Round 18 - ETPBC Div 5

A very hot day was forecasted and it managed to bring what it threatened, a very hot 37 degrees with hardly any cloud cover.

With that came in the reduced game rules, this enforces a maximum of 5 innnings or 90 minutes...

For someone like me who was starting on the bench, that brings in nothing but angst on whether you will be played or not.

Robbo started on the mound and got off to a flyer, zone was good and not many opposition hits through the five innings and really worked hard to keep them at bay - recorded some good strikeouts too!

Gussy again proved to be the one pitchers hate the most being walked twice, Cummo was the hitting specialist for the day twice with big bombs into the gaps and also superb speed to reach third twice for back to back triples.

Cummo's first proved to be a spark the team needed, most were telling him to hold off at 2nd but Cummo knew his pace would beat the throw to 3rd.

Hard to determine which highlight was the best on the day, so I think line honors need to go to both Cummo and Jonesy.

Jonesy is now known as the aerial defender, late in the 4th inning with runners in scoring position, a big bomb was hit to deep left field. For all money Jonesy looked beat on this one as it was well hit, from nowhere Jonesy lept back and took a superb catch which recorded the final out of the inning and any chance of Southern coming back to challenge the lead.

Red Sox ended up holding them off in the last to record a 7-1 win over Southern and securing our place in the finals.

I'm super excited, never in history of sport have I reached finals, not unless you count mixed netball which I don't think I will... During my football life at Happy Valley, my junior years were spent being thrashed by teams like Reynella and Morphett Vale, sometimes by 30 goals... During my senior years at the club we won games but never enough to reach finals, often missing out by one or two.

In my baseball career we haven't made it over the 4 years i've played, the year I missed our team won the flag.

This is something to savor and I look very forward to the challenge.

See you all down at Adelaide this weekend to cheer on the Red Sox!

Top Eleven - Soccer Manager (Game Review)

Here is a great game i've stumbled upon whilst on my return to app games via Facebook.

When I first joined Facebook years ago I was captivated by the ones everyone at the time were playing, Mafia Wars, Farmville, Cafe World etc.. These were ok games and very addictive...

Mafia Wars, like the rest of them, was fun at first but lacked that real ideal of playing it longer than a few months. Mafia Wars was getting annoying, you would build your Mafia and compete against others, was super hard when coming up against Mafia's with 100's of members against your 15...

Farmville, that was fun at first, just like the zombie version, but mundane and became very boring... you grew alot of stuff and collected money - thats about it...

Cafe World, same, you built up your cafe, put some neat stuff in there but after a while you think, What for....

Top Eleven is different, this allows you to control the team, friends and users don't affect your team other than playing against them. Level 1 you are given a team to control, depending on when you start your team could be anywhere, my first season my team was sitting around 12th I think. Ended up finishing 6th after buying a few players with little cash available.

Its taken me until now to realise some of my earlier mistakes, when I first started I played 3 or so friendlies a day, then had my team play their normal league games. Soon realised players fitness levels were way way down and lost alot to injury..

Friendlies are an annoying feature but I don't mind playing them every now and then, when it suits me... I usually will play them for example if I had a late game the night before scheduled and nothing til the next day. This allows ample time for my players to recoup fitness in time for the next game, but I don't play a heap of friendlies, just one or two. I then use the training feature to help raise the players skills and attributes.

So lets take a look at the app version for iphone, its a great version and the developers are putting time and effort into making it better and more like the PC version. It contains alot less options than the PC version has but, is still a great game.

So your given a squad of 22 players, this is made up of 11 starters, 7 subs and 4 reserves. You don't get alot to work with but you will get the odd 4 star and some 3 star players, rest will be mostly 2 star players.

To help also, Top Eleven have provided opportunities for you to earn extra cash through sponsorships, at level 1 you can earn $600k in Sponsorship through "Frontmen"... When you crunch it down, you can pick up some very handy 3 or 4 star players for that amount, possibly 3 or 4 players if done correctly...

