The School Bell.

It's Wednesday 12th September and I'm on my way to pick up The Bear from school. He started school just last week and is very excited about his new school. He likes his school uniform and his school bag and books and p.e. kit. Today will be the second time that I have collected him from school. I have had to take half a day off from work to be able to pick him up. I took him to school for the first time last week on Thursday. For the first 2 weeks he is attending only half days in order for him to become accustomed to the new environment of actual schooling. At first I found this to be bizarre as I was of the opinion that if he is going to school then he should just go to school and get on with it from day one but my opinion quickly changed after the walk to school with him on that first day.

Yahtzee

Presented with a challenge by the Numberphiles, my son and I embark upon a long and arduous journey. With the odds stacked against us, preparations completed and precautionary measures in place, we bravely take the first step on this voyage into the unknown.
Now, I say "unknown" but what I actually mean is "known". The entire task was known, as were the odds. The only unknown quantity were the results of the exercise.

Read on after the jump to find out what I'm on about....

Scientific Progress Goes ......

Hiroshima Cenotaph

Today, Japan held a peace memorial marking the 67th anniversary of the worlds first atomic bomb attack. The Hiroshima bombing claimed the lives of more than 140,000 people and destroyed 70% of the city of Hiroshima itself.  The bomb, named Little Boy, was said at the time to be 2000 times more powerful than the largest bomb ever used before. It was the equivalent of 12-15,000 tons of TNT and devastated an area of 5 square miles. The "Atomic Age/Era" was well under way.
The first nuclear device had already been tested on July 16th 1945 by the U.S. Army in the Jornada Del Muerto desert. The test of the 20 kiloton nuclear device was considered a success and less than a month later the only 2 atomic bombs ever to be used in actual warfare had been used. This was indeed a new age for science and technology. 67 year's later there is not a single element of life as we know it that is not affected by that event. Political and environmental, social and financial, biological and technological: all of these things are influenced across the globe by the single, massive event 67 year's ago today. The world was struck so hard that the reverberations are still being felt. The 67 year anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing is marked by a somewhat different technological advancement.

Friday Favourites #3

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful, a miracle, it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily, joyfully, playfully, watching me.
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible, logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable, clinical, intellectual, cynical.

Untitled Fiction. Prologue.

I sat staring at the back of Scorpio's head as he lay on the bed facing away from me. He had been missing for almost a year now and seemed to have returned only to deliver some strange cryptic message. He lay motionless on his right side, naked but covered by a thin white sheet. The sunlight spilling though the window in the mid afternoon cast a silhouette of his body through the sheet. I noticed beads of perspiration on the back of his neck and his breathing was deep and heavy. He was not sleeping. He had just finished speaking the last words he was ever to say to me. He had not moved from the position he was laying in since I discovered him there only a few minutes earlier.

Starhawk. An awesome match.

I have been playing a lot of Starhawk since it launched 11/05/12. Every opportunity I have had to play it, I have been playing it. Starbuck may have felt a little neglected but the Starhawk release is a special occasion for me so I'm sure she understands. X.
The single player campaign did not take long to get through and it did have some standout moments that made it somewhat
spectacular in places but the multiplayer
game is where it's really at.

Disposable Monday #2

Another Monday morning and I find myself waking up alive regardless of how hard I wished last night. Dragging myself out of bed to face the world on a Monday again does not get any easier. The Monday morning blues is almost tangible, as if it were a thick fog that I can't see past. The normal morning routine seems so much harder and putting on shoes to leave the house is almost enough to cause actual physical pain. Once they are on, I pause for a moment to allow opportunity for actual lightning to strike or perhaps a meteor. Neither happens so I grab my keys and go. The walk to the bus stop feels like wading through waist deep water all the way. Maybe I need one of those great motivational quotes to turn my frown upside down.

Starhawk.

I had a dream last night. It was about Starhawk. The game is released in the UK today and my preorder is due to be delivered. My excitement is almost tangible at this point. Starhawk was released in the US 08/05/12, EU 09/05/12 and AUS 10/05/12. It does jack me off a bit that the UK has to wait until today to get hands on the game. I have been spending far too much time these past few days watching YouTube videos of Starhawk gameplay from the beta. I have been looking forward to this game for such a long time now, it is a testament to the games staying power that none of my anticipation has waned at all. Even after seeing so much footage of the game already and spending so much time playing the beta. There is so much more to discover from Starhawk on release day.

