HDR shots

Quick HDRs chucked together from some holiday snaps this year. Who'd have thought black and white HDR looks so good?

Amy Winehouse RIP

I can't say it's that unexpected, drugs and alcohol addictions were her main vice.

Still, she was a superb talent and voice. She died aged 27.

Here's to you Amy, and may be you should have gone to rehab after all.

The Rise and Rise of Rameses II - Part 1

It was the beginning of the 19th century. King Rameses II, was leading his glorious Egyptian empire to a peaceful existence. Four cities made up his civilization, each city focusing on a peaceful endeavour: culture, knowledge, agriculture, and production. The crown in the jewel of this wonderful empire was Thebes, an ancient city founded by the original settlers and one of many wonders, great people, knowledge, and science.

The Egyptian people were enjoying the fertility of their land: many mountains, planes, and rivers ensured that they had access to all the essential resources they needed, as well as many luxury resources to keep them happy, not to mention to help their democratic needs.

To the North was an uninhabitable tundra; to the East some military city states and a sprawling Mongolian empire. The West was bordered by impassable mountains, and beyond them were the Persian people.

One morning, Rameses II ordered a scout to traverse the land to the West, in pursuit of inhabitable areas for his kingdom. The scout came back to his king's court with a worried look on his face. "I'm afraid there might be trouble your highness" he reported. Rameses II wasn't very concerned - after all, the Egyptian and Persian people enjoyed a friendly relationship.

"There are many troops just outside our borders your highness, and I fear they come for the worst". The king could hear the concern in the scout's voice, and invited King Darius to his court to reassure his people.

Darius attended personally, and after enjoying a lavish banquet and watching the famous Egyptian entertainers, he reassured Rameses II that the troops were just passing by, en route to other business. King Darius even addressed the people publicly, and all around the empire a massive cheer was heard, for the Egyptian people had great respect for their Persian neighbours. The rumours and nervous looks in the streets and markets of Thebes all but disappeared, and Egypt continued it's peaceful existence and continued its pursuit for culture.

But not for long.

Quick iPad 2 Update

The insurance company took the iPad for "testing" and, surprise surprise, found that it's beyond repair.

The rep that initially spoke to me said they'd give me a voucher for PC World to the value of an iPad 2 Wifi 32GB, and I could get one from there. That instantly induced a case of the heebie-jeebies in me, mainly 'cos PC World don't stock that iPad.

I was preparing myself for a fight when the next day they called me to say PC World doesn't stock this iPad model (D'Oh!) and they'll transfer the money value to my bank account instead. Relief!

I've ordered a replacement model from Apple, complete with free engraved message which I'll post a picture of later when I get the damn thing. You see, I've now got to wait 3 weeks or so before getting the machine, which is very annoying seeing that I queued up for six hours to get my iPad 2 on launch, in order to avoid the long delay of online ordering.

Why not buy it from the Apple store you say? Well, 2 reasons: first, the closest Apple store is about 40 miles away (Cambridge, where I queued!); and 2nd they hardly have them in stock either - it's a matter of luck if you get one there or not.

So, I now patiently wait. Of course, I'm not allowed to use the original iPad - it has become Kelly's and if I'm lucky I can use it for half an hour each day. Oh, the humiliation.

Adam feeds some ducks

pWiised to meet U

Nintendo, at their E3 conference today, have announced their next console, the "Wii U".

Other than boasting the usual HD gfx and all that business (not much is known about the specs of the console as such), but it's the controller that's garnered the most attention.

Have a look at this:

Yes - that's the controller. Remind you of anything?

Now, I'm not going to make fun of their naming scheme any more, nor am I going to question their wisdom (who'd have thought the DS or Wii were gonna be as successful as they are!), as I'm sure Nintendo know exactly what they're doing. After all, they are the grand old daddy of the 3 big names in gaming.

But - the controller above does look remarkably similar to something Apple make, something that has split opinion around the world over despite being a huge success - yes, it looks just like an iPad with controls bolted on. Even the screen is touch-enabled!

Funnily enough, the gaming community's response has been a big (WTF?!) - those at E3 sampling the device right now seem to be enjoying it, but those of us reading/watching about it are shrugging a big collective I DON'T KNOW. Reminds me of the iPad really :)

It's interesting to see that even Nintendo are taking something out of Apple's book here - again, who would have guessed the impact Apple's touch-screen toys would have had on gaming today, practically changing the landscape and introducing millions to gaming on the move; but also creating the concept of the "micro transaction" along the way. I, for one, never saw that coming!

