CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Mission Day showed me just how unfit I've become, so, this week, I'm trying to get my walking habit back on-line - and what better way to do that, than to take on an easy mission through the centre of Canberra? Created by Resistance agent, Frostbeast, this colourful 12-mission banner walks you around the city centre, and features were as follows: Time to Complete:   The average time for each mission is around 10 minutes, although some are much shorter. If you’re taking the time to glyph-hack, capture, fully deploy, link and field, then these times will be much, much longer due the portal density of the area. Complexity:   This is a very straight-forward mission series, with easily accessible portals, but, as noted below, you should be wary of hacking portals not included in the mission you’re on. Terrain and Location Notes: Location Accessibility: You can travel to the mission area by bus, although there is plenty of parking, if you prefer to travel by car, al...

It was a beautiful Canberra autumn day,and I'd been cooped up at home for most of the week with a little one that was under the weather, and an essay on Wittek's ghazi theory to complete, so, with the little one in safe hands, and the essay done bar a few extra references and some formatting, I went walking. I needed a long walk just to clear the cobwebs, and Ingress had just the thing. I'd started a mission series a few weeks ago, and hadn't been able to get out to finish it, until today, when I set out to complete the last 9 missions in the set... and maybe add a few more kilometres towards the trekkers medal, while hatching a few eggs for PokemonGo. Well, that was the plan, anyway - and it worked beautifully. The buses ran on time, and I was down by Lake Burley Griffin by half ten or so, finishing Enlightened agent, Wharty's, pictoral series called The Burley Trail. Starting at the National Carillon, the Trail takes you along the edge of the lake to the Co...

January was a great time for long walks... and playing ingress. So, at one point, I found myself at the Crace Hilltop Reserve - and I loved it. Little animal statues hiding in the native bush in the middle of a new suburb? Awesome! Welcome to the Crace Hilltop Reserve. On the left is a playground for under-fives, and on the right is a path leading away from it.  Of course, straight ahead is a sign welcoming you the the sculpture walk. Let's take the path to the right. The little ones can play *after* a short walk. Mind you, the first sculpture on the left is a little *too* lifelike for my liking. The length is about right, but it *is* a statue! And, of course, here's the information about what to do if you see a snake. It's good advice no matter what part of Australia you're in. This is not a man-made feature, but it's one you should know about. This is a meat ant's nest. Don't walk on it, and don't stop too c...