Queensland experiencing severe flooding, donations requested.

To donate to the Premier’s Disaster relief appeal – http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

How bad is the flooding? Here’s just one video.

There’s dozens more videos and pictures all over the internet and things are still expected to get worse. They’re currently predicting the floodwaters will peak on Thursday but obviously that depends whether more rain falls.

Many people are still missing though it’s hoped everyone else will have enough warning to get to safety as the flooding continues.

Seriously scary stuff. Stay safe, Queenslanders! :(

Bicycle ownership is hard. Bike shopping is harder.

A bit over 2 years ago I picked up a relatively cheap electric bicycle off eBay as an easy means of getting to and from the local shops occasionally, as well as a little bit of fitness and some much needed sunlight.

At the time my requirements were fairly simple. It needed to be roadworthy, road legal and have a range of at least 5km on battery alone. I hadn’t owned a bike in 15 years so the kind of gear shifter or brake system or even the size of the frame weren’t especially important. I’m an average height so an average sized bike would do.

I read around the internet and nobody had any horror stories about the Green E-Wheels bikes I found on eBay and the price seemed reasonable, so I bought one.

And, for the most part, it’s served me well. I’ve had one flat tire due to a piece of glass, which can hardly be blamed on the bike. Earlier in the life of the bike I had a problem with the left crank coming loose which was temporarily solved by liberal application of threadlocker on the nut. This recently failed as well, necessitating a trip to the bike store and a replacement crank to replace the extremely worn one. Those’re fairly expected problems with a bike and aren’t really that disappointing.

What has been disappointing is the battery life. I had to replace the battery pack it came with after about a year, when it should have lasted more like two. I wasn’t riding it every day and even if I was it should last around 600 recharge cycles from fully flat. And forget about the claimed 40km range. Under the most favourable conditions possible it might manage that distance but about half that was what I would judge the maximum range, though I rarely attempted such distances.

And now the replacement battery is already showing the early signs of dying. The ride to and from the bike shop, via the supermarket, is around 10km. The motor cut out more than a kilometre from home. The last kilometre was the easiest one, but with the battery barely coping with such a meagre distance it’s probably not going to go that far very many more times.

And Green E-Wheels have stopped selling bikes and parts. So if I want a replacement for the battery I’m going to have to find someone who can replace the cells inside, or build me something that would be compatible. No easy task.

So I decided, with my gradually improving fitness levels, to look into getting a regular bike and maybe an electric conversion kit for those times I need to travel further than leg power alone will get me.

First port of call, the internet. It being a really great place to research such things without spending hours wandering a bike shop with no clue what to look for.

May have been better going in to my local bike shop and asking what they recommend for what I’m prepared to spend. Continue reading Bicycle ownership is hard. Bike shopping is harder.

Worst Movies Ever: Zombie Nation

Zombie Nation (IMDB) has an impressively discomforting image of a zombie on the front cover. A nation composed of undead monstrosities of similarly repulsive features would be truly horrifying, so you would think we’re off to a good start with that cover art.

Sadly the zombie looking fellow you see on the cover does not appear in the movie. And even more sadly, scary zombie face guy not being in the movie is only the start of the disappointments.

The opening scene of the movie starts out awkwardly enough with a flight attendant trying to disentangle herself from an overly amorous boyfriend. She’s running late for her flight but the boyfriend is not particularly concerned. He wants some more snuggle time.

A reasonable request, certainly.

Then we’re suddenly in some other bedroom with a cop grabbing his gun and getting dressed. And then some quick shots of someone fiddling with the bra of a woman, giving us a closeup of her boob in the process.

Flight attendant. Cop. Boobs. Cop. Flight attendant. Boobs. ZOM. BIE. NA. TION.

The flight attendant finally gets in her car and heads off to the airport. She’s running late so she might be going a little over the speed limit which naturally draws the attention of the cop we saw dressing earlier. His voice is deep and gravelly and without knowing anything of the lady he’s already cussing to his partner, calling her a bitch and making other colourful but unfair assessments of her.

His partner, meanwhile, is a little baffled as to his problem with this particular citizen but he’s obviously the junior officer so he wisely remains quiet.

But hang on, what’s this?
Continue reading Worst Movies Ever: Zombie Nation

What I’m Playing – Dragon Age: Origins

One of the seemingly inexhaustible supply of games I still haven’t played enough of – or played at all, in some instances – Dragon Age: Origins is where I’ve been spending a fair portion of my gaming time over the last couple of days. With the sequel due early next this year I decided it was time to get stuck into the meat of the game, rather than the dabbling I had done previously.

The first time I started playing Dragon Age I chose the Dwarves as my starting race. Their introductory story and gameplay was interesting but I’d developed my character to be the “tank” of the group, unaware that three of the earliest companions you recruit can serve in that capacity, to greater or lesser degrees.

This time around I’ve been playing a Human Rogue. The introductory areas when starting as a Human noble are more satisfying than the Dwarven commoner. Whilst events do conspire against you to push things along, the human storyline left me wanting to save the world from the Darkspawn where the Dwarven story just left me wanting to get into the “game”.

From here on in, there be spoilers.

Continue reading What I’m Playing – Dragon Age: Origins

Embiggen Your Blog Traffic Without Paying An SEO Expert – Content Is King

You’ve all seen them. If you’ve been around web development resource sites or even casually mentioned anything to do with web design on Twitter, the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plague has never been more widespread.

And so many of them still miss the most important part of developing a website. Whether they call themselves SEO Experts or SEO Gurus or are obscuring it behind some other acronym they’re all guilty of forgetting the most basic lesson of all – Content is King.

Next time you see someone touting their SEO prowess, take a closer look. I promise you’ll suffer no lasting damage as a result.

Continue reading Embiggen Your Blog Traffic Without Paying An SEO Expert – Content Is King

Hello? Is this thing on?

Well, seems I have a blog again. They’re still called blogs, aren’t they? I certainly hope so, else I’m already off to a bad start.

Why is my blog called Rambilicious? Your guess is as good as mine. You’ve got to call your blog something and as I do enjoy a good spot of rambling it seemed like a reasonably descriptive yet somewhat made up word.

This is where I would tell you what this blog is going to be about. But I have no set agenda to fulfill. I’ll float between gaming and television, science and hilarity, website tips and a smattering of politics.

Why now? New year, new start.

My one clear plan for my blog is to keep a record of the various games I complete. I always mean to keep track and never do. I always mean to let people know what I thought of the games I finish, but I never seem to get around to it. With a blog I can do those things and bitch more extensively about the games that need it, to boot.

Those “SEO Experts” deserve a kick in the pants and I may just give it to them.

I’ll still be on Twitter and I’ll still be recapping the new Australian season of The Biggest Loser, so if you’ve followed me from either of those places, never fear.

For better or worse I need more than 140 characters to express some of my opinions. Whether that is a good thing remains to be seen.

Stay tuned?

100% Ramble-y Goodness!