irishgaming's Friends
[Most Recent Entries]
[Calendar View]
[Friends View]
Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
[ << Previous 25 ]
| Friday, July 10th, 2009 |
mylescorcoran
|
11:26a |
|
tdo_ie
|
10:20a |
Going on holidays tomorrow! :)
So I’m going on holidays tomorrow, for a goodly period of time (but not too long). Can’t wait to get out of here and stop worrying about the recession, work, weather and everything else for a little bit.
I’m looking forward to it, not least because it’s time with my family but also because it’s time I get to indulge my creative hobbies, normally my drawing, writing and coding. No deadlines, no plans. In fact I finished off my One Month Fudge Adventure Challenge early because having a deadline was definitely focusing me but to the exclusion of all my other creative interests. Of course my family takes first place in practically everything (and I can’t wait to see my daughter again as she went ahead to spend a week or two with her French granny), but there generally enough time to get into stuff I don’t do at home.
I’m bringing my trusty/quirky 10-years-old laptop with me, but I won’t have internet access or even local TV. That’s fine for me. I’ll have a local webserver installed, so if I feel like it, I may work on TDO-Mini-Forms Wordpress plugin (not bug fixes though, but additional features and refactoring). I’ll have my sketchpad, pencils, paints and bright clear weather to work by. I already have a number of projects I’d love to attempt. And my old laptop with OpenOffice and an install of Bazaar allows me to write away with few worries (and I have a score of ideas and projects just waiting to be cracked open). I’ll even have the time to read tens of books, compared to the measly one or two books every few months I do the rest of the year.
I’ve also been recently getting into twitter (@thedeadone) and using it quite a bit, more so then I blog. But I’ve found I can twitter from my underpowered non-iPhone mobile so I may be sending some tweets and pics from my holidays. I’ve even setup my Wordpress blog (so that I can post from my phone too (thanks to a cool plugin called postie), so possible expect some short updates and photos here.
See you in a while! 
Originally published at thedeadone.net. You can comment here or there. |
natural20
|
9:25a |
Musings On Green Electibility
So, a question to those of you in my mostly liberal, mostly left-leaning lj bubble. I'm kinda pissed off at the way the Green TDs are acting right now, especially over the Criminal Justice Bill. I know there are arguments that they can do more in power than out of it, but I think voting for this along with FF pushes them over the edge and shows the parliamentary party just aren't listening to the grass roots any more. So, with an incredibly unscientific and probably badly written poll I want to test the waters. Poll #1427704 Green TDs
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllIf there was an Irish General Election tomorrow, would you vote for a sitting Green TD? |
| Thursday, July 9th, 2009 |
pinkymonster
|
11:07p |
Things I am excited about!
Torchwood. OMG!!!!! Sofas! More on this later. Cake! More on this later. Finally pinned down Mikey plus girlfriend for dinner on Sunday. He has demanded rigatoni alla norcina. I am so upset about having to make that again. Current Mood:  bouncy |
sarklor
|
8:11p |
Hooray for cinema!
Every so often, the vile putrescence vomited forth constantly by the internet contains a precious gem like this one. |
alaimacerc
|
6:22p |
Men out of the reproductive loop
(Or even moreso, I suppose one could say.) See for example the BBC's take. That's as in "adult males" -- this route still relies on Y chromosomes, and is essentially "fast-tracking" embryonic sperm development by a decade or so. Speaking hypothetically, since using it reproductively is presently illegal in the UK (and presumably most other places). In other news, have another puncture. Discovered this on my way home at stupid o'clock last night. Just a slow(ish) one (for now), but it'll be a bugger to change the tyre -- it was infeasibly tight going on, and I doubt it's slackened very much. Maybe those new tyre levers will make a difference... Current Mood:  tired and grumpy |
natural20
|
3:26p |
To Avoid The Appearance of Bias
Regular readers of this journal will perhaps be bored by my constant harping on about just how damn good ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mizkit's books are, so in an effort to vary things, I thought, today, I'd talk about how damn good sarahtales' book, The Demon's Lexicon is. It's only fair like. I picked the book up in that wonderful shop that is Chapters, along with mizkit's Pretender's Crown and figured I'd read TDL first. What a very pleasurable experience it was. The genre is YA urban fantasy, but like a lot of well written YA stuff these days, it's, well, well written. :) Very well written in fact. The story, without spoilers, follows two brothers, Alan & Nick on a very well paced story that nicely introduces the reader to sarahtales' universe. It's a fairly quick read, helped by the nature and pace of the story and the characters are very easy to get to know and like. I also love the mythology she's created, especially as it seems it's got a fair few layers beneath it. I suspect, if I were a younger man, then the story may have been a bit more emotionally involving, but that's my issue, not the book's. Anyway, I heartily recommend the piece and suggest there should be no delay between now and the acquisition of a copy for your own library! |
word_maker
|
12:44p |
Deadlands
3 more Deadlands sessions to go. Tonight things will really get stepped up. |
mylescorcoran
|
12:54p |
|
sammywol
|
11:48a |
A statement
the 'miracle of womanliness' sucks! That is all! Current Mood: very, very sore |
mylescorcoran
|
11:33a |
[boardgames] Race for the Galaxy with Rebel vs. Imperium cards.
