Australia does have some nasty spiders. I forget the name of it, but I think there's one whose venom is deadlier than the cobra. And also one of the world's deadliest snakes call Australia home.
But it's still a kick butt country. Especially the girls! 'Nuff said.
I was indeed in the Army, back in the dark ages of the '70s and '80s. After I graduated college I just got this wild hair and volunteered. Overall the experience was a positive.
My jungle experience comes from a one week survival training course I took. We were given a map, a compass, a combat knife, a full canteen of water, water decontamination pills, and three meals worth of rations. They then dropped us in the middle of WTF ville and told us the coordinates they would meet us at in 7 days. Let me just say it was an adventure. No neat toys like GPS in those days, and they did a full inspection of our gear before dropping us to be sure we didn't sneak anything in. Cussed like, well, like a soldier, the whole 7 days, but we made it out. 20 some years later it seems like it was even fun.
I live on the Eastern seaboard, about 150-200 miles inland, about midway between New York and DC. I live in a valley with hills (folks here call them mountains, LOL) on three sides, so am spared from tornados. Hurricanes can occasionally cause some bad flooding from the rain but we don't get a lot of wind damage.
The problem arises from the fact that the electric lines run through the hills and the power company is very lax at keeping the trees cut back.
So high winds or lightning will almost guarentee a tree or branch somewhere will fall on the lines.
There are so few people here it "doesn't justify the cost" to keep the lines clear; cheaper just to send out an emergency repair team when needed.
Along the same pattern, all our local transformers are circa 1950s, and repair parts just don't exist, so whenever there's a transformer blowout in a storm they have to actually either jury rig it or have a part specially manufactured. Two winters ago it was a little over three days before we got power restored after an ice storm. About 2/3 of my neighbors have generators, and I keep swearing I'm going to get one.
One might ask why don't I move? One main reason is I'm cheap. The house is fully paid for, which with my current employment scene is a godsend. Also, I'm out in the country, but I'm 15 minutes away from a small city, 2 hours from Philadelphia, 3 from NYC or DC, and one hour from Baltimore. I can be at the beach in 2 hours.
I don't like crowds 24/7, but I like the advantages the big cities provide.
The biggest reason though is my girlfriend lives in that small city, and she has a bar in her basement with a refridgerator fully stocked with beer. Free beer every weekend. Why would I move?
Okay, I'm rambling. Old age.
What about yourself? Time for some Accordian stories!
Been meaning to ask, is there any significance to the game name or is it just something you pulled out of a hat?
Lastly, I won't tell Crafty if you don't :P.
