Random work-i-ness related stuff

So once again seem to be slacking, but this time it's my geekery taking over again! I've been epically html coding (with a little help from Dreamweaver) to try to revamp the internal website that my crew uses. Once again I've been tasked/self-tasked with kicking the old website into the new era of VLE's & 10 times the number of product.

To do this, I have slimmed it down, cut away/prune all the crud which was never used & streamline all the data.So rather than having 5 pages for one series of products, just make one! Rather than having a page for every single product done by the company, create links to the online FAQ's.

What I have effectively done is to create a portal with links to other websites, patches etc. but written in such a way as to be as customer-focused as possible, but written for the support crew to use as a platform to find out info. So where somethings already been created, html links work better than simply duplicating pages/data.

I've also been slowly talking to imbalance of a company who officially support OSX but in reality nobody really has a clue...apart from a certain person who's been using OSX since he left the company over 4 years ago(!). I've done a compatibility matrix which is essentially just a drop-down product list which will tell you instantly what is & is not OSX compatible. Hard work, but definitely very useful.


The other tasks I've done have been to do a VLE upload document (which I found out today I need to change...thanks oh nameless provider!) demonstrating the most effective method for 3 big providers. It's a bit of a thankless task, but useful in the long run.

I know that I work best with project work, & much as I moan (especially when I 'break' the intranet!) I love projects really!

..........we continue

For youthworkers - possibly useful

Life without 'essential' tech?!

A very random contemplation (I think aided by the epic fail of a support site recently) what would life be like without Facebook usage? There are not over 300 million (300'000'000) users (apparently) with most people conducting their lives on social networking sites we expect - the phrase "it's not true if it's not on Facebook" has become more & more prevalent & to some extent true.

In fact when I got engaged to Maddie - we conducted a little social experiment - let's just change our 'relationship status' to engaged & see what happens. The results were both scary & hilarious - it took less that 5 minutes for the first phone call! All this with a very slight change in 2 profiles.

But it did get me thinking - what would happen if there was an epic national power outage? Or if the Internet (which was not initially envisioned for, or designed to do) simply stopped working?

The amount of business, communications, news, media, searches etc. that are done on a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day basis is epic...& growing daily! If that stopped it would be catastrophic fail worldwide.

The concept of the failing of those services is now almost too terrible to comprehend - it would almost be termed as science-fiction - a world without the internet! The same I would postulate would be true if there were no mobile phones - can anyone really remember a time before mobiles?

People born in the 90's almost certainly can't - when I was at school (a considerable time ago!) it was first pagers (ferociously expensive to use & now only used in hospitals & restaurants) then mobile phones properly kicked off when I was just finishing school in the mid-to-late-90's. I got my first when I was 18 & now struggle if I forget to bing my phone for any reason. The techology we now almost take for granted has come on leaps and bounds - you can call, sms, mms, email, take digital picture, web browse, listen to mp3's, and do a host of things with apps. There are multiple connection methods & they even take standard headphones, rather than original (i.e. terrible) sets supplied. the number of phones is always rising - there are always new models with new features - driving the technology forward & creating an easily disposable tool - all from an original concept by Marty Cooper.

I have no answers, just more questions - it's a 'what if' scenario - picture if you will, a world free from technology...


...We continue

Recent Slackness 2

OK a little more on the recent lack of Brianshare from the post from last week - with why I;m using my paper (huh? Oh wait I remember that!) journal, I'm basically writing down ideas as me & Maddie think about them, or other friends are giving helpful things to contemplate.

So although I'm not blogging - I'm being a super-keeno & have written down loads of ideas, mostly at a conceptual stage of the thinking process, with an overall aim of getting an overview idea for planning & more importantly getting a budget down.

So it's not only getting me brain on paper (as per last week's post)it's trying to get my brain going & stimulated to process things like what. who, when & where, then the little details like how much & who's gonna take care of what!

I know that the youthworker in me likes to organise things (sometimes) & plan (occasionally) but what I'm doing is getting effectively a proposal, so I've looked at things like:

• who I'd like to have as ushers & best man, 
• a provisional guest list, 
• what sorts of things could form a wedding list
• what sort of music would be good in & around the service
• what (provisional) budget/costs would be good
• honeymoon ideas
• stag 'do' ideas
• where to get married & live
• what to wears
• reception ideas

But I'm not trying to necessarily organise everything now - 2 years in advance - I know things change, but I thought it helpful to get some details down, so that we have a rough idea of how many people we're looking at inviting - do we want a reception & it so where & who might we invite. Also with numbers of ushers/bridesmaids, all this will help get a general feel as to what the rough costs might well be.