We watched Torchwood (well three of us did. alaimacerc read the slim rules to Rebel vs. Imperium and harrumphed about the padding) first, but got started shortly after 22:00 with our first game with the new Rebel vs. Imperium cards. We didn't use goals but we did use the new pick a starting world mechanic, to some grumbling. I think we ended up with alaimacerc with Alpha Centauri, sammywol with the new Imperial Warlord, irishkate with Doomed World and me with Earth's Lost Colony. I got another of the new homeworlds, Galactic Engineers (I think) down pretty early too. We had a lot of exploring early on, thanks mostly to Alai, searching (in vain, unfortunately) for those rare-earth worlds. I managed to get down a couple of windfall worlds and a couple of useful developments and worked my way steadily towards running out the game. I never really got much card income going, but the card on the Develop phase from the Galactic Engineers and the 2 cards on the Production phase from the Pan Galactic Thingy helped there. I seemed to switch to a military strategy about half-way through but lacked the military might to play the new Alien Monolith unfortunately. Grr! I ended the game with three cards in a single round due to Improved Logistics and two worlds, but hadn't counted the other's tableaus carefully enough. Finally scores were irishkate 31 (including 10 from one 6-pointer), sammywol 30, me 25 and alaimacerc 20. Well done, Irishkate for grabbing the prize. I think I'm going to like the new set. We've yet to see any takeovers in action however, so we'll have to wait and see how they're received by the group. |
microgirl
|
10:13a |
*sigh* I will probably not be going to Somerset today after all. Have neglected/not been able to do important stuff during the week so it has to be done on weekends and last weekend was a wedding and David being over, so to ignore it this weekend would be bad. |
mylescorcoran
|
11:04a |
|
saoili
|
9:54a |
WTF?
I just recieved an order of stuff from online. The stuff was worth a little over 140 euro. It came with a tax bill of 80 euro. There is absolutely no way the government can justify charging me over 57% tax. I'm flabbergasted. If this is 'legit' and I can't avoid paying that or claim some of it back I think I might personally lead the revolution... |
microgirl
|
12:36a |
Joy!
I have found my mislaid-and-forgotten-about envelope detailing the compliments and positive comments carefully hidden in exquisite and fiddly tiny paper stars and presented to me in a pint glass by the scandalously imaginative plucky_lass!! This makes me very happy as I really didn't want to have to undo all the little stars to see what utterly incomprehensible things people said about me (one said "You don't prevaricate" and I had to look that up because I really wasn't sure. Having got the definition though, I have to say it's more that I'm completely incapable of tact or subtlety ;) :D), partly because they're fiddly, but mainly because they are so utterly, incredibly brilliant, and I really, really like having a pint glass full of compliments :D And I'm also happy and small-worldness, as described in syleth's recent post, and it occurs to me that megglesmcgoo and the no-longer-GC are honeymooning in Cornwall atm, and plucky_lass and alan_wells are also due to be in Cornwall and it would be so deadly if they were staying in the same place! Although since I'm not even sure they're in the county at the same time it's very unlikely. But still, imagine! :D Current Mood:  giggly |
| Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 |
microgirl
|
11:38p |
Should be packing for Somerset. Amn't packing for Somerset. Plan to be in work half an hour early to facilitate leaving half an hour early for unwisely early flight, and because we're going to be short-staffed tomorrow due to annual leave, sick leave and a funeral. There will be four of us. What larks Pip, what larks! Really need to be in bed. But need clothes for Somerset too (it will be raining) |
psysquid
|
10:25p |
Bards Event
All bookings are now closed for the Bards Event. We regret that, though we appreciate the offers of help, we cannot accept any new on the gate monsters. |
kshandr
|
5:59p |
From an interview with Pinball Legend Steve Kordek in the Chicago Tribune... "The secret to designing a good game is to attract the player," Kordek said. "What attracts a player, first, is the pictures on the backglass of the game. Second, if what he sees on the play field is different, that's a success. And when the features are so exciting that he wants to put more money in it, you've got him." Current Mood: intriguedCurrent Music: Pogo - Under A Spell |
natural20
|
4:54p |
Because Twitter Isn't Big Enough...
