Weather: Hot as the pits of Hades.
Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it was hot enough to make me extremely grateful for aircon when I was stuck in traffic on the motorway for nearly an hour tonight. That was after a somewhat frustrating day tracking down an obscure problem with the formatting of national insurance numbers in XML documents and the way our system handles it. It's all server side code and hence a pig to debug and trace. I think I've found where it's going wrong though, so it shouldn't be too difficult to resolve tomorrow.
I'm knackered now though, and I could just do with a snooze as the heat of the day starts to fade.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Haikusday
The grey light of dawn
Wakes me from unquiet slumbers
Gentle rain outside
Bunting taken down
Flags furled for the next four years
England's coming home
Hunting, sharpshooting
All treasure maps decoded
Legend of the West
Everyday things
Become treasures given time
Secret museum
Never let the world
Tell you who you may not love
Be yourself with Pride
A conspiracy
Revealed through a work of art
Nightwatching's conceit
Wakes me from unquiet slumbers
Gentle rain outside
Bunting taken down
Flags furled for the next four years
England's coming home
Hunting, sharpshooting
All treasure maps decoded
Legend of the West
Everyday things
Become treasures given time
Secret museum
Never let the world
Tell you who you may not love
Be yourself with Pride
A conspiracy
Revealed through a work of art
Nightwatching's conceit
Monday, June 28, 2010
- 07:18 #ebz The Bazaar is traditionally spoken of as if it's a single living thing. Women call it 'he'; men c... fallenlondon.com/c/133134 #
Beware of the Flowers (cos I'm sure they're gonna get you, yeah!)
Weather : still hot.
After a gloriously warm weekend, it was a bit odd to be back in an air conditioned office this morning and I only noticed quite how hot it was today when I left work and went out into the car park. Thankfully my car has a pretty decent air con as well and it didn't take too long to get it down to a comfortable temperature for driving.
The muggy weather is taking its toll though. I've not been sleeping particularly well and I was nodding off halfway through the film we were watching last night. Perhaps I should have had a nap on Sunday afternoon rather than watching the football? I don't think that I would have missed much. On a side note, it's slightly sad to see how quickly all of the England flags on the street have been taken down out of shame at their lackluster performance. I thought that being a fan was supporting your team through thick and thin, not just in the glory days?
In app store news, I picked up an app called 'Flower Garden' a while ago in which you plant seeds, water them so they don't dry out and watch as they grow into flowers that you can cut and send as a bouquet via email.
It occurs to me today that it is actually a level based RPG of sorts. The object is to level up your collection (i.e. party) of flowers (i.e. characters) until they max out (i.e. are fully grown. Each type of flower is a different character class, and you can unlock different seeds for achieving particular goals, such as growing a flower or sending a certain number of bouquets. I don't know what triggered this particular train of thought, but I clearly have too much time on my hands to ponder such things.
After a gloriously warm weekend, it was a bit odd to be back in an air conditioned office this morning and I only noticed quite how hot it was today when I left work and went out into the car park. Thankfully my car has a pretty decent air con as well and it didn't take too long to get it down to a comfortable temperature for driving.
The muggy weather is taking its toll though. I've not been sleeping particularly well and I was nodding off halfway through the film we were watching last night. Perhaps I should have had a nap on Sunday afternoon rather than watching the football? I don't think that I would have missed much. On a side note, it's slightly sad to see how quickly all of the England flags on the street have been taken down out of shame at their lackluster performance. I thought that being a fan was supporting your team through thick and thin, not just in the glory days?
In app store news, I picked up an app called 'Flower Garden' a while ago in which you plant seeds, water them so they don't dry out and watch as they grow into flowers that you can cut and send as a bouquet via email.
It occurs to me today that it is actually a level based RPG of sorts. The object is to level up your collection (i.e. party) of flowers (i.e. characters) until they max out (i.e. are fully grown. Each type of flower is a different character class, and you can unlock different seeds for achieving particular goals, such as growing a flower or sending a certain number of bouquets. I don't know what triggered this particular train of thought, but I clearly have too much time on my hands to ponder such things.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Dust and Echoes
Weather : hot
Well, the series finale of Doctor Who certainly lived up to expectations. Beautiful, quixotic, paradoxical, funny and moving. Highlights for me included the whole time paradox plot, the universe unwinding, the fossilized Dalek, Amy and Rory's wedding reception and the enigmatic farewell to River Song. Aces. Can it be Christmas now, please?
Today has also lived up to expectations, with an excellent game of Carcassonne with Lufferov that saw lots of tactical blocking and a low winning score that I just scraped with my field points. I also played rather a lot of Red Dead including hunting for legendary animals up in the frozen woods of the North with the snow crunching softly under foot as I stalked through the moonlit trees, and disarming six banditos in a shootout without reloading my Evans Repeater that finally won me the title of Legend of the West. Aces again.
I even watched the last bit of the football, and while I am no expert it looked to me as if Germany were by far the better team in putting together tactical moves and kicking the ball into the net, which I think is the object of the game, isn't it? Not so aces.
In random slaughter news, I picked up a dead mole and a freshly killed chaffinch from the lawn this morning, and then disposed of another maggotty corpse this afternoon, thankfully before Barney had a chance to roll on it. Yucks.
Well, the series finale of Doctor Who certainly lived up to expectations. Beautiful, quixotic, paradoxical, funny and moving. Highlights for me included the whole time paradox plot, the universe unwinding, the fossilized Dalek, Amy and Rory's wedding reception and the enigmatic farewell to River Song. Aces. Can it be Christmas now, please?
Today has also lived up to expectations, with an excellent game of Carcassonne with Lufferov that saw lots of tactical blocking and a low winning score that I just scraped with my field points. I also played rather a lot of Red Dead including hunting for legendary animals up in the frozen woods of the North with the snow crunching softly under foot as I stalked through the moonlit trees, and disarming six banditos in a shootout without reloading my Evans Repeater that finally won me the title of Legend of the West. Aces again.
I even watched the last bit of the football, and while I am no expert it looked to me as if Germany were by far the better team in putting together tactical moves and kicking the ball into the net, which I think is the object of the game, isn't it? Not so aces.
In random slaughter news, I picked up a dead mole and a freshly killed chaffinch from the lawn this morning, and then disposed of another maggotty corpse this afternoon, thankfully before Barney had a chance to roll on it. Yucks.
Sunday Links
- Extremely Rare Batagur Turtles ZooBorns
- Everything you need to know about the internet Insightful essay from the Guardian
- The Collapse of Complex Business Models Commerce in the internet age
- The sound of the Higgs Boson
- Simon Singh vs David Tredinnick Homeopathy smackdown with annotations
- Sci-Fi Airshow A guided tour of an airshow featuring classic spaceships from TV and film. Sadly not real.
- To the edge of space in a home made balloon
- Joyrider Ross McDonnell - photos of an urban hell
- Ten movies that never should have been made —and thankfully weren't.
- Drawings of Scientists How children imagine scientists look before and after a visit to Fermilab
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Daleks
- How to Play Monkey-Pirate-Robot-Ninja-Zombie A helpful illustrated guide
- Battle of Britain: 303 Squadron Yet another excellent web game to accompany a channel 4 series - this one deals with the squadron of Polish air aces
Saturday, June 26, 2010
- 08:32 To hunt teh leaf, u must become like teh leaf #caturday tweetphoto.com/29208619 #
- 14:24 Sat on the grass listening to a gay choir in the park - smashing! #
Down in the Park
Another warm day, a bit overcast at times but with a nice breeze too. Lovely weather for an afternoon out in the park, so it's a good job that's what we'd planned to do.
