Rogercordia's Forum of PWNAGE

Most of know that cars are a nice distraction from the daily grind, and a way to improve one's mind through understanding of complicated technical issues. Most of us also know that cars will never be our bread and butter(unless you work in an automotive, aftermarket or supply firm, that is. In which your meal nine months down the road is directly affected by total sales volume on the showroom floor)

Question is, we know(most of us anyway) deep down, that cars aren't a substitute for living. So what do you do in your spare time, when you just don't want to get behind the wheel and staying home just looks like a waste of time?

Sport mate. Mainly basketball but i've been playing a lot of tennis lately. Been to 2 Kings games this season. Saw them wipe the floor with the Tigers Going to a day/nighter sometime in February. Apart from all that i enthusiastically support the local Gunja Growers Union and when i combine that with video games, i'm sorted. All i need is a better job and more money, so '08 may or may not involve going to TAFE. I'll see how it goes.

How about yourself? How do you fill the empty void that is existence?

+1 for sports. I do have a few other interests such as art, technical writing(I had some articles for online magazines published a while ago, and one of them at least is still making the rounds) Creative writing is another of my interests(yet to turn a cent of profit out of it but)

Sports wise I do a bit of running and cycling(pushbikes LOL) Nothing major, just out with m8's. None of the really big cycling events happen here in VIC; those are in Brisbane(where cycling has HUGE political support) One of the more fun events is when they open bloody SANDOWN to ride on.

Gonna have to see about getting into the club that organises this; riding a pushbike on a car racing track LOL!

That's very good fun. You'll be hard pressed finding a smoother surface to ride on. Maybe a velodrome.

Technical writing? Does this involve cars, lol. Creative writing piqued my interest there for a while but i just end up lost on weird tangents. Good luck turning that into cash. That's definately a hard slog.

I read a lot though and i have a book right here in front of me called 'Hey Rube'. If you don't know who the author is and your interested in creative writing, well, you'll have a lot of reading to do.

The Velodromes here in VIC are pretty bad. There isn't much support from higher up like in Brissy. The good thing about cycling at the car racing venues is that some of the boys do both sports competitively and they take Sandown flat-out because they know all the lines for 100km/h and above LOL.

I did a few online articles for US-based online magazines once upon a time(just after Y2K) but yeah, times and technology have gone past that now and its a whole new ball game these days. Yer, they were car and driving-focused LOL.

Reading's always good, I'm a fan of R.A Salvatore and Ed Greenwood myself for the fantasy stuff, but for sci-fi and thrillers its hard to go past the classic Asimov's and Chricton IMHO. I'll check out "Hey Rube," do you know if there are any excerpts online?

+2 for sports. Running and time spent at the gym soak up a generous amount of my spare time. I also play football (as in AFL) for the old scholars from where I obtained my education.

I also study part-time at a uni in SA in which I devote 6 months of the year towards...and thats while maintaining a full time job!

Over and above that, I spent the remainder of my time on building projects of mine, catching with up with a great bunch of mates and of course, chasing skirt...which is a full time job in itself....

Are you 9-5 or do you do shift work? I've thought about doing this but i just can't make the time stretch, and working part-time does not earn me enough money to live....the way i like.



Yeah i don't mind Chricton. Where i work there are a bunch of old ladies who sell knick-knacks to raise money and they always have a selection of books for sale. I get most of my books for 0.50cents. Some are new but most are old, written by obscure authors. Sort of hit and miss but i have read some real gems.

As for Hunter, or "The Good Doctor", check this link out:

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1996511

A lot of what he writes is topical and completely American. But he has a unique style that didn't fit into any other category so they called it 'Gonzo'. He coined the phrase "Fear and Loathing...", which you may have heard. They made a movie of his 3rd book with Johnny Depp playing Hunter. He's not everyone's cup of tea but his style of writing is extremely readable.

No, I don't do shift work. Two subjects a semester isn't too demanding with regard to contact hours - a couple of 4hr lectures is usually the full extent. It's the time required after hours that is the killer. Fortunately, I am not locked into a 9-5 working block and there is flexibility....but work always spills out over the weekends.

I guess the downside is...there is a lot of pressure, stress and a limited social life. The key for me is to be organised which, as a part of my job is crucial. I am not exactly 'over the moon' to be attempting a four year degree over eight years, but I expect nothing less trying to live the best of both worlds. So far, so good.

Mad as. I remember doing my degree full time LOL it was hell! That and finding work that understood the conditions I was in. That was even worse. No social life, very few friends and struggling to just stay on track when the end of semester came around. F*ck me it was harsh.

Aight guys I'm out for a couple of weeks!

Just finished 'hey rube'. It's crap. Shouldn't have said anything until i finished it. It's no wonder this bloke shot himself in the head!!! He does have one good book though. "The Rum Diary" is worth a read.

What do you do away from cars?

Dispose of people (and i use that term loosely) like Roger for a living. Its fun and im very very good at it.

JUST LIKE ROGER!