Well, the end is just about upon us. The end of the year, that is. I usually like to take this time to get over hangovers and the massive feasting that occurs. Oddly, though, I’ve not yet earned a decent hangover and the feasts have been more like small snacks late a night. But I still feel the convivial mood of the season, even if I don’t have a small man with a large hammer inside my head trying to bash his way out. I think the reason the feeling is different this year has more to do...

Christmas is a time of giving. We all know this; it has been one of the axioms of Christmas for as long as I can remember (it feels like a bloody long time too, particularly on Mondays). Last week, a local newspaper published an article on how much the average Australian would be spending on presents at Christmas (see the link at the bottom of this article). I was shocked and concerned. I was shocked because the figure is way higher than I expected and I was concerned because releasing th...

This is a follow up to my recent 'Problems with blogging' article. Yesterday, I noticed my latest JU Writers Club piece Link , which had been showing under the forums 'Writing' thread, is now no longer showing there. I don't know if this is related to my previous problems, but it is frustrating regardless. I am also still unable to create a blog group for the Writers Club. If someone could enlighten me as to what may be causing this, I'd appreciate it.

It was a sunny afternoon but not too hot. Hot enough to wear shorts, singlet and no shoes, which is my favourite clothing. I’d been sitting working on a Writers Club piece, enjoying the quiet and cool of the house. A load of washing with my name on it was waiting to be pegged out, but I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to do the job. Inspiration had taken me over and I was lost in worlds of my own creation. But reality demands clean underwear and socks, so I decided to take a break and do the...

The last few articles I've put up here, despite selecting the 'Display in Forums' selection, are NOT showing in the Forums. Consequentely, a lot of my regular readers, who pretty much surf the Forums, are missing my articles. I'm not so egotistical to think they would be upset because of this but I am wondering what the heck is going on. Can anyone give me any ideas as to how this problem can be fixed?

I’ve been working very slowly on a few stories just recently but I keep having all these ideas. With a lot of these ideas, I get the first few paragraphs written then I have to go do something else. The end result is a bunch of ideas barely started and me rapidly losing interest in them as the initial burst of creativity associated with the story is long gone. I said to Nicky recently what this essentially means is when I have writer’s block, I have a bunch of ideas I can use to help in...

Aging is unavoidable. We all age. And because we’re essentially living machines, various things can go wrong. Joints seize up, various parts start breaking down or leaking and we become reliant on an amazing array of curatives and devices to keep ourselves going. Up until now, I always thought there was nothing I could do about it. But I’ve had an idea that might just sweeten the deal. First, let me explain. Its all to do with genetics. For instance, I have a reasonable head of hair...

Aging is unavoidable. We all age. And because we’re essentially living machines, various things can go wrong. Joints seize up, various parts start breaking down or leaking and we become reliant on an amazing array of curatives and devices to keep ourselves going. Up until now, I always thought there was nothing I could do about it. But I’ve had an idea that might just sweeten the deal. First, let me explain. Its all to do with genetics. For instance, I have a reasonable head of hair...

I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here at JU. Australia doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but personally, I really like the idea of a day of thanks to remind us all of how fortunate we are. Having been here for a couple of years now, I've made some great, real friendships, evenn though I've never met any of you face to fce. I value all my friends here as much as I value my friends in the real world. You guys and gals are a disparate bunch who constantly challenge me and keep me...

I've been really overwhelmed by the response to the JU Writers Club so far. Thanks to everyone for your support. We've had some fantastic short pieces already and I can hardly wait to see what you all think of next. To that end, Shovel has suggested a picture to provide inspiration. In true Shovel form, it is risque and should, erm, stimulate imaginations well. Following is the link to the picture he suggested: Link I'm still waiting to hear back from Admin about the problem I h...

One of the few problems I have with JoeUser, as a site, it the time difference. A lot of the activity occurs while I’m pushing out Z’s on the other side of the world. It can be somewhat frustrating because it means often times, my responses are missed because everyone else has moved on to the next conversation, article or what have you. There is nothing anyone can do about this, I know, but I was thinking what I would like to know is where JUsers are, in terms of the time. For instance,...