We drove into Sheffield listening to AIOTM (aiotm!) and managed to find a parking space not far from Endcliffe park which is where Sheffield Pride was being held this year. We wandered round the stalls for a bit (including a stall selling some rather unusual leather items) and then settled down to listen to a gay choir called Out Aloud who were rather good and then to Kelly Pepper a very enthusiastic disco diva, who struggled a bit to get the crowd going. I also bought a rather fetching rainbow wrist band as a souvenir.
The heat got the better of us so we wandered off in search of some shade, and just generally enjoying the relaxed and happy atmosphere. This is the sort of event that would give both the Catholics and Muslims a conniption fit, which just goes to show how little humanity they have in their pitifully shallow belief systems. I know where I feel at home, thank you very much.
On the way back to the car we spotted that the Traditional Heritage Museum was open, so we popped in for a quick nosy. It really does deserve the description of "Sheffield's Secret Museum" and it is a veritable treasure trove of items from the last hundred or so years of Sheffield history arranged in little shop fronts and recreations of parlors and kitchens.
A real treat was in the upstairs section where one of the volunteer curators got Jan to try out a harmonium and then because we'd shown an interest in it, he demonstrated a genuine working gramophone from the 1930s. It was surprisingly loud, with a rich and resonant sound from the wooden cabinet and the crackling as the needle landed on the 78 was particularly evocative. Marvelous!
We drove into Sheffield listening to AIOTM (aiotm!) and managed to find a parking space not far from Endcliffe park which is where Sheffield Pride was being held this year. We wandered round the stalls for a bit (including a stall selling some rather unusual leather items) and then settled down to listen to a gay choir called Out Aloud who were rather good and then to Kelly Pepper a very enthusiastic disco diva, who struggled a bit to get the crowd going. I also bought a rather fetching rainbow wrist band as a souvenir.
The heat got the better of us so we wandered off in search of some shade, and just generally enjoying the relaxed and happy atmosphere. This is the sort of event that would give both the Catholics and Muslims a conniption fit, which just goes to show how little humanity they have in their pitifully shallow belief systems. I know where I feel at home, thank you very much.
On the way back to the car we spotted that the Traditional Heritage Museum was open, so we popped in for a quick nosy. It really does deserve the description of "Sheffield's Secret Museum" and it is a veritable treasure trove of items from the last hundred or so years of Sheffield history arranged in little shop fronts and recreations of parlors and kitchens.
 |
| From various |
A real treat was in the upstairs section where one of the volunteer curators got Jan to try out a harmonium and then because we'd shown an interest in it, he demonstrated a genuine working gramophone from the 1930s. It was surprisingly loud, with a rich and resonant sound from the wooden cabinet and the crackling as the needle landed on the 78 was particularly evocative. Marvelous!
 |
| From various |
Friday, June 25, 2010
Back of the Moon
Well, the warm weather seems to have faded to a sultry gloom outside at the moment. It feels like a shower is brewing, and hopefully it will pass overnight and let the sun back out for tomorrow. We are hoping to mosey on down to Sheffield Pride tomorrow afternoon if it is nice, but we shall see.
Today has been a reasonably productive work-at-home day, with most of the things ticked off of my to-do list by half-past five. I've just mowed the lawn and done a bit of ironing, so it is now time to catch up on my games of Carcassonne and Words with Friends. Two of the games that I am playing at the moment seem to be going for monster scores and I've just racked up 113 with 'TEAPOTS' on a triple word score. Which is nice.
In religion news, I note that the Vatican is 'indignant' about police raids on their offices in Belgium looking for evidence of child abuse by church officials. Whatever happened to them pledging to co-operate fully with the police? Apparently they are concerned about the confidentiality of victims? Oh, really? Well, I think my response can be summed up thusly.
In other religion news, apparently Pakistan are going to monitoring Google in case there is anything on the internet that might be offensive to Muslims. What they intend to do about it is left as an exercise for the reader, but they have already blocked Youtube and Facebook, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg facing a threat of a possible death penalty. Now, causing offense is the *last* thing that I want to do, but there's a word for a man who marries a six year old girl and I'll leave that as another exercise for the reader.
Anyhoo, it's Friday night which means WINE and PIZZA and BIG BROTHER and, joy of joys, a new series of the IT Crowd. Huzzah!
Today has been a reasonably productive work-at-home day, with most of the things ticked off of my to-do list by half-past five. I've just mowed the lawn and done a bit of ironing, so it is now time to catch up on my games of Carcassonne and Words with Friends. Two of the games that I am playing at the moment seem to be going for monster scores and I've just racked up 113 with 'TEAPOTS' on a triple word score. Which is nice.
In religion news, I note that the Vatican is 'indignant' about police raids on their offices in Belgium looking for evidence of child abuse by church officials. Whatever happened to them pledging to co-operate fully with the police? Apparently they are concerned about the confidentiality of victims? Oh, really? Well, I think my response can be summed up thusly.
In other religion news, apparently Pakistan are going to monitoring Google in case there is anything on the internet that might be offensive to Muslims. What they intend to do about it is left as an exercise for the reader, but they have already blocked Youtube and Facebook, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg facing a threat of a possible death penalty. Now, causing offense is the *last* thing that I want to do, but there's a word for a man who marries a six year old girl and I'll leave that as another exercise for the reader.
Anyhoo, it's Friday night which means WINE and PIZZA and BIG BROTHER and, joy of joys, a new series of the IT Crowd. Huzzah!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Ant Music
Hot and muggy last night, with very disturbed sleep not helped by an extremely low flying aircraft of some sort in the wee small hours that sounded as if it was about to crash.
My mood wasn't improved when I came downstairs this morning to see a trail of ants leading from the garage door, along the hallway, into the kitchen and ending up somewhere in the vicinity of the dishwasher. Yuck. I reached for the insecticide and re-enacted my own version of Antpocalypse Now before brushing the pesky little buggers up into the dustpan. Unlike Colonel Kilgore, I do not love the smell of bug spray in the morning, and neither do the cats who were not impressed.
I had a minor panic-ette at work this morning when it looked like some parts of the tax calculation in our payrun process weren't working properly. The error was only showing up in SQL-server so I spent most of the morning comparing SQL specific code against the Oracle classes to see if I could spot what had changed. Nothing jumped out, but I eventually twigged that the problem was actually in the database I was using with the tax band table being set up incorrectly. Doh.
Last night saw me reaching the end of the main storyline in Red Dead Redemption. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone else, but I found the final section to be brilliant, audacious, unexpected (and yet not so for anyone with a grounding in classic Westerns), and rather moving. It is an ending unlike any of the other games in the GTA series, being both a satisfactory conclusion as well as leaving the world open for further sandbox play. Red Dead Redemption now stands quite easily as mah favourite game of all time. If you haven't played it, then you really should.