I know that I work best with a budget - so when planning for how to fill a youth centre with tech & having an almost open book that was hard to deal with, but when someone says here is X for this specific purpose, I then can begin to gauge what can be done to budget. So when someone says I want to get a new TV & my budget is £500, I can then come up with a couple of options to get the biggest/best for the money. Not because I'm a cheap-ass, but it's just that I need to have a rough idea of parameters to work within.

Right enough rambling for a mundane monday!

We continue....

Splinter Cell: Conviction Review

OK, I've managed to play through this over the past couple of weeks & have been introducing  some friends to it as well.

It's a tough & punishing game - if you run & gun you will not survive...literally! It's like playing on Veteran Mode (Call of duty Series) even on standard difficulty settings. So if you bash down a door & run into a room blasting at everything in sight - the enemy AI will get them hiding & ducking for cover, then proceed to light you up with heavy automatic weapons!

However, the key element is stealth.

I first started playing it with Sparks in co-op mode - a seriously challenging 4 levels which take in everything from infiltration, evasion & straight up rooms full of guards that you have to dispatch quickly & silently. It was a real team match & a proper challenge. In fact it was a welcome break from the intensity of CoD6:MW2!

There are some differences in the controls & there's a good cover system (a la Gears of War) which is very natural feeling. The weapons don't initially look very good, but they each have 3 potential upgrades which add things like extended mags, higher calibre or range bullets & in some cases scopes. There are also some cool gadgets - there's the standard frag & flash grenades, but also a sticky camera (which I've not really used that much yet) a very useful EMP grenade for knocking out the lights. However my personal favourite is the remote mine - it's like the C4 from CoD, but with much more range & immensely satisfying to use - it always make me chuckle!

The stealth elements are similar to another Ubisoft title - Assassin's Creed 2  - so you can climb on multiple surfaces (not all though a la AC2) like pillars pipes & rails, then rain down some 'Death from Above', or if you can sneak up to someone (crouched & from behind naturally) you can take them out swiftly & silently & it's immensely satisfying to do. You can also grab people who are foolish enough to peep out of windows near to where you are hanging from the ledge. If & when you do manage to do something special (not just shooting people in the face) the reward is a one-touch assassination - you hit the Y button & then your character will pop out of cover & do an impressive single shot kill.There are also some interrogations, which seem to have been influenced by Jack Bauer - gritty is all I'd say!

The main story seems to also be influenced by both 24 & CoD6: MW2, which is not detrimental at all. In fact there is a little bit of the Jason Bourne series as well. There's lots of variances on a theme (infiltration, extraction, etc.) but it's a very satisfying game to play & I would class it more in keeping with AC2, rather than the blammo action of CoD.

Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that Ubisoft are doing something unusual in the gaming world - giving you free 'stuff', just for playing the game well - there are achievements of course, but what the publishers have done is to release some DLC with free guns & equipment - every week there's something new to try. It doesn't feel lazy - quite the opposite - it feels like they're giving something extra - to try to keep you playing the game longer & that's definitely no bad thing.

Overall 4/5 only because the controls aren't completely intuitive but a solid 4, for sure!

Recent Slackness

OK I haven't really been a total writing slacker - just a Blogger slacker!

I've been keeping a Wedding journal - detailing our processes, but not just for me, but also as a written record for others in the future to read - that's how it's been written & therefore keeping my brain on paper. I've chaptered it & will (somehow) integrate the big to-do list when I can next get my hands on it!

Also coming up this weekend is my good friends' (Mark & Han V) daughter's first birthday - awwwww! Reflecting on this briefly - it's bizarre to spend some much time with such a tiny person - seeing her grow up. It's the first time I've spend so much time with a newborn (I seem to be seeing the whole family really regularly - thanks guys!) & this has definitely woke up my internal desire for parenthood - scary stuff!

We contine...

Try harder!

Splinter Cell: Conviction

I'm definitely a fan of the Splinter Cell series - which has been in direct competition with other stealth-approach games/series e.g. Metal Gear Solid, Hitman, etc. & loved the last game (Splinter Cell: Double Agent) so my expectations are reasonably high for this next game.

