognized him as a false god. Instead, the truth has been revealed to me by the divine Invisible Pink Unicorn.

Gaming nights usually consist of Settlers of Catan and maybe Munchkin. I indulged in a couple of Christmas presents for myself and got Pirate's Cove and Puerto Rico.

Stumbled across this.

I've recently discovered Boogie Wonderland, a 70's disco club in downtown Auckland. One great thing about it is that it isn't full of gorgeous teenagers who shop on High street, but a much more diverse group of people who are all there to have fun.

For some reason, this particular industrial accident has haunted my thoughts quite often. I've left out the most disturbing bits, but those of you who are squeamish might want to ignore this post. I first came across this accident in the book "Set Phasers on Stun". (I can recommend the book, incidentally, a quick, but thought-provoking read about poor equipment usability causing accidents and death. It also is definitely not for the squeamish).