The man who planted trees

For Cat's 30th I got tickets for a few plays from York theatre royal's Takeover 09.On Tuesday we saw the first of the plays, The Man Who Planted Trees.

At first I was a little apprehensive, I knew this was a family play (hell it involved puppets), but the crowd was decidedly... young.

I shouldn't have been worried! The play was utterly beautiful, a wonderful little ecological tale performed brilliantly by the actors/puppeteers involved. They had a fantastic combination of a lovely tale and plenty of silly comedy to keep even the attention of even the shortest of attention spans (I'm talking about the kids', not mine).

Young or old, I definately think you should go see this, especially if you can take some young kids with you. :D

Balloon pictures

Photo of one of the first balloons to go up.

Unfortunately ours didn't go up quite so gracefully. the woman in front of us on our side of the basket really struggled to get over the edge of the basket and took ages to climb in. I'd only just climbed in when the pilot shouted for everyone to sit down and grab the handles and it tipped over! It then righted itself briefly, before tipping over again. Felt a little squashed with two people on top of me! At this point poor Cat had had to get clear and was worried it was going to take off without her! Luckily the pilot got in control and everyone else got in, and the balloon behaved itself after that!

Fantastic view of York including the minster

We saw quite a lot we recognised. We flew east from York, and spotted York's maize maze which was fun as we'd only just visited that a month or two ago. Could confirm that yup, it really is shaped like an astronaut. Schools are especially fun to spot as you get to see all the patterns in the playground. Oh and there was a football pitch at one point with lots of tiny dots chasing a tinier one :D

More of the view

The most stunning thing about flying in a balloon is the absolute silence (other than the roar of the burners every couple of minutes or so). It really is peaceful.

All the fields looked like a fantastic patchwork :D

Our less than graceful landing :)

The landing was fun, didn't realise they came in at quite as high a horizontal speed as they do! slid along the stubble field we landed in for quite a while before gently tipping over :D

Definitely recommend taking a balloon flight! It's a fantastic experience.

Ballooning adventure :)

Had an ace trip on a balloon this afternoon / evening!

Will fill in the blanks tomorrow, as am a bit tired this evening, but for now I will just say: scary take off, blissful journey, comical landing, tasty champagne :)

Okay I give up.

From now on I'm not even going to try working out which way t-shirts and things go on, it always ends up in failure and the time spent deciding is a waste.

From now on they're going straight on and I'lll swivel it round if necessary!

(image from http://store.xkcd.com/reddit/#Jawsbackwardstshirt)

Dusting off the CCGs

CCGs (Collectible Card Games) are something that I sunk a whole lot of time and money into at various points in the past.

• From 1995->1998 it was Vampire : The Eternal Struggle
• In 2001 it was Lord of the Rings and a bit of Harry Potter for something a bit lighter :)
  

They are horrible horrible evil things. I cannot stress this enough. Do not get involved with them! The amount of money you put into them is absolutely insane for the amount you play them. Don't even buy a starter deck. That's like a crack dealer giving you your first hit free.

Seriously, it's like if someone tried to sell you a car, but in order to get the most out of it you had to buy individually boxed extra parts, but you can only buy parts in identical looking sealed boxes containing a random part, and the best part can only be found in a few random garages in the UK... You'd just tell them to bugger off in that case, but for some reason in the shape of a CCG the concept is somehow really appealing.

Despite all this I found myself getting them out of the cupboard. At first the Vampire cards as there's talk of a few of the guys from Garforth Tabletop Gaming getting together for a game or two. Then I thought it would be fun to get the Potter cards out for a couple of games with Cat. They originally got put away around 2002/2003 when Cat developed an unbeatable Hermione deck and I got in a strop ;) . Luckily with my new gaming experience I managed to put together a better deck, and we're currently at 1 game each this time (plus I'm a much better loser now :D).

But still, I stand by my original opinion. I'm never buying another card again. These things are pure evil and should never be bought. There's so many great games out there that will cost you far less than getting into these things, there's really no justification for them! For those that really do love building decks try Dominion instead.

Back to work

Got some contract work this week, and I have to say I'm enjoying it. I think the break from work was really beneficial, as I'm feeling a new enthusiasm for the stuff that I was previously feeling fed-up and frustred with.

Been a little too efficient and have almost finished the project I was brought on to do in around half the estimated time, but luckily they've decided that it's worth keeping me on for the rest of the week to help out with some other projects. :)

I'm also hopefully going to be in again next week for another project, so that should help with my funds. I can probably consider going to Essen this year now... very tempting!

Miracle berries? More like curiosity berries....