The press & previews that I saw for this game were good enough to make me buy the game on the release date (literally as soon as they put it on the shelves!) & I'm having my first run-through this weekend.

Review to follow

Wedding Prep Pt 2

Another day & another Wedding update...

So we've made some progress - we've got someone to help us plan our wedding, who has then helped create an epic 'to-do' list (seriously there's like 100 things to do!). however, thankfully I/we have been able to knock 1 or 2 things off the list!

We're getting close to setting the date (definitely 2012, & most likely early June, just after the half-term) and have pretty much decided on the venue (St John's Church in Woking). Madds is also having 'fun' tring to work out bridesmaids and a reception location (to be fair - she knows the area much, much better than I do!).

I've picked my Best Man easily enough and then narrowed down 3-4 ushers and setup a wedding fund account (scratch 3 things off the list). I've also started looking at honeymoons and begun the process of looking at what I'm going to wear. I think some serious planning will be necessary for the outfit(s) to match up with bridal/family expectations, as well as budget, design, colours etc.The honeymoon is slightly easier - I know what I want & roughly where in the world, now comes the saving-up part!

It's definitely a start, but we have  along way to go yet.

We continue...

Get on with it!

As an inspiration to blog more:

again from http://monoclepopsoff.com/  & http://palahniukandchocolate.tumblr.com/

Wedding Prep Pt 1 of..proably many!

OK, so the first few hurdles have been dealt with - I've bought a ring, I've asker her Father and now I have asked the woman I love to marry me - yay for me!

So now what?

Well now we have to set a date, start the planning process then make a lot of choices - where to have the wedding & reception, who do we invite, who are to the bridesmaids/groomsmen, what about the honeymoon, what are we going to wear, etc.

It's defnintely going to be a challenge to solve the big old puzzle that will hopefully also turn out to be one of the great joys of my life.

I'm already starting to make some single friends yawn when broaching the subject - I think this will continue, but what can I say - I'm interested in planning and making this day a very special one for me and my soon-to-be-wife!

So expect lots of updates on this, as we're initially looking for a June 2012 date - so plenty of time (although apparently not!)

We continue...

Llama's - always funy

via http://monoclepopsoff.com/

Procrastinating about procrastination

So below is a list of 12 things that I tend to end up doing rather than doing anything productive/work-related

1. Writing silly articles for this blog! 
2. Reading other blogs from my blogroll: Youthblog mostly
3. Reading BBC Entertainment pages & sometimes BBC Sport
4. Browsing The Cheezeburger Network: so much lol, so little time! Particular favourites: Failblog, Very Demotivational, There I Fixed It, Bob's Gaming Warehouse, Failbook, M thru F & Epic Win FTW.
5. Online social networking: Twitter & Facebook
6. Checking for updates & releases on X-Box Live & seeing about CoD6 MW2
7. Never-ending Movie Quiz (I own)& Bejewelled Blitz on Facebook
8. Fast & difficult quizes on Sporcle
9. 'Researching on Wiki & IMDB
10. Using Google Talk
11. Procrastinate by using google searches (I think I want to find geeky toys/release date for this game)
12. Create a map of friends & places using Google Earth

6 actually quite productive things I should probably be doing online....when I’m trying to avoid real work (lol):

1. Writing useful articles & getting my brain on paper...on this blog
2.  Researching about VLE's (see Project Work tab)
3. Researching & learning about Dreamweaver
4. Planning for my wedding (this will get more & more over the coming weeks & months I feel)
5. Learning about new technology/developments on BBC Tech
6. Learn new skills or applications

From an original idea from this Blog article

Random Monday rofl

Hilarious...



Original (yawn hence link only!)

A pressing engagement

Now this is not a post I thought I would have to write, however very exciting news blogfans - I'm engaged to be married to Miss Madeleine King!

So (in a very romanticalist way) we went for a picnic in Florence Park (Oxford - very close to where I grew up - near Iffley) complete with picnic basket fully loaded with picnic supplies (very similar to our first picnic), rug & a sneaky bottle of Laurent Perrier Brut Millesime 1999 champagne. I brought my rucksack which had the ring inside, as well as my sound dock for some outdoor choons.

