Graeme

“I’m going to be fine!” Tony glared across the kitchen table at Jim. Jim stared back impassively. “You didn’t stop throwing up until two in the morning. You still look pale, and to be blunt, you’re still stinking up the house.” “Yes, I know, and I also know from past experience that the farting will stop in a couple of hours.” Tony gritted his teeth. “I’ll postpone this morning’s meeting, but there’s no reason I can’t go to the club today.” Ty chose that moment to walk into the room, his nose

Please remember, we do not allow political posts or comment outside the blogs. This includes predictions of what may happen politically. Sorry -- no political predictions allowed. Graeme Forum Moderation Team

Neither Sydney nor Auckland qualify as freezing cold or baking heat. Melbourne doesn't either, though I'll concede we got bad press in that respect during the Australian Open.... I agree, which is why I said above that the criteria for "liveability" is subjective. Based on the list of attributes they picked, though, I think they tried to be objective within each attribute. I don't live in the city anymore -- I live out on the rural fringe of Melbourne. My wife said she would like to live either out in the countryside, or right in the heart of the city. She doesn't like the suburbs....

Which criteria to use for determining "liveability" is very subjective. Rating financial factors can be tricky, because they can vary considerably depending on the circumstances of the individual, rather than the circumstances of the location (which is what this is trying to determine). I think a generic 'cost-of-living' approach would be the best way forward, and to translate that into what percentage of the population can afford to live in that location. That eliminates all factors of income, tax, etc., whereby it's difficult to compare different countries. On that basis, inner Melbourne and inner Sydney would rate poorly, as most people in Australia would not be able to afford to live there (accommodation costs are very high). Apart from accommodation, though, the rest of cost-of-living expenses are fairly evenly spread across the major cities (it's more expensive in rural areas, mainly due to transportation costs, but not excessively so).

:joe: Happy Birthday, Adam! :joe:

Not many snakes or bugs in Melbourne. You have to watch out for the spiders in Sydney, but I think there's another thread for that Actually, it's not as good as it sounds. Looking at the article, they don't include cost-of-living in their decision process, and Melbourne/Sydney are getting expensive to live in. But on the criteria they use (healthcare, education, stability, culture, environment, and infrastructure), yes, Melbourne does pretty well. In my opinion, the perfect score Melbourne got for infrastructure is questionable, so I'm guessing they're only looking at inner-Melbourne. The public transport infrastructure in outer-Melbourne is fairly poor.

Melbourne named world's most livable city in survey by the Economists Intelligence Unit for the fourth year in a row. From the survey, Australia and Canada do pretty well Most liveable cities: Melbourne, Australia 97.5 Vienna, Austria 97.4 Vancouver, Canada 97.3 Toronto, Canada 97.2 Adelaide, Australia 96.6 Calgary, Canada 96.6 Sydney, Australia 96.1 Helsinki, Finland 96.0 Perth, Australia 95.9 Auckland, New Zealand 95.7

:joe: Happy Birthday, Joann! :joe:

Happy (belated) Birthday, Cia! :joe:

Happy Birthday, Bill! :joe:

I've always been interested in the effect of someone coming out on those around them. It's the main theme of my first novel, and it's still a subject I like to explore.

Thank you! I probably have too many relationships going on at once, but I'll admit that I'm enjoying trying to make each character unique. I know I'm failing with a number of the minor characters, but hopefully the rest out as individuals.

Thank you I personally feel a bit sorry for Clarissa. If it gets out that her last two 'boyfriends' were both gay, a lot of teenage males will start to avoid her, in case everyone will think that they're gay, too....

:joe: Congratulations! :joe: Wishing you a long and very happy life together

“Close the door, Dave, and sit down,” Peter said as he waved a hand towards his visitor’s chair. “There’s a couple of things I want to discuss.” Dave frowned as he did as he was told. “Is there something wrong?” Peter stared for a moment. “I don’t know. I will start by saying I think you’re currently playing the best football I’ve seen you play since you joined the club.” Dave smiled. “Thanks, Peter.” “First things first. Did Andrew help you with your sleeping problem?” Dave shrugged. “I go

Nice! Thanks for the heads up, James

Tea or coffee -- I drink both. If I can get it, I like my coffee as a cappuccino, which is, after all, a traditional breakfast coffee.

Rest in Peace My condolences go out to his family and friends at this time of grief

I read for escapism. I want to escape into a new world, one where I can imagine myself as part of the cast of the story -- either explicitly as one of the characters, or an extra that the author somehow failed to include.

:joe: Happy Birthday, Mike! :joe:

Welcome to GA! A lot will depend on the sort of stories you're interested in, but another new member recently asked the same question.Have a look at that thread for some suggestions There's a lot of great stories here, for a variety of tastes.

:joe: Happy Birthday, Sammy! :joe:

By the way, Tom Daley and James Denny didn't win gold. They got the silver medal. The gold was won by Matthew Mitcham and Domonic Bedggood from Australia. Go Matt!!!! Here's his photo after winning gold at the Beijing Olympics: And before you ask, Matt already has a boyfriend....

That's why he's the King of Cliffhangers....

Exactly what he's up to, I don't know (though he has run a story idea past me that would require a lot of research on his behalf). I do know he's okay, though, because he's beta-reading my new novel for me He has mentioned having Internet problems, though, which may be part of the reason he hasn't been on to GA for a while.