My mood wasn't improved when I came downstairs this morning to see a trail of ants leading from the garage door, along the hallway, into the kitchen and ending up somewhere in the vicinity of the dishwasher. Yuck. I reached for the insecticide and re-enacted my own version of Antpocalypse Now before brushing the pesky little buggers up into the dustpan. Unlike Colonel Kilgore, I do not love the smell of bug spray in the morning, and neither do the cats who were not impressed.
I had a minor panic-ette at work this morning when it looked like some parts of the tax calculation in our payrun process weren't working properly. The error was only showing up in SQL-server so I spent most of the morning comparing SQL specific code against the Oracle classes to see if I could spot what had changed. Nothing jumped out, but I eventually twigged that the problem was actually in the database I was using with the tax band table being set up incorrectly. Doh.
Last night saw me reaching the end of the main storyline in Red Dead Redemption. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone else, but I found the final section to be brilliant, audacious, unexpected (and yet not so for anyone with a grounding in classic Westerns), and rather moving. It is an ending unlike any of the other games in the GTA series, being both a satisfactory conclusion as well as leaving the world open for further sandbox play. Red Dead Redemption now stands quite easily as mah favourite game of all time. If you haven't played it, then you really should.
- 12:48 Pasta salad for lunch with a hint of Pure Death chilli sauce - om nom nom #
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
- 18:51 My iPhone background twitpic.com/1z1q5v #
- 19:24 It's Haikusday again! bit.ly/cZszUQ #
- 13:08 #ebz These two gangs of futureless urchins have been waging their ritual war over the territory betwee... fallenlondon.com/c/127448 #
World in Motion
Another warm day, tending towards being overcast at the end of the afternoon. No matter, this is the sort of summer I like.
Two days with iOS4 and I'm quietly impressed. I'm not entirely sure what people were expecting, but to me it feels like an evolution rather than a revolution, which is no bad thing given how solid the previous release was. The introduction of folders to the home screen, as well as the long overdue background wallpaper, is probably the most noticeable difference to the way I use my phone now. I have four folders to organize my most used apps, with settings, phone, safari and ipod on the dock which means that I rarely need to leave the home screen. I'm particularly impressed with the iBook app, not so much for the functionality which is pretty much the same as Stanza (but with pdf support and nice pictures) as for the access to the book store.
I've managed to avoid most of the world cup so far, but it was on in the office this afternoon so I've actually watched some of a match - shock, horror. It was actually quite tense watching the clock tick down at the end, but there was a result at the end apparently. Congratulations to England for kicking more points than the other lot, I think.
At least the roads were eerily quiet on the way home, which was a pleasant bonus.
Two days with iOS4 and I'm quietly impressed. I'm not entirely sure what people were expecting, but to me it feels like an evolution rather than a revolution, which is no bad thing given how solid the previous release was. The introduction of folders to the home screen, as well as the long overdue background wallpaper, is probably the most noticeable difference to the way I use my phone now. I have four folders to organize my most used apps, with settings, phone, safari and ipod on the dock which means that I rarely need to leave the home screen. I'm particularly impressed with the iBook app, not so much for the functionality which is pretty much the same as Stanza (but with pdf support and nice pictures) as for the access to the book store.
I've managed to avoid most of the world cup so far, but it was on in the office this afternoon so I've actually watched some of a match - shock, horror. It was actually quite tense watching the clock tick down at the end, but there was a result at the end apparently. Congratulations to England for kicking more points than the other lot, I think.
At least the roads were eerily quiet on the way home, which was a pleasant bonus.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Haikusday
Sadly, the world is
A more normal place today
Big head, bigger heart
A hard life cut short
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Fuelled angry passion
The heat haze shimmers
Rising from sun baked concrete
Motorway mirage
New iPhone OS4
Background tasks, iBook app and
Much shiny goodness
Neighbourhood stalked by
Feline serial killer,
Ginger psychopath
The rich get richer
The poor are getting poorer
Same old, same old, George
Any racing game
Can be improved by adding
Isometric cows
A more normal place today
Big head, bigger heart
A hard life cut short
Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Fuelled angry passion
The heat haze shimmers
Rising from sun baked concrete
Motorway mirage
New iPhone OS4
Background tasks, iBook app and
Much shiny goodness
Neighbourhood stalked by
Feline serial killer,
Ginger psychopath
The rich get richer
The poor are getting poorer
Same old, same old, George
Any racing game
Can be improved by adding
Isometric cows
Monday, June 21, 2010
Three Shirts on me Line
So, the year turns ever onwards and the days start to get gradually shorter again. For once, I don't feel too sad to be passing this milestone - I know that I have my Lumie lights for the darkest part of the year and until then there is still plenty of summer warmth to look forward to.
Apple iOS 4.0 to look forward to tonight - it's currently downloading rather slowly, but that is probably to be expected with millions of nerds all hitting refresh at the same time (and I'm as guilty as the next nerd on that one). Fret fret.
I forgot to post about Doctor Who yesterday, but I have to say that it was an excellent first part of a season finale. This season Stephen Moffat has given us a mix of sci-fi, horror, history and a base under siege - the classic staples of Who story telling. The signs are looking positive that he will deliver the full set with a finale that is epic without being overblown. Roll on next Saturday teatime!
PS
Farewell Frank He will be missed, you know he will, he really will ...
Apple iOS 4.0 to look forward to tonight - it's currently downloading rather slowly, but that is probably to be expected with millions of nerds all hitting refresh at the same time (and I'm as guilty as the next nerd on that one). Fret fret.
I forgot to post about Doctor Who yesterday, but I have to say that it was an excellent first part of a season finale. This season Stephen Moffat has given us a mix of sci-fi, horror, history and a base under siege - the classic staples of Who story telling. The signs are looking positive that he will deliver the full set with a finale that is epic without being overblown. Roll on next Saturday teatime!
PS
Farewell Frank He will be missed, you know he will, he really will ...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
You've Got Red on You
Not a bad day, weather wise, and celebration wise with it being Jan's birthday and Father's Day for me. Cards and presents for Jan, including a glass cabinet from Ikea (see blog posts passim) and a bottle of 'Pure Death' chili sauce for me which will get a workout at the barbecue tonight. Unfortunately as we were putting the cabinet together Barney rolled on another dead thing, requiring his second bath in as many days. Yuck. We also found the putrefying corpse of a squirrel on the lawn, which I think must have been Barney's preferred thing to roll in yesterday, judging by the smell. Yuck again.
I played a bit more Red Dead this afternoon too, finishing up with a very satisfying cattle drive and shoot-out on the prairie. I now think that I have managed to re-enact all of my favourite bits from Lonesome Dove as well as The Wild Bunch, which I have a hankering to watch again. Yee hah!
I played a bit more Red Dead this afternoon too, finishing up with a very satisfying cattle drive and shoot-out on the prairie. I now think that I have managed to re-enact all of my favourite bits from Lonesome Dove as well as The Wild Bunch, which I have a hankering to watch again. Yee hah!
- 19:23 RT @crispysea: 'Pope mustn't be subjected to #vuvuzelas' - ht.ly/20AZV < I hadn't thought of that - let's all get one! #
- 20:37 Blimey! #doctorwho #
Sunday Links
- Tiny Veiled Chameleon Hatchlings at National Zoo Tiny = automatically cute on Zooborns
- Optical illusion compilation Some great optical illusions here
- Lego World Cup I might actually watch the matches if they are all presented like this ... :-)
- Charles, Prince of Piffle Christopher Hitchens tears Prince Charles into tiny pieces.