It was a very happy occasion & I'm happy to formally announce (well to my blogfans) my engagement. We're both very happy & then comes the plan for the wedding, but not just yet - we will look to the future with glad hearts!

We continue...

Today

Ahhh April Fool's day - the celebration of silly things & also strangly the first day for paying rent - strange but true. To celebrate this strange day, take a look at some of the best april fools gags around. My personal favouties are the 'left-handed Whopper', 'Drink-driving whilst on the internet', 'Internet spring cleaning' & 'Flying Penguins'.

However the classic 'Rickroll' seesm to be missing. This was an internet meme where almost every seemingly useful link on the internet (including all the main videos on the front page of Youtube) was redirected to a video of Rick Astley's epic (i.e. fail) 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. This happened in 2008 where it was everywhere!

We'll see what today brings, but comedy always happens...rofl!

We continue....

End of 24

The end of an era is amongst us - the current season of 24 will be the last. My reaction was a very loud 'WHAT?!' It's a very sad day when great shows get cancelled/finish -the great like Firefly or The Wire, or to a certain extent The Bill!

From the Beeb entertainment article where they have announced today that this will be Jack Bauer's last outing - in his own words - the star of 24 Keifer Sutherland said:

"This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible." 

A longer rant/look back at the show will be following this later on this week (when I finally get teh interweebs up & running in my new house) but for now - so long Jack - we will miss you & I can't wait to see how this show finishes, but as you repeatedly say...dammit!

Muse-musing

Having recently watched the H.A.A.R.P. DVD by the mighty Muse for the first time in ages - it's the recording of their 2007 Wembley 'Black Holes & Revelations' tour concert (which I was lucky enough to see live!) & it showcases the quality of their performance.

Muse are a band that are very difficult to dislike - there is a mix of sound & when live their showmanship is quite something to behold. Watching their lead singer / guitarist / pianist (+ frontman / legend) Matt Bellamy is like watching one of the masters of guitar; Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Mark Knoffler, etc.or the more recent upstarts like; Slash, Kirk Hammet, John Fusciante or Jack White. The way this guy plays guitar is really something else - check out their video for Plug in Baby from the H.A.A.R.P. DVD & you'll see what I mean:



I strongly suggest checking these guys out if you haven't already - they've been round the world many times, released fantastic songs, have played festivals like Glastonbury, Reading/Leeds, V & even played to a sold-out Wembley (the pinacle for UK bands as far as I'm concerned) twice (so far)

....the mighty MUSE we salute you

Out of Control(lers)

OK there's been a lot of talk about the next big thing in gaming. The response from the gaming industry has been not (yet) been the development of new consoles, but instead look at new controller systems. So here's what's going on with the 3 big console companies:

Nintendo (Wii) were the first to release a motion controller. Thier first controller was the wireless Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device using optical technology (very similar to remote controls & has a big receiver bar placed on or in front of the TV) and detects movement in 3 dimensions.They also have a 'Nunchuk' which works along side it (again with 3D movement) creating in total a 6 axis control mechanism. Their new controller is the Wii MotionPlus & this is a method of sharpening up the movement detection - critically without the need to purchase a whole new set of controllers. This is different & arguably better, because it's a 'snap-on' addition, not a whole redesign. However, I'm not convinced of the Wii as a 'gamer's console', but as a family-based entertainment console - that is hard to argue against.

Sony (PlayStation 3) released a 6-axis controller with the PS3, but so far all the games released which are compatible (surprisingly few) have been more gimmicky than functional or natural (I'm thinking of you 'Lair'. The design is nothing new - it's a little new tech under the hood (sixaxis & bluetooth wireless) but the design is the same as the dualshock controller from the original PlayStation (circa 1997). What Sony decided to to was (arguably) use a 'similar' idea to the Wii's controller - called Move. Now to me, this looks just like a smaller Wii Remote in black rather than white. Time will have to tell on this one, but it appears that this is just Sony attempting to break into the 'family' area of the gaming market. Further reading on Xplay

Microsoft (Xbox 360) have once again done things a little different,ly. The Xbox 360 had redesigned controllers in either wired or (bluetooth)  wireless versions, in a variety of colours. The controllers are my preferred choice out of all the major consoles (biased but it's OK - it's only my opinion!) & I hoped that they would not go the same way as all their competitors & do something that looks suspiciously like a jumped-up TV remote! Well what they did is to create Project Natal which at first glance looks very odd, when you first see what it does it looks like a grown-up version of the Live Vision/Eye. The idea is that it's smart  version of motion capture - once you're 'captured' you can "control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller through a natural user interface using gestures, spoken commands, or presented objects and images" (thanks Wiki!). Again it's not out yet to consumers, but the industry insiders & testers (mostly from Lionhead Studios - the crew behind the award-winning Fable series) are saying good things. I'll wait to give a full account as to what this means for the 'average' gamer...