This week we finally got round to having cat's Miracle berry tablets. They're the ones that affect your taste buds for about an hour, making sour & bitter things taste sweet instead.

We tried a range of different things:

• Lemon & Lime - I loved these, tasted nice and sweet to me, but they were still a bit sharp flavoured for some of us.
• Goats Cheese -tasted a lot lighter and creamier
• Guinness - didn't taste like chocolate milkshake like advertised, but definitely took on a sweet almost milky taste. Very nice :)
• Banana bread beer - win win win! So tasty, the sweet banana flavour really took over and made for a lovely drink.
• Salt & Vinegar crisps - tasty good, not sure how to describe the flavour, kinda like a sweet peppery sort of flavour I think.
• Pickled onions - I love pickled onions anyways, but the tablets really brought out the sweetness and gave them a very moreish quality.
  

Overall it was fun, but hardly mind blowing. I think whoever named them miracle fruits needs to get out and see the world a little more :D

Brought kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

I finally upgraded my phone.

I'm not talking my usual upgrade, i.e. whatever's free if I stay on my small-usage, off-peak, same network contract. I'm talking proper UPGRADE.

This was mainly driven by the fact that I'm supposed to be a techie web developer by trade, and it was getting a bit silly that I had never used mobile Internet, let alone developed for it! Luckily there wasn't as many choices as their might have been, as many of my friends were singing the praises of the new Google Android powered phones. That pretty much narrowed it down to 3 choices, and I eventually opted for the HTC Magic.

It's absolutely blown me away. I can't believe how far mobile technology has come. I'm now constantly connected and am finding it so convenient. How did I manage before? Will definitely have to try and make a web app that's designed for a mobile device as a learning experience.

Only niggle I have is it doesn't seem to like my home wi-fi network. When I have it connected to the Internet by wi-fi it can be very very slow. Any tips Android users? Before anyone says anything yes this problem was the same BEFORE I managed to drop it in my rum & coke. Amazingly the thing seems to have been totally unaffected by that experience (I don't recommend anyone repeating this with theirs though). Sturdy little bugger.

WHUPS - got distracted

Oh dear, very late with this post.

Got really into a new PHP project I'm using to get back up to speed. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and before I knew it it was 10pm. Have a quick game on the xbox and then went to sleep, completely forgetting that I have a daily blogging challenge.

Ah well I've not done badly to keep going as long as I did, and I won't give up just cos I missed one!

If you're interested the PHP project is just a simple card game that you can play against the computer, I'm hoping it'll include all the different technologies I want to make sure I remember how to use with PHP. Stuff like XML, Databases, File streaming etc.

Once I get it in a usable state I'm sure you'll see more details about it here :)

Why do we enjoy messing with our heads?

Today I have finished Uzumaki, watched Dead Man's shoes, and nearly finished reading Grotesque. All three with very dark themes making for an uncomfortable read / watch.

I'm certainly not a very dark and gloomy sort of person overall, I'm just as likely to watch Spongebob Squarepants or read a manga involving a kung-fu fighting panda as I am to watch a horror movie, but sometimes I just get in the mood to get all dark.

Why do we enjoy this sort of things? What is it in us that makes us seek out these kind of experiences?

weekend of fun -> so so tired

Not writing much today after a monster weekend gaming (and drinking) marathon has left me exhausted!

Spent this evening brain dead in front of the TV. Luckily had the fun and easy-going Kung fu Panda to watch, and followed it with the awesomely retro and over the top Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain.

Might just watch an episode of Ghost in the Shell before crashing for the night.

Oh My God

Friends over this weekend.

This is the spotify playlist (in reverse order) of what they've subjected me to so far.

Someone please help me!

Are JRPGs really worth playing?

I love JRPGs. Well at least I think I do.

Secret of Mana planted the seed (for anyone that's actually played it the pun was unintended), and FF7 really fanned the flames (mixed metaphors ahoy!).

12 years later and I'm trying to get back into Persona 3 on the PS2 again (clocked 60 hours on it so far, probably about 5.6 through so another 10 or 15 hours left I reckon) and I'm finding myself asking myself if it's worth my time... Persona 3 is a well-executed critically acclaimed, innovative example of a JRPG. So why am I thinking of packing it in?

It's all about pay-off for hours put in. It has a great plot, but only about the quantity you'd find in an average anime series, probably less... so if I want plot I'd be better off watching something. How about the game play? Well fun at first, with lots of new mechanics I'm not used to... but at the 60 hour mark I really am not going to see anything new. Perhaps this could have been said at about the 10 hour mark too...