- Sunset Seen from the International Space Station Wow. Just wow.
- The Scale of the Universe These ones are very small and those ones are far away ...
- BP Oil Spill The board game!
- BP and the axis of evil More prescient archive material from Adam Curtis
- What krakens can teach us about peer review
- The Great Textbook War An audio documentary about fundamentalists attempting to hijack the school curriculum in West Virginia in 1974
- The Curfew: teaser vids In a similar vein to 'Bowstreet Runner' a forthcoming game that looks at issues of privacy and security in society. Definitely one to look out for.
- Five Reasons I Love Apple and Five Reasons I Hate Apple From Peter Serafinowicz
- I-Spot Annoying Fanboys I appear to be rather a lot of these ...
- Zerotracer Roll Out The closest thing to a real world Tron lightcycle
- The Brute Force Method Penny Arcade on Words With Friends. Tru dat!
- A piece of paper in the cloud An simple online notepad. Works well on iPhone too.
- Encrypt the Web with the HTTPS Everywhere A useful Firefox extension that encrypts your connection wherever possible
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Luz y Sombra
A warm summer evening, a breeze blowing through the trees, the stench of the dog who has just rolled on a dead bird ... Oh dear. Time to reach for the dog shampoo and hose the reluctant hound down. Lovely. Still, we've survived a trip to Ikea today and it's nearly time for Doctor Who, so life is sweet.
I'm midway through the Blackwater missions on Red Dead Redemption now, so I changed into my elegant card-sharp's suit and then immediately found myself scaling a frozen mountain and shooting grizzly bears in the face. Probably not the most suitable attire. In contrast to most GTA games I find myself now wanting to get the story missions over so I can concentrate on the hunting and survival wilderness challenges, which are the most enjoyable parts of the game for me. Earlier on, I took a train journey from the far west of the map, down into Mexico and then up into the Great Plains district and was happy to sit and watch the landscape unfurl for the twenty minutes or so that it took. Magnificent.
Cubed Rally Racer continues to impress as well - I love the chip tune music and the instant restarts of races, which make it perfect for 'one more go' sessions that actually turn out to be '$hilariouslylargemadeupnumber goes'. For one brief heady moment, I was actually number 11 in the world on the Pasture track leaderboard, which is a fun game mode where the accelerator pedal is stuck and you just have to survive zooming down a track full of isometric cows for as long as possible.
I'm midway through the Blackwater missions on Red Dead Redemption now, so I changed into my elegant card-sharp's suit and then immediately found myself scaling a frozen mountain and shooting grizzly bears in the face. Probably not the most suitable attire. In contrast to most GTA games I find myself now wanting to get the story missions over so I can concentrate on the hunting and survival wilderness challenges, which are the most enjoyable parts of the game for me. Earlier on, I took a train journey from the far west of the map, down into Mexico and then up into the Great Plains district and was happy to sit and watch the landscape unfurl for the twenty minutes or so that it took. Magnificent.
Cubed Rally Racer continues to impress as well - I love the chip tune music and the instant restarts of races, which make it perfect for 'one more go' sessions that actually turn out to be '$hilariouslylargemadeupnumber goes'. For one brief heady moment, I was actually number 11 in the world on the Pasture track leaderboard, which is a fun game mode where the accelerator pedal is stuck and you just have to survive zooming down a track full of isometric cows for as long as possible.
- 18:51 Cubed Rally Racer twitpic.com/1xv6e5 #
- 20:33 I is tearing up the tracks in Cubed Rally Racer for iPhone and iPod Touch! bit.ly/968ykm #
- 11:44 Yes, I knows you is tryin to use ur laptop but I is tumfy nao #caturday twitpic.com/1y333h #
- 11:47 I is tearing up the tracks in Cubed Rally Racer for iPhone and iPod Touch! bit.ly/968ykm #
- 12:25 On a train from Point Benedict to Blackwater via Mexico while the sun rises - sure beats the Metro in Liberty City ... #
Friday, June 18, 2010
Blood Makes Noise
A slightly chilly start to the day, more than made up for by a lovely sunny finish which I have just made the most of by walking the dog and having a potter in the garden.
Mind you, such domestication is not without its risks. I've just scraped a chunk out of my finger lifting the lawn mower out of the shed to cut the grass, and I have an impressively gory collection of scratches on my other arm too. It looks as if I've been self harming, but actually it was Doris who jumped onto my lap last night and then immediately started sharpening her claws on my arm before I could lift her off. Youch!
Inspired by my post about the 3DS yesterday, I fired up my DSi for the first time in a couple of months and realised that not only did I have some DS points on my account, there was actually a game I wanted to download called Tales in a Box. The game uses the camera to simulate a 3D perspective as you move the DSi around - the effect is easier to demonstrate than describe, I think. It's surprisingly tricky to spot some of the hidden shapes and then line up the cursor and click on the screen, but it's not bad for a downloadable game.
In other downloadable game news, That Rev Chap has inspired yet another App Store purchase, namely Cubed Rally Racer - an old-school mini-racer game with a wonderfully cute, isometric graphic style. It's very much a game for brief bursts of 'just one more' go style play, with a ferocious learning curve that really does pay off quite quickly when you get the hang of it.
Mind you, such domestication is not without its risks. I've just scraped a chunk out of my finger lifting the lawn mower out of the shed to cut the grass, and I have an impressively gory collection of scratches on my other arm too. It looks as if I've been self harming, but actually it was Doris who jumped onto my lap last night and then immediately started sharpening her claws on my arm before I could lift her off. Youch!
Inspired by my post about the 3DS yesterday, I fired up my DSi for the first time in a couple of months and realised that not only did I have some DS points on my account, there was actually a game I wanted to download called Tales in a Box. The game uses the camera to simulate a 3D perspective as you move the DSi around - the effect is easier to demonstrate than describe, I think. It's surprisingly tricky to spot some of the hidden shapes and then line up the cursor and click on the screen, but it's not bad for a downloadable game.
In other downloadable game news, That Rev Chap has inspired yet another App Store purchase, namely Cubed Rally Racer - an old-school mini-racer game with a wonderfully cute, isometric graphic style. It's very much a game for brief bursts of 'just one more' go style play, with a ferocious learning curve that really does pay off quite quickly when you get the hang of it.
- 12:44 #ebz This is where the trading steamer fleets come in from the lands across the Unterzee, the sunless ... fallenlondon.com/c/121163 #
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Static Age
As alluded to yesterday, I went out this morning a little before one o'clock to pick up Jan and Jamie from the station. I didn't feel too bad today, but I think that it is catching up with me now and I feel like I'm threatening a cold as well. Groan.
I've been following the trailers and announcements coming out of E3 over the last couple of days, and it's plain that Nintendo really does still have the magic touch. I am thoroughly intrigued by the 3DS - a handheld with the processing power of the Wii that has a 3D screen? Colour me impressed, although I think that I want to see one in action before buying to see if the 3D works for my eyes. If I do get one next year, then Animal Crossing 3D looks like a must buy ...
In OU news, I got the score back for my last M150 TMA with 99%, just dropping 1 mark where I'd made a mistake in copying down the results of a bubble sort algorithm. I think that I can be pretty pleased with my overall course score being in the high 90s all the way through. I'm itching to start something else now though ...