Sadly, the anti-Apple people out there (and there are LOADS) are getting all wet about this new controller, and funnily enough seem to have forgotten where it's inspirations come from. It's a shame that people can't be more platform-agnostic, and just enjoy stuff and give credit where credit is due, and this time we owe a lot as gamers to Apple.

Am I excited? Of course I am! This is Nintendo we're talking about, they just know how to make games. Great games, some of the best I've ever played.

When the iPad was announced, I read an article in GamesTM discussing it's implications on gaming with various game devs. The most interesting views came from devs that envisioned the device as an "add on" to PC games - for eg as a map screen, or radar screen, or a hacking screen in a stealth game, etc etc etc. Sadly, these premises were never met, and the iPad has been used for gaming just as an iPhone with bigger screen real estate.

Nintendo, on the other hand, has toyed with big screen/small screen connectivity for a while now - the Gamecube had a rarely-used but much-hyped Gameboy connection, that was used to great effect in a few games, most notably Pac-Man Versus. Sadly, it was cumbersome to get 2 or more GBAs and a Gamecube together in one room (not to mentioned the spaghetti of cables!), so none of this really took on.

Now that the controller screen is default, Nintendo (and 3rd party devs) will have lots and lots of room to innovate, and that they will, bringing us open-minded gamers a whole slew of great games to play.

So here's a big thank you to Apple, for making the tablet as popular as it is today, and to Nintendo, for being the awesome company that they are.

Bring on the games!

Finally, have a look at the announcement video, and prepare to sense the deja-vu of that iPad announcement video a couple of years ago :)

I broke my iPad 2

As in, properly broke it. It fell, right on to the only tiled floor in the house. It also fell face down, so the full force of the impact was taken by it's beautiful, beautiful screen.

Here's what it looks like now. It still works, which is amazing if you ask me. Luckily, it's insured. But still, it felt like I'd dropped my newborn child.

Sigh.

Different by design

Now that Adam is almost 2 years old, we're having to carry him loads more than before. Yes, ironic I know but he's in that terrible clingy-tantrumy phase that just sucks.

Anyhow, this extra carrying has made me notice something: A big difference between how men and women carry children. I first noticed it on Kelly, and I've been looking close at every woman I see carrying a child, and I noticed that all of them carry babies different to how a man would.

To best demonstrate this, I took some pictures.

EXHIBIT ONE: This is how men carry children: Notice our forearm acts a seat for the child's bum, all his weight is carried on your forearm. Hard work.



EXHIBIT TWO: This is how women carry children: note how Kelly's arm is around Adam's back, his bum is actually seated on her hips. By design, women have wider/more stick out hips than we do, and this is used to great effect when carrying a child. His weight is almost all taken by the hip, rather than the arm.

This wider hip is a design genius really, it's there to give space to an ever-growing gravid uterus; to make the pelvis wider to give birth to the foetus; and it turns out it's also a great perch for kids to be carried on.

Amazing.

SpaceChem Challenge: In-Place Swap (single reactor solution)

You either get it or you don't. I sure hope you do :)

Adam, meet Crazy Daisy

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

I'm not entirely sure why I even started reading David Mitchell's latest novel. I think it was featured on the iBooks store, so I downloaded the free first chapter and had a look.

That first chapter, though captivating, was really difficult to read. The language was beautiful but full of old words, difficult sentence structures, and a single sentence could contain layers and layers.

Still, that first chapter kept me reading. To explain why would be to spoil the book, but it's a great start. So, I bought the full version.

And I've been reading it over the last few weeks, slowly. Each page, I've had to look up a word or two in the dictionary (thank God for iPad's built-in dictionary!), and I've sometimes had to re-read a paragraph or even whole page to make heads or tales of what is going on. It's been a slow, methodical read, sometimes I couldn't read more than 8 or 10 pages, sometimes I sat and greedily read 50. The book, despite its difficulties, kept me coming for more.

