I love this country to bits. I have had many people ask me why I am staying in this country when work opportunities in the UK and Australia are readily available for someone with my skill sets.

Truth be told, for all it's problems, I could never leave South Africa. The weather's great, the people are great and there is a big multiverse of cultures to explore. Personally, I'm trying to learn a little more Zulu every day.

There are certain things that make me jealous of our foreign geek friends.

Bandwidth is the most obvious one... we pay through our necks for metered (capped) Internet that, while good for local online gaming and some downloading, is nowhere near good enough for video streaming services like Hulu or Netflix on my Xbox 360. Incidentally, I suspect it's this lack of internet infrastructure that has kept Microsoft from implementing the Xbox Live gaming service in South Africa. I suspect it's just not viable for them.

The second thing that makes me green with envy are the expos!

What I wouldn't give to be able to attend E3 and PAX 2009.

These two expos are probably the height of any geek's social calendar (if geeks do have such things as 'social' calendars).

E3, the premier platform for most game publishers and developers to announce new games and new IP's. Gamers are treated to a plethora of information with regards to their favourite games. Will StarCraft 2 finally get a release date? Will another Tomb Raider be unveiled? Will there finally be a Mario-Zelda crossover game? Well, not for me, for other people... promise.

Then, PAX is the place to be if you are a Penny Arcade fan and even if you're not a fan, there are so many more things to keep you busy. Music from some of the best indie musicians like Jonathon Coulton and MC Frontalot. Game development entries are accepted for a whole range of systems and this year, they are including community developed Xbox 360 games.

Darn, I wish my game was ready...

Then of course, there's the Omegathon. (check the bottom of the linked page).

The Omegathon is a games tournament. Twenty pre-registered PAX entrants are selected. Games are played across all the spectrums of gaming, including video games, table top gaming and even games like Pong and Tetris can be dropped on you at any given moment.

I want to be an Omeganaut...

In any case, the only thing I'm accomplishing with this post (at this moment) is depressing myself even further.

Maybe I am being a bit naive? Maybe you guys are aware of some great expos in South Africa that are fun? I must say, I have enjoyed rAge and Hobby-X a lot, although I was quite shocked that there were no Warhammer exhibits at Hobby-X the previous time around.

Are there any other expos I should be aware of?