I've been following the trailers and announcements coming out of E3 over the last couple of days, and it's plain that Nintendo really does still have the magic touch. I am thoroughly intrigued by the 3DS - a handheld with the processing power of the Wii that has a 3D screen? Colour me impressed, although I think that I want to see one in action before buying to see if the 3D works for my eyes. If I do get one next year, then Animal Crossing 3D looks like a must buy ...
In OU news, I got the score back for my last M150 TMA with 99%, just dropping 1 mark where I'd made a mistake in copying down the results of a bubble sort algorithm. I think that I can be pretty pleased with my overall course score being in the high 90s all the way through. I'm itching to start something else now though ...
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Agave
Bit of an odd day today. Jan and Jamie are off in Manchester, so I've got the house to myself this evening to potter around, watch telly and play some games.
Talking of games, Lufferov, Chewbury and myself linked up for a three player game of Carcassonne this afternoon and jolly enjoyable it was too. The tactics turn out to be very different from 1 vs 1 - it is worth being altruistic and sharing points by completing jointly owned roads and cities, depending on who is leading the time. Fields become even trickier to keep track of though. Good fun.
Right, now I'm going to take advantage of the glorious late evening sunshine and take the dog out.
Talking of games, Lufferov, Chewbury and myself linked up for a three player game of Carcassonne this afternoon and jolly enjoyable it was too. The tactics turn out to be very different from 1 vs 1 - it is worth being altruistic and sharing points by completing jointly owned roads and cities, depending on who is leading the time. Fields become even trickier to keep track of though. Good fun.
Right, now I'm going to take advantage of the glorious late evening sunshine and take the dog out.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Haikusday
Aliens and psychics
Explained by quirks of the mind
The truth is in here
Skeptics on the move
Next month in the Showroom bar
For fun with dowsing
Single man, alone
Sets his affairs in order
Fade to monochrome
Prepare to enter
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Science sans frontiers
Optimistic Yanks
Will claim a draw as a win
Whilst Brits see defeat
Cities, fields and roads
Form the battleground for a
Game of Carcassonne
A land in turmoil
A bloody revolution
Time to hit the trail
Explained by quirks of the mind
The truth is in here
Skeptics on the move
Next month in the Showroom bar
For fun with dowsing
Single man, alone
Sets his affairs in order
Fade to monochrome
Prepare to enter
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Science sans frontiers
Optimistic Yanks
Will claim a draw as a win
Whilst Brits see defeat
Cities, fields and roads
Form the battleground for a
Game of Carcassonne
A land in turmoil
A bloody revolution
Time to hit the trail
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sentinel
Fascinating talk from Professor Chris French at Skeptics in the Pub tonight on the psychology of anomalous experiences, with lots of digressions into things like false memory, paradolia and sleep paralysis. I would say more, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather and tired, so that will have to do for tonight.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Jumping Someone Else's Train
After a reasonably bright start this morning, the drizzle set in and turned into heavy rain just as I was taking the dog out for his afternoon walkie. Still, at least I can exclusively report that the guttering seems to working properly now, so my efforts yesterday were not in vain.
Another excellent episode of Doctor Who last night, I thought. A good mix of the Doctor trying to live an ordinary life without being conspicuous and the sinister goings on upstairs, with the twist at the end being that Craig proves to be the best of humanity by being happy to be an ordinary, stay at home, pizza-booze-telly sort of bloke.
After watching that, we sat out in the garden with a barbecue listening out for the cheers coming from the various England fans up the street. After one early cheer, it all went quiet which sort of says it all really, so we just cranked up the honky tonk genius mix on my iPhone which was very acceptable listening as the sun went down.
Today has mainly been a Red Dead sort of day, and I have been happily raiding supply convoys, stealing troop trains and generally fomenting trouble south of the border. ¡Viva la revolución! ¡Viva México!
Another excellent episode of Doctor Who last night, I thought. A good mix of the Doctor trying to live an ordinary life without being conspicuous and the sinister goings on upstairs, with the twist at the end being that Craig proves to be the best of humanity by being happy to be an ordinary, stay at home, pizza-booze-telly sort of bloke.
After watching that, we sat out in the garden with a barbecue listening out for the cheers coming from the various England fans up the street. After one early cheer, it all went quiet which sort of says it all really, so we just cranked up the honky tonk genius mix on my iPhone which was very acceptable listening as the sun went down.
Today has mainly been a Red Dead sort of day, and I have been happily raiding supply convoys, stealing troop trains and generally fomenting trouble south of the border. ¡Viva la revolución! ¡Viva México!
Sunday Links
- The ten cutest zooborn kittens EVAR!
- Junk DNA A beginners guide
- the Movie title stills collection Evocative typography
- Moon Zoo map the moon from the comfort of your pc
- James Randi Magician and Scientific Skeptic
- Octocam Live multi-tentacled action
- My computer says no Cory Doctorow interviewed in New Scientist
- Invent with Python A beginners guide to programming with Python - aimed at youngsters but an excellent way to start for anyone who has fancied having a go
- Lethal Bling A Mexican drug lord's collection of gold plated guns, exotic pets and artworks.
- River deep, mountain high See the difference between the tallest mountain to the deepest ocean trench
- Ringworld An interactive flash animation of Larry Niven's Ringworld
- PAC-Match Party Superb match 3 browser game on a Pacman theme. (H/T ThatRevChap!)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Blood on the Rooftops
A somewhat disturbed night last night - I woke up at around half past three feeling hot and shivery and spent an hour playing Carcassonne on my iphone before I nodded off to sleep again until half past eight. Surprisingly I didn't feel too bad at that point, so after walking the dog I set to the task that I have been meaning to do for the last six months - to whit cleaning the gutters.
The gutters have been clogged by leaves since last Autumn and I have been feeling guilty about it every time it rains and the water overflows the edges rather than going down the drainpipe. There was even a plant growing out of the top gutter at the front of the house. Bad middle class house owner, I know. We played junk tetris in the garage and got the ladders out and I shimmied up and onto the sloping roof at the front. It was a bit hairy but I managed to unclog the down pipes and clear out a surprisingly large amount of verdant green moss that had been growing up there. The back of the house wasn't quite so bad as I had cleared that last year, but it still needed unclogging.
At least the job is done now, and I promise not to leave it so long next time.
After a well earned coffee and a nap, it was back to Nuevo Pariso to do a bit more hunting and one or two jobs for the Mexican Army that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I'm a veteran of doing despicable things in GTA games, but rarely have I felt so morally conflicted as when I was burning down a rebel village this afternoon. Nico Bellic would have done it without blinking, and Luis probably would have whistled up a helicopter gunship to do the job, but John Marston is cut from a very different cloth. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, but he don't gotta like it.
As well as being superbly written, if you need an example of just how gorgeous the game is then go and watch this short film directed by John Hillcoat. There are some spoilers for some missions early in the game, but if you don't already have it on your shopping list then it should whet your appetite. Even if you have no interest in videogames, it is worth a watch as an example of the state of the art, so at least you will be able to appreciate what I keep rambling on about.