Mitchell hasn't made it easy for himself - he's chosen to write about the Japanese shutdown Era, where, under Shogunate rule, Japan closed itself to the entire outside world, except for one single artificial island called Dejima, from which the Dutch East India Company (VOC), and only the Dutch, could trade with Japan. This Era isn't fictional, neither is the VOC, but it's also not very well known unless you're a Japanese buff.

The story however, tells the tale of one Dutch clerk called Jacob de Zoet, and his life on Dejima. From the weird and wonderful mix of Dutch/American/Irish/English workers on Dejima, to their black slaves, and to the many ranks and officials of the Japanese League of Interpreters. The use of mostly foreign names (and archaic names for places, eg Batavia (the old Dutch name for Jakarta)) makes back-referencing a common occurrence. You'd have thought by 2 or 3 chapters I'd given up.

But that's the beauty of the book - the story captivates you from the very start, and even during the drier periods, you've already set yourself a challenge to get to the end of this book, if only to prove to yourself that you're not just about the "Great Summer Reads". You'll follow De Zoet, his falling for a Japanese (and hence untouchable) midwife called Orito, and then her abduction to a cult nunnery, and the valiant efforts there after of de Zoet (and others) to bring her back.

Mitchell is a master of words - he can describe things beautifully, enchanting the reader and making them feel that they're right there, near the stinking canal on Dejima, watching De Zoet mumble as he tries to talk to Orito. You'll even wince as you witness, first-hand, an example of surgery in the late 1700s. By the time Orito is abducted, the author's claws have hooked in to your flesh, refusing to let go - no matter how hard the last chapter was.

It's difficult to talk about this book any more, without spoiling any more or going into specific story points. I can't recommend it enough to anyone looking for more than just a quick read. It's not an easy book, but this is beautiful, poetic stuff, with a healthy dose of intrigue, love, betrayal, lust, greed, wit, action, trade, and wonderful imagery that'll stay with you forever.

I leave you with this wonderful passage where we find de Zoet, having just confessed to Orito, is left with a fruit that she gave him during their brief encounter:

“Hollows from the fingers of Aibagawa Orito are indented in her ripe gift, and he places his own fingers there, holds the fruit under his nostrils, inhales its gritty sweetness, and rolls its rotundity along his cracked lips. I regret my confession, he thinks, yet what choice did I have? He eclipses the sun with her persimmon: the planet glows orange like a jack-o’-lantern. There is a dusting around its woody black cap and stem. Lacking a knife or spoon, he takes a nip of waxy skin between his incisors and tears; juice oozes from the gash; he licks the sweet smears and sucks out a dribbling gobbet of threaded flesh and holds it gently, gently, against the roof of his mouth, where the pulp disintegrates into fermented jasmine, oily cinnamon, perfumed melon, melted damson . . . and in its heart he finds 10 or 15 flat stones, brown as Asian eyes and the same shape. The sun is gone now, cicadas fall silent, lilacs and turquoises dim and thin into grays and darker grays.”

This is why we need a second iPad

A few instagram snaps

Adam sleeps

Wooden play-thing in the forest: "The Terminator" (Seriously)

Adam swings (didn't we all)

CAT shoes

Some old castle thingie in the local park

Adam bathes (and poses)

Quick iPad 2 Review (for those of you with a first-gen iPad)

First of all, apologies to everyone who doesn't have an iPad, this post is a bit useless for you. Before you leave, why don't you watch the awesome retro-synth orgy video below.

The new iPad is a strange beast. Fundamentally, it does almost nothing different to the first-gen machine. The addition of cameras is the major new function, used to snap (pointless) pictures, but more importantly it enables video-chatting. Currently, that's via Apple's own FaceTime software, letting iPads/iPhones/Macs chat to each other. Surely there will be loads of 3rd Party apps soon though, Skype et al. Of course there's a built-in microphone now too.

The G/CPU inside has been upgraded to an A5 SoC (System on a Chip) based on the ARM Cortex-A9. What this means is that the already-zippy iPad is even zippier. It is a palpable difference, but nothing to write home about. Apple is keen to stress that the battery life remains at 10 hours, something that is remarkably true.

The much-hyped form factor has changed as well. The iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than the iPad. The weight difference isn't huge, but it makes a big difference. Carrying the iPad single-handedly would be much simpler due to this, but the next point unfortunately works against it.