I've lost that compulsive need to uncover every secret, max out all the characters skills, see every line of dialogue that I used to have when I was younger and I didn't have that many games to play. Now I don't need and perhaps don't want a game that lasts 20 hours +. My best kicks seem to come from short and sweet little indie games (see a lot of my previous blog posts), action blockbuster type games (e.g. gears of war & halo), and casual stuff (I'm beginning to think I'm Popcap's bitch now).

Maybe it's an age thing.

I do like to be beside the seaside

I live in a tourist city and this probably has contributed largely to my hatred of being seen as a tourist. Usually I actively avoid doing touristy things and don't even really know what attractions are in the area.

This isn't very helpful when I have family or friends visiting and they want to know where to go for the day. My usual answers are "the pub", "town", "Leeds", "cinema". However this week my dad's been visiting, and we'd already exhausted my normal suggestions. Luckily Cat has had a lot of foresight and had gathered up a lot of attraction leaflets, and we started by spending a great afternoon at the Yorkshire Air Museum a couple of days ago.

Today my dad wanted to go to Scarborough, having never been before. I was feeling a bit more open to the whole touristy thing but was still a little apprehensive as I thought it might be a little bit of a disappointment as the front is surprising small so there might not be much to do and it can be a pain in the ass to get to by car.

I needn't have worried. Had an easy journey in and by taking advantage of Scarborough's great park & ride service we avoided the usual problem of trying to find a parking space. As for there not being much to do, we just had a really good time slowly meandering up the sea front and taking in the atmosphere. It's amazing that despite the constant progression of technology and the tendency for corporations to take over everything independant and replacing it with identikits stores, a lot of Scarborough still feels very old-fashioned.

We saw old fairground equipment, donkey rides, deckchairs for hire, hideous traditional seafood (anyone for jellied eels or whelks?), people flying kites, and the classic bucket and spade for sale. We also partook in Fish & Chips and a Mr. Whippy 99 ice-cream. It was ace and a real nostalgic trip :)

Must go again soon. :D

Mmmm curry

I love curry and cooking curries, but just can't keep all the ingredients you need to cook them
so I usually have to rely on those sauce in jars.

Sometimes they just don't cut it, so then I use Rafi's spicebox. You choose the curry you want and they measure out all the fresh ingredients for you, customised for the amount of spiciness you like, and put it in an airtight heat sealed bag for you to take home.

All that's required is then for you to cook it up with the meat and vegetables of your choice, add in some creamed coconut and/or tomatoes, and preferably leave it overnight to let all the flavours come out (not compulsory).

The closest thing I've ever had to restaurant/takeaway curry. If you're even in York, pop down Goodramgate and grab a curry or order online!

Lies, damn lies, and information on PC hardware boxes

I don't really understand how PC hardware manufacturers get away with writing the rubbish they do on the boxes.

Apparently, according to the box on my new wireless ADSL router, wireless G is only good for Web surfing or email.

If I want to download an MP3, I need wireless G+.

If I want to do online gaming I need wireless G+ MIMO.

Streaming video? My goodness I'll need N1 MIMO.

According to this I shouldn't have bought the router. Completely inaccurate sales spiel on a box that tries to dissuade me from buying it? Why and how do they get away with these lies?

Going to the doctors rarely achieves anything for me

It often takes a lot to get me to go to the doctors. It's not that I'm scared of going to the doctors, or don't like doctors. It just very rarely produces any results for me. Usually I'll go in with something like a weird black mark that didn't use to be there, an ache, maybe problems with stomach pain or general lethargy, and I'll get a big 'ol MEH from the doc.

Today I went to the doctors for a muscle pain in my chest (resulting from buzzcocks gig moshpit) that if anything has been feeling worse rather than better. I've also got a long-running problem with feeling bloated and burping too much. Was told bumps to the chest area often take a while to settle down so it's probably nothing to worry about that it's feeling worse rather than better, oh and try eating slower and see if that sorts out the stomach thing. Not particularly convincing...

When I talk to the doctor I always feel that I get run through the "is it going to kill you" checklist. As soon as the doctor rules out symptoms that might be something dangerous you can see them instantly lose interest. Still eating? Not bleeding anywhere weird? Probably fine then, carry on, see if it changes.

At first this annoyed me and I felt like they weren't giving me proper attention or even being neglectful. Then I came to the realisation... they're tech support. They're tech support for my body and like most tech support and support programmers they don't have time for the small niggly stuff you can work around. They just want to make sure they have the time to debug the bigger problems.

When I came to this way of thinking I kinda had a bit more sympathy for them.... So I'll wait until these low priority bugs persist long enough for the priority to be increased ;)

Doing nothing is underrated

Today I achieved absolutely nothing. Nothing new there you'll all be thinking, but usually I'll get done a couple of jobs I've been planning to do, or enjoy something I've planned to read or watch, or get on the Xbox with something I've been meaning to play.