One item that is worth the gold colour it represents is "Tokens". Tokens allow you to buy extra items and also to bid on players in the trade market, careful though - this is where alot of people waste their tokens while in bidding wars with other users. I once lost 20 tokens just on one 5 star player and still lost the auction...

As a nice bonus, along with Sponsorship $$ terms you can also obtain a Token Sponsor through the Finances section, here you can sign a TV Rights sponsor who will give you tokens on a daily basis, you can either receive one through Nordeus 1 daily regardless or the one I'm with now Speed who gives me bonus tokens if I login consistently each day...

Luck and Patience often gets the player, I've found that if I bid on players early in the morning I will come up against big users who have alot of tokens to use, either by earned through sponsorship or bought with actual $$'s... But i've had more luck getting players, good 5 star players, later in the arvo, the other day for example, I had 4 tokens... I put two dummy bids on two 5 star players finishing in 15 minutes, another one had someone bidding on.

In the second stage of bidding the other user failed to put a bid on and I put one on with 3 seconds to go, nailed a new 5 star midfielder.

Then to my amazement while on the bus heading home from work, the two dummy bids went through without opposition, so I scored a new 5 star GK and a 5 star DEF. In the end 3 5 star players and it only cost me 4 tokens...

If you play around with it you'll find the best time to bid and sell, for me its afternoons, by then most of Europe and US are in bed tucked away from robbing me of tokens and players...

If your lucky enough to finish within the top 7 teams in the league you qualify for the Cup, this is where you play against much harder opponents on the off chance you may beat them. Beauty of Cup is the prize money per game played is big, especially for a level 1 player,

The top 4 teams for each league move into the Champions League, prize money is much lower than Cup but still a great addition if you can reach it... So far this season I haven't done too well in either but the proze money made up for it as i've managed to sign 4 5 star players...

One of the other "nice" functions is the addition of upgrading your stadium and supports, I include this as a nice addition as some of it impacts your team like health and the ground however its just nice to upgrade stuff every 3 days - ie: we're not playing this game to upgrade stadiums so its just a nice compliment to the game.

Most of the upgrades take 3 days to complete however if you want to upgrade the size of your ground your looking around 15 days... You can use tokens to speed this up a bit however my advice would be to save those up and buy players...

As I mentioned previously theres two options, you can try your luck on the transfer market and try and snare a decent player, it definately can happen - you just need to find times best suited to your bidding so you don't get stuck in a bidding war... or, you can save your tokens and buy a 6 star player through the Scout.

The Scout offers you high quality 6 star players at a premium cost, minimum $1m signing fee and each player will set you back 50 tokens. Yep, 50, thats alot for a regular user that doesn't buy tokens with real money... Best advice is to save up your tokens, participate in as many free ways to receive tokens such as watching video's or going in surveys and then target your best player.

The Scout updates 6 times a season, if theres a particular player your keen on but not currently listed best to wait... I recently was looking for a midfielder but only ones on Scout were 28 years old and over, Ideally I wanted a youngy so I held off two days and the scout refreshed, luckily a 22 year old MC appeared with awesome stats, averaged 38 Defence, 39 Attack & 39 Health. Cost me $2.75m but was well worth it!

To compete at Champions League & Cup level you will need to consider stacking your squad, hence using the Scout function, lets be honest, there are players out there that frequently buy huge amounts of tokens with real money - prob nothing else better to spend it on... so if you have high ambitions of winning and taking big titles then you have to compete via tokens...

Training is another great function included, here you can chose to train or rest your players, the more game time and training they get the more they earn skill points to increase your players attributes.

I usually tend to have my starting 11 plus 2 or 3 reserves I keep resting unless no games are on, then the remaining reserves and substitutes I use as train hard. Now I'm definately no expert and I'm probably doing it wrong but this is the way I do it... Seems to work ok and my players not featured in games are still upping their attributes whilst the starting squad upgrade too by working hard in the game.