The gutters have been clogged by leaves since last Autumn and I have been feeling guilty about it every time it rains and the water overflows the edges rather than going down the drainpipe. There was even a plant growing out of the top gutter at the front of the house. Bad middle class house owner, I know. We played junk tetris in the garage and got the ladders out and I shimmied up and onto the sloping roof at the front. It was a bit hairy but I managed to unclog the down pipes and clear out a surprisingly large amount of verdant green moss that had been growing up there. The back of the house wasn't quite so bad as I had cleared that last year, but it still needed unclogging.
At least the job is done now, and I promise not to leave it so long next time.
After a well earned coffee and a nap, it was back to Nuevo Pariso to do a bit more hunting and one or two jobs for the Mexican Army that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I'm a veteran of doing despicable things in GTA games, but rarely have I felt so morally conflicted as when I was burning down a rebel village this afternoon. Nico Bellic would have done it without blinking, and Luis probably would have whistled up a helicopter gunship to do the job, but John Marston is cut from a very different cloth. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, but he don't gotta like it.
As well as being superbly written, if you need an example of just how gorgeous the game is then go and watch this short film directed by John Hillcoat. There are some spoilers for some missions early in the game, but if you don't already have it on your shopping list then it should whet your appetite. Even if you have no interest in videogames, it is worth a watch as an example of the state of the art, so at least you will be able to appreciate what I keep rambling on about.
- 09:30 Any resemblance to Jabba teh Hutz is purely coincidental #caturday tweetphoto.com/26814644 #
- 11:58 just cleared an impressive amount of moss out of the guttering - knackered now! #
- 13:03 #ebz Certain of the Masters of the Bazaar - Mr Stones, Mr Apples and Mr Wines, and possibly others - s... fallenlondon.com/c/112636 #
- 13:04 #ebz Certain of the Masters of the Bazaar - Mr Stones, Mr Apples and Mr Wines, and possibly others - s... fallenlondon.com/c/112635 #
Friday, June 11, 2010
Pinball Wizard
A slightly unpromising start to the day weather wise, but the sun peeked out after lunch allowing to get two lots of washing plus the dog's blanket out on the line and dry by six o'clock, as well as cutting the grass. It looks set fair for the weekend too, so it could well be barbecue weather tomorrow.
In games news, I picked up Pinball Dreams as a freebie from the app store yesterday and it was a real rush of nostalgia. I remember playing this on a friend's Amiga back in the day, and then a couple of years later on my first PC. I've also got an excellent port of it on GBA, which is pretty much a permanent inhabitant in my GBA-SP along with Mr Driller 2. It is as good as I remembered, with the added ability to tilt the table by shaking the iphone at the appropriate time. I'm tempted to get Pinball Fantasies as well, to get Stones and Bones which is probably mah favourite video game pinball table.
It's a real shame that pubs don't feature real pinball tables any more - there's something very evocative about the electro-mechanical sounds and effects, and that peculiar sharp crack when a ball skips off of the surface of the table and hits the glass. I know that they were a nightmare to maintain, and took up a lot of space, but they have a magic that video games can only hint at.
Anyhoo, it's Friday night which means Big Brother, beer and a spot of Red Dead Redemption on xbox. The weekend starts ... here!
In games news, I picked up Pinball Dreams as a freebie from the app store yesterday and it was a real rush of nostalgia. I remember playing this on a friend's Amiga back in the day, and then a couple of years later on my first PC. I've also got an excellent port of it on GBA, which is pretty much a permanent inhabitant in my GBA-SP along with Mr Driller 2. It is as good as I remembered, with the added ability to tilt the table by shaking the iphone at the appropriate time. I'm tempted to get Pinball Fantasies as well, to get Stones and Bones which is probably mah favourite video game pinball table.
It's a real shame that pubs don't feature real pinball tables any more - there's something very evocative about the electro-mechanical sounds and effects, and that peculiar sharp crack when a ball skips off of the surface of the table and hits the glass. I know that they were a nightmare to maintain, and took up a lot of space, but they have a magic that video games can only hint at.
Anyhoo, it's Friday night which means Big Brother, beer and a spot of Red Dead Redemption on xbox. The weekend starts ... here!
- 12:32 #ebz There are many ladies of negotiable virtue in Fallen London, but Sinning Jenny is certainly the m... fallenlondon.com/c/110996 #
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Podcast Thursday
- Thoroughly Modern Mary - As repellent as I find the behaviour of their priests, the iconography of the Catholic church is a bizarre, mawkish, contradictory and fascinating thing, particularly in the subject of Mary. There are only a handful of sentences in the bible concerning Mary, and yet a whole complex mythology has been spun out of them including the doctrine of the immaculate conception, Mary's role as intercessor and the conflicting images of the sinless young virgin with blonde hair and blue eyes (rather unlikely in first century Palestine!) and the mother, goddess figure as well. This is the first episode of a short series examining these beliefs and well worth a listen, if only for the notable achievement of featuring interviews from Anne Widdicombe and Richard Dawkins in the same 15 minute programme.
- As It Occurs to ... Tiny Andrew Collings ??!??! Anyone would think that Richard Herring was making this up as he goes along, or something ...
- Guardian Tech Weekly - Fascinating interview with Conrad Wolfram this week, with Tom Watson MP championing the cause of making government databases available for public use and scrutiny.
- So Wrong It's Right - One of the better Radio 4 panel shows at the moment, always enjoyable when Charlie Brooker gets to argue with the guests about something that gets his goat.
- Coverville : Who did it better? - Two takes on 'Love Vigilantes' by New Order, and I have to confess that this is the first time that I have actually listened to the words of this rather excellent song.
Random Harvest
Another rainy day, which makes for a slow commute in. At least it gives me a chance to make a dent in my current podcast backlog, so it is not all bad.
I had an odd call, followed by email, from a recruitment consultant yesterday - the first in a couple of years. He asked if I was fed up with the commute to Leeds, but then sent me details of a job in Worksop which is actually more awkward to get to and not much closer. It was also for a firm of 'Global Security Consultants' which sounds faintly sinister, like something that the baddies out of the Bourne films would put in their fake passports. Hmmmm. Don't think I'll be following this one up, unless I really do get to be a international spy of some sort.
I've not been playing much Animal Crossing lately, due to a combination of Pacific Northwest horror and Wild West flavoured exploration. Oddly enough, my main activities in Red Dead Redemption seem to be collecting flowers, looking for rare creatures and digging up treasures which is almost exactly what I spend my time doing in Animal Crossing. Anyhoo, thanks to the magic of teh internets I co-ordinated a visit to my town from Mexico Will (who really does live in Mexico) and paid him a quick return call to swap fruit and deliver a letter. Great fun, and I shall make a point of opening my town gates more often if anybody else wants to play (Nancy? Stephanie?). Add Satsuma in Pogwood with a friend code of 3910-7665-5168 - just don't be surprised if your town residents pick up some unusual catchphrases.
In Big Brother news, I really enjoyed the Big Brother launch last night, so much so that I barely tweeted about it whilst it was on. I've not got my head around the names yet, but the disabled squaddie looks like a strong contender to make it to the end. The average age of the housemates is higher than before, and it seems that none of them are playing the "I'm amusingly thick, me!" card this year, which is a relief. The only one who really irritates me so far on first impressions is the funky monk and I think he's a safe bet for an early eviction. Good stuff.