Today I just didn't really do anything. I listened to what happened to be on the radio. I ate whatever I happened to have in the house. I read whatever articles happened to be in my news reader, but I didn't really do anything in a planned way and it was so damn relaxing.

Not everyone can do that. Some people when they aren't achieving something "worthwhile" start to panic and start planning the next grand ideas. Must build something. Must rewire something. Must bake something. As soon as it gets to a point where nothings left in the task queue they panic. These are also generally speaking the same people that are always complaining about how they're so busy all the time and don't have time to enjoy themselves. *sigh*

I think it comes down to one of two things.

1. People being scared. If they're not constantly doing these projects, they might start to think about things. Might start to think about what they're doing in life, and how they're not entirely happy about it. Rather than confronting these difficult questions they constantly distract themselves from them, needing an insurmountable list of things to do to avoid leaving a gap.

2. Guilt. Some people have it drilled into them if they're not doing something "worthwhile" then they're sinning or at the very least being selfish and decadent. I find this idea rubbish because in the grand scheme of things we're going to all be dust at the end of our lives. Most actions are just as worthwhile as others. Obvious exceptions being noble things like charity work and stuff, but spending time re-organising your books / doing all but the most fundamental of housework is just as worthwhile in the long run as sitting on the toilet doing sudoku. Even if there is a god, I find it hard to believe he's petty enough to care whether you spent that weekend in July building a new section of your garden or watching the clouds go by.

Take a moment. Relax. Realise that doing nothing is fine. It's very liberating. :)

Passage - proof for me that games can be art

Passage is a 5 minute long game (if that) that produced more emotional response from me than 95% of the media I've read, watched, played or listened to.

Firstly go here, download the game, and play it. You might need to press B a few times to reduce (increase?) the resolution of it as today's monitors blow it up a bit too big and make it a little blocky to see whats going on.

After playing it, if you didn't really get it, try playing it again.

Then and only then read what I thought:

This is an incredible piece of art that takes a theme and explores it in a way that wouldn't be possible in any other media. At first it's confusing as the graphical style just looks a mess and you can't tell what's going on. Then you notice it. You see the way the character's position has moved relative to the passage. You notice how the the compression of the pixels has subtly shifted.

Seriously, if you haven't played it yet, play it before you carry on reading this.

At first you start near the left of the screen at the beginning of your journey. Ahead of you is everything you will experience, compressed together in a tight pattern. Gradually as you move through the passage, you encounter these things & events. You might meet someone that will accompany you through this passageway. As time goes by your position on the screen has moved further right, and the things you have encountered have become compressed in a tight pattern behind you.

The passageway represents life. This is you travelling through life. Behind you are your memories, ahead of you is your future.

Eventually you notice the characters starting to age, soon you notice that there are more past events behind you than there are future ones in front of you. That's when I started feeling a little apprehension but there was nothing to do but carry on. Older and older, less and less to encounter ahead. The girl I was travelling through the passage way changes into a gravestone. My character can do nothing but carry on down the passageway, now travelling in a much slower way until he does the same.

I cried. I started crying again when I wrote this. I think I need a drink.

A wedding in Italy

So a wedding in Ravello Italy eh? Certainly a bit different!

First thing, I hope none of you ever have to wear a suit in that kind of weather. Not pleasant in the slightest. A very good job the wedding organiser insisted the service couldn't be any earlier than 5 p.m. otherwise I might have actually melted.

The service was well... religious, so not really got much to say about it. Did get a holy water shower during the unexpected "Memory of baptism" part of the ceremony. Oh and I accidentally gave Cat a fit of the giggles by saying "Mmmmm Pie Jesu" during that particular Hymn. Luckily Cat had already done her reading (and very well) so I wasn't killed on the spot.

Very nice drinks afterwards. Actually come to think of it very nice drinks was a theme of the whole day, so it's no wonder I had an amazing time ;). Fantastic 6-course wedding breakfast and some wonderful heartfelt speeches that gave me a great warm fuzzy feeling or maybe that was caused by more of the very nice drinks... A highlight of the breakfast for me was an unexpected power cut which caused a break in the music to be quickly filled by some incredible and impromptu classical singing from the brother of the bride and one of the bride's friends from uni.

So all that was left was the traditional disco part of the wedding, could this be where it goes wrong? Not in the slightest! A very sweet first dance, followed by the Baywatch theme tune (the groom being a fan of the Hof being a well known in-joke). Add in an amazing air guitar performance to "Sweet child of mine" and it was a sure thing the rest of the evening was going to be legendary.