Careful though, injuries can strike at any time. For example, I signed a new 5 star striker, his states were in the 40's in attack and is not far off being a 6 star striker. Scored him at a bargain 2 tokens... First game he went out and played really well, didn't score like I hoped but assisted a few and rated highly, then late in the game he suffered a broken leg, prognosis, out for 16 days.... 16 days without a 5 star player is like an eternity... Injuries can also hit during training, so if your actively training players always try to have some that are left as reserves for the starting 11, just incase you lose players in the game and then also backups off your bench through training...

The Club shop is another "Nice" function added in by the games creators, here players can go nuts buying guernseys or patches of their favourite teams, sadly though it only has a handful of teams for you to choose from, so if your a Manchester United fan reading this, sadly you can't get a Man U strip just yet...

The shop is a place where you can send gifts to friends you have added either through the game or via facebook, you can send one gift daily of either a skill point, health pack, morale booster or a rest. These are very handy and you can receive one daily of the all four, so receive one each of the above but you can only send one to friends...

Well now a quick look at how i've gone since joining, i'm into my 4th season, my first I joined really late and won a few games but finished 6th overall.

My 2nd season was much better, I dominated the comp for the whole season, only losing once I think and took the League Title, With that I entered my first Champions League and Cup... I only won one game in Champions League and sadly missed out on progressing, Cup... well I was only really in it for the money haha - I lost both games and came away only with money...

My 3rd season was tougher, I started the season trying to juggle a team around my obligations to League, Champions League and Cup which would sometimes be played same day and I had issues that I would play a League game at 6am and then at 8am I would play a Champions League game... Players would be tired by second game and wouldn't play as well...

So I struggled in League early but fought back midway through, led the league until 4 rounds to go when I dropped the bundle and finished 2nd... Still shaking my head over that as not sure how I drew and lost games against players well under my team....

Anyway still finished second and entered my 2nd campaign for Champions League and Cup.

Cup I managed to win my first 2 games which blew me out of the water, haven't won a cup game before so was a pleasant change... Beauty of it was, $1.58m per game was mine. I lost in straight sets in the Qualifying stage but was happy with how the team performed only narrowly losing - more importantly i received $2.36m per game...

Champions League is still going as we speak, Lost my first two games 3-0 & 1-0, since then i drew my next game 1-1 and just then demolished a team 5-0. So now I'm sitting 2nd on the ladder with 2 rounds to go and a good chance to progress further. Prize money isn't huge for this but I'm just excited to get further considering i've only won 2 champions league games in the career haha.



League, well again I started very slow, had some issues with the formation I was using and found I constantly changed the formation which was impacting the players and how they performed. A friend guided me into using a much better formation and since then have only drawn a game but scored 21-0 in last 4 league games... I'm now sitting 3rd on the ladder and should be good to finish 2nd overall - doubt I can overtake the first placed team.



For me its a great game, very addictive, alot needs to be added to it though and more of the nice functions needed. Personally I'd like to see things like;

*Ability to update squads for each game, so nominate a squad for League, Champions League and Cup
*Extra tournaments where you can buy into and compete against players on your level
*Cheaper players placed on a "Buy" now function, similar to Scout.
*Staff Hiring - ie: Recruiter, Scout, Finance Manager etc.

These are a few of the idea's i've sent to the creators to see if they can add, each has its factor, the main one for me would be the first. What players tend to get stuck on is being asleep while your squads play... sometimes if you have League & Champions League playing close together players can get fatigued.

My idea is in the squad screen have extra menu's available called Champions League & Cup, this way you can nominate which players will play. Now, the onus is completely then on the player, if they don't nominate then you have the default team selected at league level but this could be good.

For example I use 2 DR & 2 DC players which I rotate every game, they're all too good to get rid of and all rate around 7-8 per game so I decided I'd play them every 2nd game. This morning I played League and Champions League within 1.5 hours of each other, would have loved to be able to set my squads the night before for both games rather than one default squad playing each game.