The new design has lost the side bevel of the original, meaning that the edge of the device instantly slopes inwards to form the much flatter back. This creates a sharp edge of sorts, which digs in a little bit when carrying the machine with one hand. It's not painful, but it can become uncomfortable. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, this kinda counters the weight loss advantage for single handed carrying.

Due to the lack of the side bevel, the buttons (which remain unchanged in position and function) are now at an angle , as they sit on the sloped edge. After a while you get used to this but for my first hours with the machine I thought they were getting stuck but that was because I was pushing them in the wrong direction.

Initially, the edge and back change feel weird. It's no secret that the iPad is a pleasure to use, so these changes are unwelcome to begin with. After a bit of use, you get used to them and won't turn back. I have the benefit of still having the original machine and have been comparing the two constantly, and I've reached the conclusion that the weight and back of the newer machine make it more comfortable than the first.

The speaker isn't as loud as the first machine, and that's probably a good thing if I'm honest - Kelly is playing Angry Birds right now on the first iPad near me, and it sounds like that annoying dude that sits next to you on the train with really loud music playing through open-back headphones.

My iPad is white, and I'm glad I chose that colour. It looks very slick and does not distract. But I guess the colour choice is down to personal preference.

One unmentioned but very important change is The home button. This is now much softer and barely clicks, something that, to me at least, is much better than the noisy click-clacking of the first one, especially when double-clicking.

Smart Covers are the big new addition also. Frankly, they are a stroke of genius and it's amazing how no one came up with these earlier. The cover attaches to the machine with magnets (that are polarised to accept one position only), instantly snapping on to a snug, precise fit. Lift the cover up, and the iPad unlocks automatically. The cover can also be "rolled up" to form a base or stand for the machine. Again, something very useful which incidentally I happen to be using this very minute, typing this blog post on the iPad in landscape orientation with the cover tilting it comfortably towards me.

Everything else remains exactly the same, with the iOS and apps being identical to the first iPad.

Overall, I personally don't think any of these new "additions" justify an upgrade. If you're happy with your iPad, keep it. It isn't worth paying full price for the newer machine, as the form factor and smart covers aren't enough to justify the asking price. I don't know if in the future certain apps/games will require the faster CPU, but by then the 3rd gen will probably be on the horizon.

If, on the other hand, like me you need a second machine, or have read through this post to decide if the iPad 2 is the right first tablet for you; then the design, interface, covers, and battery life make this a very worthy purchase.

Tubular Bells by the Brooklyn Organ Synth Orchestra

Just watch it

Don't eat the chilli

"In Szechuan frog, don't eat the chilli. They too spicy" is what the waitress told me. 10 hours later, the following morning, that was all I could think of as I was struggling to "evacuate".

You see, I'd done a long and busy on-call. a 12-hour shift of utter madness that goes exactly like this: Enter department at 09:00 AM, work work work until 09:00 PM, leave department dazed, confused, with aching legs and absolutely no idea what's up from down.

As a reward for running this gauntlet, I thought I'd find myself a nice Chinese restaurant and order a takeaway. I asked around and was told that Chinese food in Cambridge couldn't get any better than Peking Restaurant. I was warned it was a bit expensive, accepted only cash, but made some great food. It was also a simple 5-minute drive away. So far so henhao.

Sure enough, a simple 5-minute drive and there I was, parked right outside Peking Chinese Restaurant. I was greeted inside by the lady owner who was very keen to introduce me to her daughter after about 30 seconds. She gave me the menu and waited as patiently as the Chinese do while I tried to speed read/pick a meal.

I was feeling brave. Rather than my usual (trusty) Won Ton Soup, Crispy Chilli Beef order, I thought I'd go for something more... exotic. So, I ordered:

Hot and Sour Soup "my hot and sour soup is veeeerrryy good. See, my daughter eat it now"

2 Meat Spring Rolls "my spring rolls are mmmmmmmm" (accompanied with an OK hand sign and a wink)

Szechuan Frog With Cashew "you try frog before? ooooh so spicy and crispy is very nice"

Steam Boiled Rice (this I didn't have a choice in. Lady Peking explained that the only thing you can have Szechuan Frog with is plain boiled rice)

Before you navigate away in disgust, I have to point out that I've had frog before and it is actually a very nice meat. The bones are a bit small and fiddly, but otherwise it tastes like a chicken/rabbit hybrid.