Do You Have A Soul Mate?

Starbuck and I visited the cinema on the evening of the 23/04/2012. Starbuck had tickets for an exclusive advance preview of Cafe De Flore. Cafe De Flore is an incredible film from director Jean-Marc Vallee. It is a French film subtitled in English. Cafe De Flore is a love story about people seperated by time and place but connected in profound and mysterious ways. The film chronicles the parallel fates of a fiercely devoted single mother with her young son in 1960's Paris and a successful DJ in modern day Montreal, balancing the demands of his career, his new relationship, his daughters and his ex. An elegant, emotionally truthful drama unfolds, exploring forces we seldom acknowledge and rarely understand. Cafe De Flore is truly delightful, thought provoking and sincere but this is not a review.

Friday Favorites #2

Sony's PlayStation division has always had a rather inventive approach to advertising their product. I have always been highly entertained by the adverts they create, even if they are completely bizarre as many often were. Just take a look at the PlayStation 3 "This is Living" campaign. With the recent lauch of the new PlayStation Vita Sony had some more marketing to do. The new campaign for the PSVita, "The World is in Play"does not disappoint me at all. It got me thinking about Sony's past campaigns and the adverts that captured my interest and imagination.

Disposable Monday. #1

As with most things, pleasant or unpleasant, they have a beginning, a middle and an end. Typically, Monday is not only the beginning of something unpleasant but also the end of something pleasant. The start of the working week is a weekly event that is universally despised by the majority of the clock punching public. But it's got to start somewhere I guess and we all love to hate it. A Monday moan is a weekly tradition as much as Sunday lunch is. If only Monday was as disposable as the rest of modern life has become.

Gaming is an expensive hobby.

One of many PS4 concept images.

As a large part of the gaming community is desperately clamoring for more information about the next iterations of PlayStation or Xbox, picking at morsels of information that may lend a clue as to the direction the industry is going to take next. With the information/rumours revealed I find myself somewhat concerned and disinterested at the same time. It's an unusual state of affairs given that gaming is a hobby that I am passionate about. I invest as much time as reasonably possible into gaming, I spend my hard earned cash on games and consoles where possible and if I'm not playing videogames I'm probably wishing that I was.

Friday Favorites #1

It kind of goes without saying already that videogames are among my favorite things in the world. As well as my family of course. My wife and son, so before my wife does read this and ask me "Why am I not there listed in your favorites?", mockingly in jest of course but it's no less of an awkward moment having to explain that actually yes, they are my my favorite thing. It's just that  this is not about them.
So what is it about? It's about favorite things of mine. Perhaps it will be my favorite brand of tea to drink (it's Lipton) or my favorite place in the world (that would be the place I consider home, which is not where I currently live). I intend to post a favorite something of mine here every Friday. Friday seemed appropriate because it's a pretty cool day of the week and only a day away from my actual favorite day of the week, Saturday. Also, the word Friday starts with the letter F just like favorite does. I already stated that videogames are among my favorite things and that is what I will begin with.

Tell the princess.....

In a moment of despair and hopelessness I wrote this poem. As ridiculous and nonsensical as it may appear, it does have some amount of meaning.

Excerpts #1.

So here I am. It is Sunday 14th September 2008. My Wife and Son are in Poland making plans for our wedding this coming weekend. I am sitting in the living room of our one bedroom flat in England wondering how much longer I can put off emptying the bin in the kitchen which is looming ominously close to coming crashing down. There is a level of skill required to maintain the delicate balance of an overflowing pile of rubbish of this magnitude. It is a skill level that I am proud to have achieved. It has taken years of negligent housekeeping to perfect the art and a certain commitment that is rarely seen these days!

First impressions of Street Fighter IV from a Tekken fan. (originally posted 02/07/2011)

Ok, I'm a Tekken fan but curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to play Street Fighter IV to see what all of the fuss was about. I had not played any Street Fighter since SFII in the arcades way back during my college days. I did give a SF game a try on the PS2 about 8-9 years ago but I was not impressed at all with it so it was instantly binned and I have not bothered with SF since. 

My brain seems to be permanently wired towards video games.