So, if your reading this game and considering playing this going forward I give this a 4 star rating (out of 5).

If the makers can add more nice features like some I mentioned above it would move my rating up to a 4.5 atleast and push hard towards a 5, its fun, addictive and keeps the player second guessing every game, especially when they draw or lose...

The other positive, you get to play against people from all over the world, and friend them too if they're nice.

Try it out and enjoy!


**Update 24/01/13:

One feature I forgot to mention was the fact you can watch and manage the game as it happens, one good thing about that is should an injury occur you can be there straight away to take the player off. You do have the extra option too if its playing while your away of having automatic players to be subbed on should this happen...



I like to jump in after each game and check out the stats.

Here you can see your substitutions, carded players and scorers.








You can also check the performance of your players and if lucky who from your player scored man of the match.

As well as check below how many supporters attended the game:

Round 7 - ETPBC Div 5

I'm hoping my article isn't going to sound weird today, I'm writing this after a solid night on the PS3 checking out the latest Call of Duty installment, Black Ops II. Safe to say after a 5 or 6 hour stint playing it both my eyes and brain aren't functioning well with hardly any sleep...

Anyhow.. Last saturday we hosted Glenelg at home, we expected tough opposition from them and thats what we got.

It was a slightly different team to what we played last year and a new pitcher I hadn't seen before. The Glenelg pitcher must be given some credit for the score and the hit count, watching the first few batters I thought he was extremely hittable as there was no heat and it was coming very slowly into the box.

But, we should have learned from the last slow pitcher we faced... When a slow pitcher comes in it really throws you off guard and makes you chase the ball more and lose patience.

So after a few weeks off of the starting role, Robbo returned to weave his magic. For a pleasant change we held the opposition for a scoreless first inning, lately we've allowed runs in the first inning then have to battle for the lead back...

Our boys started off well with a few runners on bases in the first however couldn't capitalise and the first two innings went scoreless.

Glenelg managed to snare the lead in the 3rd and held onto the lead for the next few innings until Redsox finally got a runner over the line to square things up.

Redsox worked extremely hard in the field and snared the winning run in the bottom of the 6th, Robbo stepped up to the mound in the 7th and lights out, Redsox win 2-1.

Offensively, probably wasn't the best day for either side but thats what happens when two finals contending sides match off against each other in the regular season. Defensively, Redsox were awesome.

The previous week our team made a minimum of 8 errors (I stopped counting halfway through the game), Golden Grove scored 6 runs from errors in the field.

This week - Redsox had zero errors, that was the difference, our infield was solid with Angus having a game at 1st base, Hung moving over to 2nd, DR at Shortstop and yours truly at 3rd.

Outfield also boasted some strong defence with Jonesy at Left, Cummo at Centre and Ralphy dropping out to Right.

Defensively it was the best we've been all year, especially error wise, this is what we need to nail against the top sides - each game and practice we spend time improving facets of our defense, practice paid off for this game.

"Time and Game" was called and for the first time this year we played a full 7 innings before time was up.

For me personally, with the bat I had a not too good game, was 0 from 2 and didn't look like getting the hit I was looking for - part of me kept thinking of my hamstring which was feeling tight - need to forget that for this week and just hit hit hit.

Defensively I was very happy with my game, zero errors which is something i've been trying to do since my first couple of games where even though I made some really good plays I also fumbled the ball a bit. Made a nice throw in the 6th to remove the runner at 1st after a line drive which backed me away from the base - with cannon like precision I flamed it to 1st and runner sits down.

Ok - Glenelg we have met and worked hard to win the battle, this week we're away to Goodwood who in the past have always been strong, expect a tough game this weekend - especially for the pitchers who chuck the cleats away for the game and whack on runners.... the diamond we will be playing on doesn't have the usual dirt mound but has a plastic moulded mound which can get quite slippery...