But here's my issue with the whole controller 'revolution' (especially Natal) - they all depend, to varying extents, the dexterity & mobility of the individual players. Therefore you could argue that if you have a lack of those dependants - you could well be scuppered with the new mostion controllers/sensors. I think this is a problem which keeps some consumers away from the Wii (mostly the more hardcore gamers) generally, but I think that it's a limiting factor & not one the industry is taking a great deal of notice of...we shall see.

...we continue

3D Cinema - does it make any difference

So I watched my third 3D movie on Saturday night (also the third with Maddie!) the rather brilliant Alice in Wonderland & it got my brain thinking about the whole 3D cinema (& forthcoming Sky TV) move in 2009/2010. It's not the first time that the film industry has tried 3D - I researched a bit & they existed even in the late 1800's - it's not a new idea. However in 2008 there was a small number of releases in 3D, then in 2009, there was a resurgence of 3D entering the mainstream - there were at least a dozen last year, of which I saw 2: Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs & Avatar.Now in 2010 they're everywhere! So below are my thoughts:

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - was my first foray into 'the world of 3D cinema' (yes I'm aware of the 'I wish everything was in 3D' gag - I keep spreading it after all!) & it was immediately apparent that there was something different about the presentation of the film - the screen seemed more alive than ever before.It was quite bizarre to see Manny's tusks & trunk (he's the Mammoth don't you know!) pop out of the screen - bizarre but good. Also because 3D is effectively messing with your perspectives & depth perception, it took a little while for my eyes to adjust. One thing that I thought was useful for this was one of the adverts (for Real D, the 3D glasses company) which had a dog with a ball which he chased round the screen - nice.

Avatar - simply stunning in 3D - there's lots of depth perception & it's a great movie...& so it should be, with a supposed budget of around $500m, I would expect excellence! It was subtle in the most part - fireflys & sparks/ash outside the main screen, pieces of scenery flying towards you - it was magical stuff. I'll wait till I get it on Blu Ray (end of April) & think on it again, but a definite winner in my book! You definitely get a sense of the fabric of the universe that Jim Cameron was trying to create. As with all films there are elements of plodding at points, but the general progression of the film was of the most epic of scales. You could tell it was in 3D but it was subtle enough but even from some of the earliest scenes (with the main protagonist coming out of cybersleep) show the huge depth & lengths that the director went to 3D pretty much everything. It's the highest grossing film of all time (so far)...I think I know why, but is it the 3D element or not - that's to be seen when the Blu Ray appears next month.

Alice in Wonderland - a very good film, but the 3D element was almost unnoticeable (apart from the traditional & necessary running through the trees clip). However, the film was (pardon the obvious pun) wonderful. I'm vaguely familiar with the source material (I must have seen Disney animate version at some point in my youth) & knew some of the characters. I also know that the author was based in Oxford. However, it was exciting to see a fresh take on everything & Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat was brilliant. All the characters seemed authentic & magical and it really did feel like a dream most of the time. Jonny Depp was his usual mad self (sorry!) as the Hatter & Helena Bonham-Carter was great as the selfish Red Queen. I think it's definitely worth watching, but I'm not sure that the 3D element was essential, as it's difficult to see where it was used. However, this might well be the beauty of the medium.

For further reading: this BBC article looks at the current trend of fast releases for home use (Blu Ray & DVD) - an interesting read.

And while the debate about DVD release windows goes on, a further element in the mix is the dawn of 3D television.3D sets are already on sale in the US, and manufacturers hope to launch their products in the UK and Europe over the next couple of months. Sky rolls out its 3D service to customers later this year."3D in the home is coming," says Mr Cooper, "but those TV sets are going to be a bit more expensive than the standard top of the range 2D HD TVs - and if people want to watch 3D films it is a question of buying into a 3D enabled Blu-ray player."

The debate continues...