It had been a horrendous week at work. One of the worst weeks I had experienced in my current job. My faith in humanity had been depleted even further than usual and hope for any kind of future, let alone a bright one was gone. But, that week was over. It was the weekend and Saturday being the only day of the week that I do get to spend with my family was marred slightly by the rotten headache I awoke with that persisted throughout most of the day. I did of course try to make the best of that time as it is rather precious. Modern life affords us far too little time nowadays and time is the only thing in this world that cannot be replaced when it is gone.

Uncharted 2. Revisiting a modern masterpiece. (originally published 26/06/2011)

I recently decided to revisit Uncharted 2 multiplayer after an absence from the game for some considerable time. Jumping straight back into it was not as easy as I had expected but was inevitably worthwhile. Here is how it went.

More Funny Stuff.

This was e-mailed to me some time ago. I found it completely hilarious. So much that I posted it wherever I could and now it is here.


Remember it takes a college degree to fly a plane, but only a high school diploma to fix one. Reassurance for those of us who fly routinely in our jobs.

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a 'gripe sheet,' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor.
Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (Marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by Maintenance engineers. 

By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

No PAIN, No Gain! (originally published 19/01/2010)

Hit the doctors fingers to break them off making
some crude but humorous scenes.

I have finally managed to get the "Harder Dicks Balls" trophy for the PSN game, Pain. I don't know why but I became obsessed with getting this trophy and even though I have uncharted 2 sitting in a drawer unplayed and ratchet and clank ACIT half completed, Pain has been the only game I have played in the last few days. I purchased the game a short while after it was put onto the PS store and I found it highly amusing for two or three plays at best. Once the initial charm of the game had worn off I quickly grew tired of it and browsing through the trophy list I found that most of the trophies involved purchasing further content from the PS store and the ones that did not were particularly difficult, especially for a game that was not holding my interest enough for me to commit myself fully to the challenge. I ended up slating the game thoroughly to friends and on the forums and even got into a couple of arguements over the game on gaming forums. The game
just sat idly on my hard drive for months until one Sunday afternoon when I had some spare time and decided to give it another chance.

I Am The Wolfman.

I am the Wolfman. You know me, I am the Wolfman. My spit is corruption and my home is a stinking purse of wretched cocks! I am the Wolfman, homo-wolfus. My rocket is made from pure carbon and smashes through planets. I am the Wolfman! I hate being bored and I can punch suns. I am the Wolfman, a huge rancid dog travelling at five thousand miles per hour. Wolf person, Dog boy! I am the universe! I am the brilliant dog!

Jakub Stephen Wood.

This is a questionnaire my Sister sent to me over FB shortly after she had given birth to her first child. This was 23/04/2009 and a lot has changed but this is the original from back then. 

Hilarious Joke. (its just a joke.)

Husband and wife are lying quietly in bed reading when the wife looks over at him and asks the question

Schools Get in The Game. (originally published 03/06/2009)

Brock delivers his seminar

“Ok, it’s time to submit your school reports. Did everyone play Mario Kart at the weekend? Good. Let’s begin with group discussion, what is the premise and objective of the game?”
This may sound a little strange but for one Minneapolis teacher video games have become learning tools for his class of sixth to eighth graders.  Brock Dubbels of Seward Montessori in Minneapolis designed his ‘Video Games as Learning Tools’ class to span a three week period, requiring children to create detailed multimedia presentations from video games played in groups. He explains that the children are not just learning from the games content but also gaining key skills from playing and studying the games. Dubbels, who has a background in cognitive psychology, goes on to say “It connects to their lives. Research shows that children want to perform where they have competence.” Brock Dubbels spreads the word with training seminars and online courses designed to show other teachers how his three week course works.

Gaming is an Art. (originally published 02/06/2009)

Opinions of gaming and gamers are starting to change but the popular stereotype is still that gamers are nerdy, daylight starved kids with all the community social skills of a brick. We know that's not true of gamers and there are some of the rest of the population who see it that way too but not enough. We want people to see gaming for what it really is and gamer's as the real people that they are. This is understandably difficult given the rocky road the industry has travelled in terms of publicity through various media. "Videogames rot your kid’s brains" has quite a ring to it and sticks in the minds of concerned parents. Hundreds of articles in the newspapers about the horrors portrayed within these games and that they not only promote violence but encourage it. Causing the hapless, feeble minded social outcasts who play videogames to go and act out the brutality they have just witnessed from their games console. This, unfortunately, is the first impression modern gaming gave to Joe public and even though it is fading slowly we still need to fight it back.