The Walking Dead

I will safely go out and say this has to be the best TV show ever produced.

Never has my wife and I been so on edge until the next episode is aired and then laced with uncertainty on what is about to unfold.

The Walking Dead was something I first heard about a year or so ago, as usual it had alot of hype built around it. I don't like hype and jump on things straight away - I've always been funny like that but now I'm wishing I didn't...

Last years Adelaide Comicon had alot of stuff featuring The Walking Dead and I started to gather more interest rather than pushing it away, I had a quick like while at the comicon and it started to sound interesting.

I jumped online that night and started checking out the website trying to find info on what this show was all about. Sounded good so thought lets take a plunge and get Season 1, then go from there.

Thats where the love affair started....

Right off the bat, Episode 1, Season 1, had it all. The main character Rick in a nutshell being introduced and then being placed in a como after being shot through the left shoulder. After months of being in this state Rick awakes in the hospital reliving a memory of his partner Shane talking about flowers his precinct gave to him.

From here Rick goes through the agonising process of trying to work out what has happened to the city, loved ones, friends etc. Its not until he meets Morgan and his son Duane that he starts to see the picture and how the city, if not the world has been decimated by this disease.

Rick however is convinced his wife Lori and son Carl are still alive so he sets out to Atlanta to see if they are at the Refugee Centre, the Centre for Disease Control is also based there..

For one episode introducing us to The Walking Dead it had everything, high speed car chase ending up with three criminals shot dead including Rick. We've then got the unknown part of whats happening to Rick as he wakes up and travels to his house trying to comprehend what has happened, then we have him grasping the reality of whats happened then off to search for his family.

The remainder of the series is just as good as the first episode, packed with action, twists and turns at ever corner and awesome zombie slaying!

The Walking Dead's producers have put real attention to detail, leaving us believing this is a true story or is so damn believable that this is what it will look like.. From the location to the look of the zombies, this is one brilliantly put together story.

The characters have been brilliantly chosen also, My favourites Rick and Daryl are perfect for their roles. Rick the police officer taking charge of leading the group and Daryl as the trusty tracker who is probably the best fighter in the group.

Season 2 the group moves from the centre for disease control and comes across a farm after Ricks son Carl is shot by a member of the farm. The group move in temporarily while Carl is cared for by Hershel.

The writers/producers never fail to suprise us viewers as you can never assume what is about to happen.

Take the change in attitude from Shane, one which I thought would be a major character right through next couple of series, he became enraged and flooded with stalker/jealousy type thoughts when it came to Lori and Rick. Everyone watched with dismay as he hurdled quickly out of control and built such hatred for his best friend, then, lured Rick out to the woods to kill him and make it look as if a walker got him.

The next suprise was Shane then returning from the dead and about to attack Rick, who had his back to him, to then be shot by Carl... Bet Shanes spewing he taught Carl how to shoot now... haha

Next suprise was once that shot was fired it attracted a herd of zombies who were following the sound of a helicopter, sadly they shifted focus from that to where the shot came from and stumbled upon the farm - lives were lost and the group had to leave in a hurry leaving Andrea behind.

As much as I was shocked by the above, the biggest shock for me during Season 2 was the search for Sophia. The group, especially Daryl, looked long and hard for Sophia even as the weeks passed by.

Then as Shane blew his trolley and ran down to the barn and let out the zombies being held in there, one by one Shane and the others cut them down with a flurry of bullets. A pile of corpses remained including that of Hershels wife and people they knew well, then a noise came from the barn, one final zombie remained.

What shocked the group and I dare say nearly everyone watching the TV show was the zombie slowly walking out was Sophia, the hope all clung too that she would once be found was lost and the TV community was wowed at one of the children of the show was now turned to the zombie public.

I remember sitting with my wife watching that episode in pure shock, we were sure Sophia would be found and when she came out it was gut wrenching.