I had an odd call, followed by email, from a recruitment consultant yesterday - the first in a couple of years. He asked if I was fed up with the commute to Leeds, but then sent me details of a job in Worksop which is actually more awkward to get to and not much closer. It was also for a firm of 'Global Security Consultants' which sounds faintly sinister, like something that the baddies out of the Bourne films would put in their fake passports. Hmmmm. Don't think I'll be following this one up, unless I really do get to be a international spy of some sort.
I've not been playing much Animal Crossing lately, due to a combination of Pacific Northwest horror and Wild West flavoured exploration. Oddly enough, my main activities in Red Dead Redemption seem to be collecting flowers, looking for rare creatures and digging up treasures which is almost exactly what I spend my time doing in Animal Crossing. Anyhoo, thanks to the magic of teh internets I co-ordinated a visit to my town from Mexico Will (who really does live in Mexico) and paid him a quick return call to swap fruit and deliver a letter. Great fun, and I shall make a point of opening my town gates more often if anybody else wants to play (Nancy? Stephanie?). Add Satsuma in Pogwood with a friend code of 3910-7665-5168 - just don't be surprised if your town residents pick up some unusual catchphrases.
In Big Brother news, I really enjoyed the Big Brother launch last night, so much so that I barely tweeted about it whilst it was on. I've not got my head around the names yet, but the disabled squaddie looks like a strong contender to make it to the end. The average age of the housemates is higher than before, and it seems that none of them are playing the "I'm amusingly thick, me!" card this year, which is a relief. The only one who really irritates me so far on first impressions is the funky monk and I think he's a safe bet for an early eviction. Good stuff.
- 20:59 Just been to visit @willkay in Animal Crossing - I now have oranges! #
- 22:07 Sunshine must be kept in the #bb11 house forever or the NHS is doomed ... #
- 22:39 Squee! @EmmaK67 is on BBBM! #
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Watching You
Chilly and damp today, and cold in the office too with the air conditioning still pumping out an icy blast regardless. Brrr.
I played a bit of Alan Wake last night and it struck me just how much of a contrast to RDR it is. Where RDR has a huge open world and the freedom to go anywhere, Alan Wake is tightly focused and linear. This is not to say it is not a compelling experience, just a very different one. If RDR is a sprawling Sergio Leone western then Alan Wake is a David Lynch nightmare told in episodic chunks, full of paranoia and weirdness. I was on the run from the police last night, dodging helicopter searchlights and picking my way through the woods again, eking out a very limited supply of flash-bang grenades and torch batteries. Very scary beans.
In telly news, Big Brother is back for its final series tonight. I'm looking forward to it, although I don't tend to start really following it closely until the numbers have been thinned out a bit after a couple of evictions - that's the point when the housemates start to forget that they really are being watched all of the time and their true characters start to emerge. It really is part of the rhythm of the summer, and no matter what the snobs and detractors may say, it will be missed when it is over. I'm pleased that the live streaming is back as well - following what was happening via the webcams was one of the aspects that attracted me to the early series, back when 56K dial up was state of the art.
Anyhoo, live streaming plus twitter equals a perfect storm in my books, so BRING IT ON!
I played a bit of Alan Wake last night and it struck me just how much of a contrast to RDR it is. Where RDR has a huge open world and the freedom to go anywhere, Alan Wake is tightly focused and linear. This is not to say it is not a compelling experience, just a very different one. If RDR is a sprawling Sergio Leone western then Alan Wake is a David Lynch nightmare told in episodic chunks, full of paranoia and weirdness. I was on the run from the police last night, dodging helicopter searchlights and picking my way through the woods again, eking out a very limited supply of flash-bang grenades and torch batteries. Very scary beans.
In telly news, Big Brother is back for its final series tonight. I'm looking forward to it, although I don't tend to start really following it closely until the numbers have been thinned out a bit after a couple of evictions - that's the point when the housemates start to forget that they really are being watched all of the time and their true characters start to emerge. It really is part of the rhythm of the summer, and no matter what the snobs and detractors may say, it will be missed when it is over. I'm pleased that the live streaming is back as well - following what was happening via the webcams was one of the aspects that attracted me to the early series, back when 56K dial up was state of the art.
Anyhoo, live streaming plus twitter equals a perfect storm in my books, so BRING IT ON!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Haikusday
England flags hang limp
Sodden with the summer rain
Portents of defeat
Young men duel above
Flanders in fragile machines
Of canvas and wood
Bruise slowly fading
As the memory returns
Of a night time fall
New York flattened by
Squamous horror from the deep
Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp
Stainless steel and glass
HD retina display
Object of desire
South of the border
A storm rages in the night
So far away from home
Sodden with the summer rain
Portents of defeat
Young men duel above
Flanders in fragile machines
Of canvas and wood
Bruise slowly fading
As the memory returns
Of a night time fall
New York flattened by
Squamous horror from the deep
Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp
Stainless steel and glass
HD retina display
Object of desire
South of the border
A storm rages in the night
So far away from home
Monday, June 07, 2010
Walking and Falling
Is there anything quite so depressing as a Monday morning after a week off? The sky was grey, the air muggy and my inbox was creaking somewhat, but a reviving cup of coffee soon got me moving again. It was pretty quiet in the office too, with the consultancy team on a training day and my boss off on his holiday.
Last night's Lovefilm offering was 'Nowhere Boy' - a biopic of the life of the teenaged John Lennon as he struggled with his relationship with his absent mother and the aunt who had looked after him since he was a baby. It's a compelling little slice of history, particularly in the period details of Lennon's efforts to get a skiffle band going with his school mates and his first meeting with a very young Paul McCartney. As you might expect, the soundtrack was pretty good too with music from the time and an instrumental score by Goldfrapp. I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but I enjoyed this, even if Lennon himself came across as something of an egotistical twat at times.
In games news, I'm thoroughly enjoying Carcassonne and finding new tactics to play with. There is a certain amount of luck in the order that the tiles are uncovered, but as with all good games you can maximise your chances of getting something favourable by creating opportunities to place different combinations. Playing spoiler tiles to block off your opponents cities and cloisters is useful too, although I'm still not sure of the best approach to take with controlling fields. If there are lots of small cities that haven't been surrounded by roads then fields are a good bet, but you need to take an early gamble by sacrificing a meeple to claim territory without necessarily knowing how the map will develop. Also, I've only played two player games so far and I suspect that tactics with three or more will be very different.
Still, if anyone has the game and fancies a match then just send an invite to the usual email.
In being a twat news, I've had a nagging pain just under ribs all day. I'd just about convinced myself it was some sort of fatal death syndrome, probably involving the word 'thoracic', when Jan asked me if I could have done anything to bruise myself. After a moments reflection I remembered tripping over the corner of the bed in the dark last night and coming a cropper. Doh. How did I forget that?
Last night's Lovefilm offering was 'Nowhere Boy' - a biopic of the life of the teenaged John Lennon as he struggled with his relationship with his absent mother and the aunt who had looked after him since he was a baby. It's a compelling little slice of history, particularly in the period details of Lennon's efforts to get a skiffle band going with his school mates and his first meeting with a very young Paul McCartney. As you might expect, the soundtrack was pretty good too with music from the time and an instrumental score by Goldfrapp. I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but I enjoyed this, even if Lennon himself came across as something of an egotistical twat at times.
