• Strine

    Crikey! What’s Going On Here?

    Crikey, Kangaeroo.com is colder than ever before and I’ve got no explanation for what is happening. Let’s get one thing straight, first: Kangaeroo.com has never been hot! This website started in March 2010 together with a sister site (now defunct) called Yutairui.com, which had a record of attracting more than 35,000 visits in a single day not long after it opened, but was shut down by a DDoS later that same year. Kangaeroo.com, to the best of my knowledge, has never had more than five visitors in a single day! This site, centered on the Strine Dictionary, was supposed to…

  • Strine

    Fatal Attraction

    Following slovenly Saturday where I did basically nothing for the whole day, today has become a bit of sprightly Sunday, being busy from the get-go, with the Death Machine taking a prime position. The Death Machine is, of course, the nickname I give to my Performer recumbent bicyle. It gets that name because the bike feels so unsafe, the feeling while riding it is that death is imminet. It’s no exaggeration. Riding the bike is a frightful experience. And I crashed the Death Machine badly around this time last year, fracturing my leg and causing permanent damage to my knee.…

  • Strine

    Love The Way You Lie

    Kangaeroo got a much better day than expected today, Japan’s National Foundation Day but not a holiday because it fell on a Saturday. Waking, Your Humble Narrator (to borrow a turn of phrase from Anthony Burgess) was greeted by a winter wonderland from the previous day’s snowfall. There would be no customary morning bike ride on this day. Instead, with great community spirit, Mrs. Kangaeroo suggested Kangaeroo get his morning exercise by shoveling the snow off the paths so none of our neighbors slipped and hurt themselves. So, it was out on the shovel and into the snow. And great…

  • Strine

    Bit of a Wasted Weekend

    Didn’t do a lot today. Except eat. And play with the bird. Turned out to be something of a wasted weekend. It wasn’t a total failure. Cleaned the house. And got the garden looking good. Including some shopping for new lights. Related posts: Harbor City Coathangered! Sydney Opera House Among World Heritage List’s ‘Three Great Disappointments’ It’s All Happening Here! Amazing Alex’s Aussie Oasis in Tokyo’s Tama The Strine Why Atorkin: Plain English Grass is Greener….Here, And Not On the Other Side! Go Tiges!!!!!! Cheating Death! Wahoo for Wahoo, and Thanks Y’s Road Lads Warm Weekend Pushing Pedals in an…

  • Strine

    All Quiet on the Whetted Front

    Lots of appetites where wetted today, in a quiet and pleasant day. A long sleep was followed up by playtime with the bird. Then it was a short stint in the garden. By this time, Mrs. Kangaeroo had risen. So, it was a shower and off to Costco, visiting the secondhand store along the way. Upon returning, it was Death Machine time, for an unexpected and awesome ride. Related posts: Strine Dictionary Strine (オージー英語)Dictionary Beating Jobsworths with Luck There And Back Again: Oz 2022 What a Gift! Lyre, Lyre, Pants on Fire Amazing Alex’s Aussie Oasis in Tokyo’s Tama Give…

  • Strine

    Not Everything About Winter is Cruddy

    Winter sucks….for the most part. Winter is cold, dark and seemingly endless and colorless. For someone whose daily routine involves rising early and cycling, winter is not exactly the pleasantest time of year. And the cold mornings start from November and linger on until deeply into April at least, and sometimes even May, so more often than not, it’s chilly at least. January ends today, so on the calendar the winter doesn’t have much more time to eat away at us. Winter can’t end soon enough for the Aussie garden at Kangaeroo Corner. Many of the plants are feeling the…

  • Strine

    Costly Bloody Crash!

    Kangaeroo’s accident this week continued to have reverberations. Although both Kangaeroo and the bloke he collided with rode away apparently unharmed from their predawn collision, costs have since mounted. The crash gave greater urgency to updating the chain and gear sprocket on La Cangura, which had been showing signs of wear for a while, and there was also a sneaking suspicion that the gear wire could probably do with replacing. That proved to be precisely the case with a visit to the Y’s Road bike store later in the day. The good news was the sprocket and cassette are still…

  • Strine

    Ouch! Taking a Tamagawa Tumble

    「Ouch!」 「バカヤロー!」 「ごめんなさい。」 「日本は左通行だよ。バカヤロー!何考えてんかよ?バカヤロー!」 Kangaeroo took a Tama River tumble today and it was entirely his fault. Taking his normal pre-dawn ride along the Tama River Cycling Road, Kangaeroo caught a glimpse of an oncoming runner just late enough to be able to swerve away from her and avoid striking her…. ….only to slam straight into another cyclist coming from the opposite direction. The immediate aftermath was the aforementioned conversation. It seemed like the other bloke and his bike were OK. We rode off in opposite directions. La Cangura is scratched and her wheels wobbly. The Wahoo mount destroyed beyond…

  • Strine

    A Sobering Thought or Two

    January 7 is a landmark date in Kangaeroo’s life. The foundation stone of his life was laid on that date. There’s no real need to go into details. Everything started from there, and the foundation is the bedrock for living to this day. Times are not great for many ordinary people anywhere nowadays. Most, probably. But on a broad scale, they are not too bad for Kangaeroo. If nothing else, Kangaeroo has health. Physical life began a long time earlier. But that alone was not sufficient. Mental and spiritual wellbeing were missing. They are largely here now….for the most part.…

  • Strine

    Bumping Into the Candyman

    Today was supposed to be a day for a new beginning. It was: just not the way it was meant to turn out. After today, Kangaeroo will be bigger and bolder. Rather than in a metaphorical sense, though, it will be a literal increase in size following a day of comfort eating to try to feel a bit better and then to compensate after gorging. An early rise was supposed to spark a trip downtown, but instead saw a return to bed. A day dedicated to seeking professional options was utterly fruitless and ended in a bitterly depressive downward spiral.…