The final episode of Season 2 gave a glimpse of hope for the survivors, a massive prison in the background, this is the sort of place they could take over, fortify and then try reclaim neighbouring areas and maybe attract survivors.

The prison would also give a safe area for Lori to give birth...

Season 3 starts out with a bang as the group comes across the Prison, empty to the living but full of the walking dead. Rick instructs all to take the first part of the prison, just shy of the main buildings. A very very good plan, one, they have a safe area which they can rest for a few days and two, they have two lines of fences between them and the zombies.

The area is taken with minimal resistance and the group takes time to rest, but what is clear to Rick, indoors and beds are what the group needs.

He devises a plan for the group to take one of the cell blocks so that they can then later take the supply areas and wardens blocks. The cell block is taken easily and the group can now rest in peace on beds for the first time in almost a year.

Whilst searching the adjoining blocks for supplies the group are forced into a blocked off area after Hershel is bitten by a zombie which was laying against a wall appearing to be already disposed of. Rushing into the room Rick quickly begins to remove the part of the leg just above where he was bitten, hopefully removing the threat of the bite and saving his life.

A group of prisoners are found hiding in the kitchen area of the room, something isn't right though with atleast one of them, Ricks instinct about them is correct when he ignores their plea for them to stay in the groups cell block.

Rather a plan is revised that Rick and the group would help clear another cell block, then each live seperately without contact. All agree and they proceed to clear out the 2nd block, its what they witness in the clearing that worries Rick and Daryl.

Firstly, Big Tiny, one of the prisoners found is bitten by a walker, whilst the group is deciding what should be done, the main prisoner, Tomas, attacks Big Tiny smashing his skull, he then proceeds to unleash a series of attacks on Big Tiny whilst blood covers him all over. The group including some of the other prisoners look on with caution at what Tomas is capable of.

Secondly whilst in one of the rooms Rick orders only one of the doors to be opened to ensure a slow amount of walkers enter the room, instead Tomas opens both and puts the group under pressure as well as pushing a walker onto Rick.

Tomas claims it was an accident, this was further proof to Rick he shouldn't stay on - with that Rick drives a machete into Tomas's head.

The other prisoners plead their case and subsequently are allowed to live in the cleared cell block.

With this taken care of focus has now shifted from Rick and the survivors to a new group led by The Governer, a helicopter crashes in a forrest further down from the prison, the sole survivor is picked up by the Governer and his crew with Michonne and Andrea watching from a far.

An old foe appears from behind and holds them at gun point, Meryl Dixon, the one all thought had died in Atlanta or in surrounding area was found dying by the Governer and given a 2nd chance.

They along with the pilot are taken to a fortified town with approx 60 survivors who have built walls around and made a mini city. Michonne is extremely cautious and urges Andrea to consider them not staying long as not is all what it seems.

Over the cause of the next few episodes Michonne's hunches are coming to light, The Governer not only kills the pilot but also kills his surviving National Guard group in a nearby camp. He also has a sidekick scientist which is working on captured zombies who produces a weird Tea which the Governer is quite fond of.

Alot of questions are left in viewers minds on what is the Governers plans for the survivors, the scientist etc.

Questions I have:

*Is the scientist looking for a cure to bring the zombies back to life?
*What is this "Tea" made of...
*Why does the Governer keep the heads of zombies alive in a fish tank environment - is this where the tea is brewed from?
*Is the Governer trying to build a new race/breed within the city by getting the women survivors pregnant?

There are just a couple of what I would love to know about this new group added to the series.

Back to Rick's group, a sabatour residing within the prison cuts wholes in the fences from the other side of the compound and lures a hoard of zombies to the group. Choas reigns as the group, already split up with Rick, Daryl and Glenn are on the outside of the main fence.

As walkers flood into the area the group splits up to find safety whilst Rick, Daryl and Glenn speed to come and help. Lori, Carl and Maggie run into the cell block however this is being flooded with walkers, Lori starts getting pain from her stomach so they hide in the boiler room.