In games news, I'm thoroughly enjoying Carcassonne and finding new tactics to play with. There is a certain amount of luck in the order that the tiles are uncovered, but as with all good games you can maximise your chances of getting something favourable by creating opportunities to place different combinations. Playing spoiler tiles to block off your opponents cities and cloisters is useful too, although I'm still not sure of the best approach to take with controlling fields. If there are lots of small cities that haven't been surrounded by roads then fields are a good bet, but you need to take an early gamble by sacrificing a meeple to claim territory without necessarily knowing how the map will develop. Also, I've only played two player games so far and I suspect that tactics with three or more will be very different.
Still, if anyone has the game and fancies a match then just send an invite to the usual email.
In being a twat news, I've had a nagging pain just under ribs all day. I'd just about convinced myself it was some sort of fatal death syndrome, probably involving the word 'thoracic', when Jan asked me if I could have done anything to bruise myself. After a moments reflection I remembered tripping over the corner of the bed in the dark last night and coming a cropper. Doh. How did I forget that?
Solar by Ian McEwan
Solar by Ian McEwanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Professor Michael Beard is a thoroughly unpleasant fellow.
Short, fat, balding and a serial philanderer, he is approaching the end of his fifth marriage with mixed feelings. His one achievement in life was a startlingly brilliant insight into quantum theory (the Beard-Einstein Conflation) that earned him a Nobel prize, but his subsequent career has ended up being little more than a series of plodding administrative jobs and dull sinecures where he is only employed so that his name and qualification can be quoted on the letter heads. By accident rather than design he finds himself in nominal charge of an institute investigating climate change and alternative sources of energy. Can he actually make a difference, and does he even want to when the young scientists doing the actual work all seem to have pony-tails and an air of evangelical fervour about them?
This book charts Beard's career as he stumbles across a theory that builds on his own discovery and promises a cheap, clean and potentially limitless source of energy, and contrasts it with his own venality and personal shortcomings in his various relationships. It is very funny in places, particularly on a 'fact finding' mission to the Arctic that descends into farce when the various idealists and dreamers can't even manage to organise their cold weather gear in the boot room of their accommodation, never mind save the planet. In other places, the book takes some very dark turns, not least in Beard's self-justification of some of his reprehensible behaviour.
It is an entertaining read, particularly in the light of the recent 'Climategate' non-scandal, where researchers pondered how best to present their findings to a woefully ignorant public. If scientists are not moral paragons, that doesn't necessarily detract from the value of their work. To paraphrase Isaac Newton, everybody is standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before, and thus we make progress in our understanding of the universe.
View all my reviews >>
Sunday, June 06, 2010
- 20:49 I'm not ashamed to say that Doctor Who made me cry tonight - a simply beautiful piece of telly #
- 12:26 #ebz The Bazaar stole London three decades ago. Of course only anarchists and revolutionaries say fallenlondon.com/c/102910 #
Muertos Rojos
Another excellent episode of Doctor Who last night - visually stunning in the various references to the paintings of Van Gogh and moving in its examination of depressive madness expressed through art. I had initially thought that the invisible monster was the weak link in this story, but on second thoughts I think it is a theme of this season emerging.
I think that Stephen Moffat is examining the best and worst of humanity. The 'monsters' are simply trying to live their lives and survive their contact with humankind - the whale being exploited by the citizens of Starship UK, the stranded vampires of Venice trying to reproduce on a hostile planet, the Silurians who have prior claim to Earth. Even the Daleks could not have succeeded in their scheme without the collusion of Churchill being willing to use any weapon to win the war, regardless of the risk. The Doctor is constantly being forced to question his love of humanity as they continually let him down, demonstrating their short-sightedness, greed and brutality. It takes an encounter with the flawed genius of Vincent Van Gogh to show that humans are indeed capable of great things.
Not bad for a kids show, I think.
In games news, I am now south of the border in Red Dead Redemption with a whole new set of challenges to face. After a shootout on a raft drifting down the river, I went exploring for a while and found myself caught in a storm at night with lightning casting shadows across the desert landscape while the thunder gave the surround sound speakers a good workout. I was also pleased to have unlocked a Clint Eastwood style poncho which is highly appropriate for duking it out with the various banditos and revolucionarios.
I think that Stephen Moffat is examining the best and worst of humanity. The 'monsters' are simply trying to live their lives and survive their contact with humankind - the whale being exploited by the citizens of Starship UK, the stranded vampires of Venice trying to reproduce on a hostile planet, the Silurians who have prior claim to Earth. Even the Daleks could not have succeeded in their scheme without the collusion of Churchill being willing to use any weapon to win the war, regardless of the risk. The Doctor is constantly being forced to question his love of humanity as they continually let him down, demonstrating their short-sightedness, greed and brutality. It takes an encounter with the flawed genius of Vincent Van Gogh to show that humans are indeed capable of great things.
Not bad for a kids show, I think.
In games news, I am now south of the border in Red Dead Redemption with a whole new set of challenges to face. After a shootout on a raft drifting down the river, I went exploring for a while and found myself caught in a storm at night with lightning casting shadows across the desert landscape while the thunder gave the surround sound speakers a good workout. I was also pleased to have unlocked a Clint Eastwood style poncho which is highly appropriate for duking it out with the various banditos and revolucionarios.
Sunday Links
- Meet Sequoia the Little Sea Lion Pup ZooBorns
- Secret Skin Musings on the nature of Superhero costumes from the New Yorker
- Running on Empty LA without cars
- Nomen Ludi One persons quest to track down a game that nobody remembers
- The IBM Muppet Show A rare, early appearance by the muppets in an IBM training/promotional video
- 21 Miles Off The Coast of Palestine Another gem rediscovered by Adam Curtis and very relevant to the current situation in Gaza
- Jökulsárlón Fantastic live Icelandic webcams
- Supercomputers Vs Mobile Phones
- Brian Cox: Why we need the explorers
- Living in denial Why sensible people reject the truth - New Scientist
- Fuck you BP
- Oh, and fuck you Pope Ratzi too. You can excommunicate a nun who saves a woman's life but you give this monster a pension and a comfortable retirement?
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Across the Alley from the Alamo
Another warm day, ending up being muggy and overcast. I'm about ready for the hot weather to break with a good bit of rain now, please and thank you. As if by magic, just as I typed those words the heavens have opened and a soft rain is now pattering on the patio. Perfect.
It's a good job we had our barbecue last night, even though Jamie managed to invite three of his friends without letting us know in advance. We had just enough sausages and burgers to feed them all in the end, and they were polite company as the dusk fell.
In games news, I played quite a few of the story missions in RDR this afternoon and a fine selection they were too, including a memorable ride in a mine cart taking potshots at the bad guys as I rattled along the track. I also did a spot of hunting down by the Rio Bravo and managed to get my favourite hoss eaten by a cougar, and not the Courtney Cox kind either.
It's a good job we had our barbecue last night, even though Jamie managed to invite three of his friends without letting us know in advance. We had just enough sausages and burgers to feed them all in the end, and they were polite company as the dusk fell.
In games news, I played quite a few of the story missions in RDR this afternoon and a fine selection they were too, including a memorable ride in a mine cart taking potshots at the bad guys as I rattled along the track. I also did a spot of hunting down by the Rio Bravo and managed to get my favourite hoss eaten by a cougar, and not the Courtney Cox kind either.
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