I also asked for a can of Coke with all this. I was told to have a seat and suddenly Lady Peking came to me with a can of Coke she'd poured in a glass, for me to drink while the food was cooked. "Never mind" I thought. A while later the waitress bought me the food and the bill. She then went on to tell me the understatement of the decade: "In Szechuan frog, don't eat the chilli. They too spicy". I couldn't quite understand why she'd issue such a warning. I'm sure I can pick one or two chilli pods out of the meal, no big deal.

I drove back to the temporary room I'd booked overnight, set my table up ready to indulge in this long-awaited feast. Naturally, I started with the soup (good), then the spring rolls (very very good), and then on to the jasmine-smelling steamed rice, and the very generous portion of Szechuan Frog, always mindful of the chilli I had to remove.

I started eating, and found that the dish was literally full of chilli. Big, red, narrow, angry chilli. Seeds and all. I'm talking about at least 30 full-size chilli pods. It was also full of big frog chunks, deliciously cooked with Cashew and a batter, but the overwhelming taste was that of immense heat.

Now, I'm partial for a bit of heat in food, and enjoy a curry or three. But this wasn't enjoyable spicy heat, this was a painful, burning, torture. For every mouthful, I'd taste a bit of meat/batter/cashew, and the rest of the mouth full was just fire. In a futile effort to try and enjoy this (remember, I had no drink - the Coke was consumed in the restaurant. Nor did I have any bread or yoghurt, the Indian-favourite way of quelling spicy heat) I started having one spoonful of frog with at least 3 spoonfuls of rice. This helped precisely nothing.

About a half way through I gave up. My mouth was a raging hole of fire, frog, and cashew. I was also very annoyed. I'd been looking forward to this takeaway since I first knew I was going to be working this shift, in other words for at least 3 months. I chucked the remainder in the bin, and walked to the local shop to buy an ice cream, both to cheer me up and to quell the fire. I went to sleep grumpy, exhausted, a bit hungry, and with a painful mouth.

Come morning time, I woke up and I'd almost forgotten the whole saga. A call of nature soon followed, and it's then that I was abruptly and rudely reminded of the whole ordeal. I was practically having to get up from the toilet seat and run a cold tap on my poor behind to cool things down. Seriously. They don't call it The Ring Of Fire for nothing.

For those agonising hours the only thing I could think of is the shy waitress,and her then-unusual remark. It all made sense now, she was trying her best to warn me of this oncoming violation of my alimentary tract:

"In Szechuan frog, don't eat the chilli. They too spicy"

Poor Adam...

... he's doomed already. Like father, like son eh?

I have this sneaky feeling

that one day Valve are going to charge for "premium" Steam accounts, benefits could be:

* More cloud space for pictures, and perhaps even videos.

* Early or even exclusive access to demos, betas, etc.

* Discounts for premium subscribers, during pre-orders and sales.

* More pre-order bonuses.

Kinda like a PSN Plus model. Steam Plus if you like.

I don't know why, but I just got that feeling in my bones. Not sure what to think of it either, on one hand it would be a shame but on the other PSN Plus really has been beneficial, with its exclusive and even free stuff for members.

Anyhow, it might not even happen. If it does, I'll come back here and comment on my future-telling skills.

Here's a video of me

playing a perfect run on BIT.TRIP: RUNNER's longest level, Odyssey.

PC/Mac version out by the way on Steam :)

2nd of March. iPad 2?

Or so it seems. Apple is holding an event then, with invites now out to the usual suspects. The now-customary invite picture can look like someone's unwrapping an iPad wrapped with a big number 2 wrapper.

With over 14 million iPads sold, Apple has definitely nailed this one on the head, and with so many competitors out this year it makes perfect sense that now's the time to strike with a newer iPad. If the rumours are true, and it really does have a resolution of 2048x1536 (double the current iPad and almost as much as my 30" 2560x1600 Dell), then it really would be a feat of engineering if it can push that many pixels while staying cold. If it has the same battery life as this iPad, then there's no explanation other than Apple is a face for a very advanced alien civilisation. Seriously.

Intriguing, exciting, and also probably damn expensive! I promised myself I'd resist this year, but seeing that Kelly (and now Adam) can't let go of the damn iPad since I got it, I can kinda justify a new one. Particularly if I sell my now-defunct MacBook Pro.

Stay tuned Apple fans! (and I know there's lots of you now ;))