Meanwhile T-Dog is bitten on the shoulder whilst trying to close one of the gates, he leads Carol into the cell block trying to get her to safety - when a group of walkers confront them he takes them all on to let Carol leave.

Rick and the group arrive and start clearing walkers, Hershel tells him that Lori and the rest are inside - to make matters worse a loud siren is blaring which is coming from the back up generators.

When the group locate the generators they are met by the mystery sabatour, Andrew. He attacks Rick and they struggle with each other, Rick's gun is thrown but picked up by Oscar, one of the other prisoners. Andrew pleads for him to shoot Rick so that the prisoners can reclaim the prison as theirs. Instead Oscar shoots Andrew allowing them to shut off the generator and go look for the rest of the group.

What happens next is close to the most shocking moments of the three series. Lori, hemorrhaging, instructs Maggie to do a c section on her, Maggie knowing that this will ultimately kill Lori pleads for her to wait til they get back to Hershel and the group. Lori knows her time is up and doesn't want to lose her baby, she tells Maggie there isn't enough time and then assures Carl its ok and the best thing she ever did was to have Carl.

Maggie performs the c section with the help from Carl and delivers the baby, during this Lori drifts off to sleep and ultimately dies. Carl tells Maggie that he will be the one to kill her once she turns.

Wow - I for one didn't see that coming, both my wife and I sat more in shock than when Sophia was found as a walker.

Rick's reaction brought out the reality of what just happened, for what he fought to protect, his wife of so many years was gone, just like that. No doubt he will also blame himself for her being in that position as he swore to protect her and Carl.

Well I'm going to leave the description there, I'm an episode short but I have many questions about Season 3 and with Ricks group:

*What will Rick do now, will he be fit enough to remain in charge?
* How will the group recover from losing two of their main characters?
*All are assuming Carol died, I remain confident she didn't, so where is she?
*The mysterious person watching Carol from the woods, was this Morgan and his son?
*If not, when and where will Morgan reappear?
*Should Rick and the group now take and clear the remainder of the prison with a view to then exploring nearby areas to find survivors and build their group?
*If so, should they trust newcomers into the group?
*Will the Governer locate Rick's group and try to slaughter them?
*If so, will Meryl try to lure Daryl over or will Daryl succumb and kill his brother to defend his new family?

No matter how or if i've described it the right way above, this television series has captured the mind and imagination of millions of people. Since the first episode aired many months ago to the most recent this week I have thought constantly about the series, what would I do, where would I go, wow why did that happen or how did this all come about...

Either way you look at it, its a believable story which guaranteed after you've watched a few episodes, it will leave you wondering!

If your reading this and you haven't yet succumbed to the phenomenon that is The Walking Dead, I urge you to check out the first season and make your mind up from there..

Me - I'm hoping this continues for another 5+ seasons, this is a storyline that could keep going for a long time.

Is it Time?

Loyalty is a commodity that was once a strong skill and valued by employers.

This along with strong work ethic and the ability to make clients smile even when they've had the worst day should be something that with loyalty, that person should be made to feel like theres a reason why they are valued.

Well, this article for me is part of my thought process, why is the above important yet no longer valued by employers.

I have a friend that i've known for 12+ years who has been at the company for majority of that time too, started as a newby and worked their way up to become a leader within the group. Has in that time also taken on additional duties to actively learn more.

At times this person has also been known as one of the best in the organisation, not just in periods, but for the whole time.

So in all this why would they not be the most valued rather than just a person that is employed there?

Questions are running through my head at the moment:

* Should this friend remain loyal?
* Should they take their experience elsewhere and start a fresh?
* Should they go out on their own or form a partnership and start their own business?
* Should they instead change profession? ie: baker to admin or to bartending?

Answering all three its very hard to say, 12+ years at one company is a massive achievement, but throw the fact that the major skills as well and your talking about a very required person.

I'm leaning towards the last two as possibilities when I next speak with them. Starting fresh with a full backup of what they have done, and i'm sure also this person will speak brilliantly to back up and further explain why their the best.

I say let the new place realise what a great catch they've received and can now utilise to now compliment their centre. Or go out, find a business partner and start completely fresh. I'm confident they would be able to run their own business and do quite well. But thats another issue.

So what do you all think, I'm not lying when I say this is one of the best workers for their chosen field, so what would you say? Stay Loyal? Go to a new business or start your own?

Really interested in your thoughts so please comment.

Japanese Maples

 

Japanese Maples are by far my most Favourite trees in the world, every type brings its own unique form and colours to amaze everyone, whether your a grower or just someone who likes looking at them...

I first started a passion for Japanese Maples when i was younger when my mum bought a weeping japanese maple. I can't remember the type but it had a similar leaf form to that of a Viridis however this one had a dark moroon/purple leaf.

Sadly, due to Adelaides poor climate for growing maples this one died during one of our hottest summers on record. I can't remember the date and stuff but it was during the fortnight where Adelaide witnessed days recorded 40 degrees and over for a period of around 8 days straight...

My Japanese Maple in backyard

When i bought our first house my mum as a gift bought me two standard japanese maples, simple variety that can withstand a bit of the sun - these are still going great as you can see in the photo. Stupidly i planted a Chinese Elm right in the middle of the Maples years ago as i thought they weren't going to get much bigger... well they have and now I have the three trees growing super well and giving lovely shade over the summer.







Since then i've added a number of Japanese Maples to my collection, sadly some have died due to our harsh summers, however some, especially the ones I have as Bonsai, are still going strong and look magnificent.

Sango Kaku Maples in my garden

About a year ago I was at Stratco looking at plants and came across these beautiful Red Bark Maples (Sango Kaku) for only $14.95 each... bargain so I bought 3! and look at them now.

Close up of my Sango Kaku

I like to buy most of my Japanese Maples, including the younglings from a grower in Melbourne, for the past few years I have bought a number from him during Winter when the trees are able to be transported without stressing the roots and tree.

The nursery is called "Maples x Mail" and is located at 1870 Healesville-Kinglake Road in Toolangi. Not sure if you remember or are aware but this region is part of the massive bushfire which tore the heart out of Victoria, and the rest of Australia, a few years ago. It was during a big dry spell, fires erupted and the state saw some of the biggest incontainable bushfires they've ever encountered.





Many lives and buildings were lost, Maples x Mail came out ok, alot of its stock were hit hard providing limited stock for sale over that period. The year after they came out strong again and supplied some really nice trees.

My Viridis Weeping Maple

Each year I like to buy atleast one or two Weeping Maples and one Standard, as well as 10-20 younglings. The Weepers and Standard are put into large pots whilst the younglings are either used for new Bonsai ideas or put into pots for later use.

The thing I love the most about Maples x Mail is the price, Standards are only $20 each and Weeping Maples are $25, they are trees up to 1m in height, just the right size to use. The owner will also send up to 5 trees in the one box, postage to South Australia last time only cost me approx $10 for the lot...



The owner really knows his trees and varieties well and takes super care of them so if you are interested check them out on www.maplesxmail.com.au

Japanese Maple Bonsai (approx 4 y.o)

So why Japanese Maples?

Simple, well maybe not, but theres not one thing i love about them theres heaps. Each variety has its own unique aspect about it, whether its differing types of leaf or the colour of the leaf during different times of the year or the colour of its bark.

Ever since i was young i was in awe of their beauty and told myself when older i must have some of my own.

To me it could be the colours, from early Spring to late Autumn - each has its unique colour to wow any garden!








Here are some more photos of my maples, enjoy!




Close up on my Viridis Weeping Maple

My Viridis Weeping Maple approx 6 y.o



 

Jap Maple Bonai's in my nursery