...to hold my blasphemy. The definition of blasphemy being used in the new Libel Bill is: “Blasphemous matter” is defined as matter “that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion; and he or she intends, by the publication of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.” Put here so I can link others to it. :) ETA: Actual text from the bill, only amendment I'm aware of is a drop in the fine from €100,000 to €25,00036.—(1) A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000. (2) For the purposes of this section, a person publishes or utters blasphemous matter if— (a) he or she publishes or utters matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion, and (b) he or she intends, by the publication or utterance of the 10 matter concerned, to cause such outrage. (3) It shall be a defence to proceedings for an offence under this section for the defendant to prove that a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matter to which the offence relates. |
sammywol
|
4:20p |
Sod's Law
Dictates that when I finally give in the wrongness of the forecast and the leaden-ness of the skies and chill of the wind and cancel my picnic plans that the sun will come out and the rest of the afternoon be summery and hot. Grrrrrrrrrrr! ETA: my LJ seems to have had a moment of predictive text brain fart and offered me a suggestion when typing in my tags. I had got as far as 'ra' in 'rant' when suddenly the word 'rabbit' popped in and popped out again as soon as I hit the 'n' key. WTF?!?! Has it always done predictions and I never noticed before? And why the feck would it think I was writing about 'rabbits' all of a sudden?! Current Mood: crotchetty |
sammywol
|
2:04p |
Torchwood
I had never been entirely convinced by Torchwood and hardly saw any of the last season - Captain John Hart appearances not included for obvious reasons - because the 'solve everything by dithering and acting like Jack is the Messiah' frankly got right on my tits. However, on Monday night irishkate was round our house on Monday when the current series of episodes started and she hooked us in. Cool! I mean Ok it is just as silly as ever and these are the worst organized 'last best hope' and they never seem to learn from anything. (Emergency caches anyone?!) But it is FUN! I, however, am bugged by a theory. And people who know me may well remember my 'Ianto is obviously a robot' pet theory and may realise that I cling to theories long after canon has made smush of them. Anyway ( cut for pointless speculation but I don't want to be accused of inadvertent spoilering if I am right ) Current Mood: summery |
natural20
|
2:35p |
Desperate Government, Desperate Times
Ah, the joy of a government that the country wants out, desperately trying to get as much legislation passed as possible before the end of the Dáil session before the long summer recess. So far FF and a Green party that seems to be willing to do anything to hold on to power (and sadly with each passing Bill I despair more and more for them) have done the following: - Published a Civil Partnership Bill that looks good on first reading, but then falls down horribly. My main issues with it are a lack of any provision for adoption and, well, the fact that it isn't marriage. - Pushed the new Libel legislation through the Dáil, with the fine for proven blasphemy now at €25,000. Really? What a truly, wonderfully, out of place law. Either have the balls to take it out of the Constitution (maybe on October 2nd?) or turn it into an unenforceable slap on the wrist. - Started to push the new Criminal Justice Act through the Dáil. This is an Act which lets any member of the Gardaí potentially give opinion evidence, let's ex-Gardaí do it too and makes it illegal to be in a gang, to lead a gang and to help a gang out, even if the crime never takes place! Oh, all this and non-jury trials as well! Oh and this isn't just me saying this, it's 133 of Ireland's leading criminal lawyers. This is only the stuff I'm picking up on, I'm sure there's more. And no, I don't think this is going to suddenly turn the country into a police state. I think that many of these laws are ill-judged, I think they are continued evidence of a government who have no idea what the country wants and are trying to rush things through before the recess. But they have the votes, that's a democracy. There is one good bit of news, the Lisbon vote has been announced for October 2nd. I'm just hoping to hell that Biffo's mob (along with every other party bar SF) don't screw this up again. And you know what really worries me? The next time we have an election, FF might lose a few seats, but the Greens'll be wiped out and people will *still* vote for Biffo, Ahern, Lenihan, Coughlan and probably Harney if she runs, over and over and over. |
alaimacerc
|
2:00a |
|
sarklor
|
12:54a |
Review of Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood
Call of Juarez is an under-appreciated gem of a PC game. It combines the very best bits of every good western film out there and gives it a go in beautifully rendered 3d. It's got the shootouts, the high-noon duel, the train robbery, the mine cart rail chase, the surprise gatling gun, the mysterious natives, the whole nasty, gritty depressing lot, wrapped up in hookers, evil men, and a preacher with bible in one hand and 6-shooter in the other, filled with fire and brimstone as he does The Lord's work, hunting down the boy he believes murdered his brother, while the innocent lad does his best to get away from him. Reverend Ray McCall is one of the most badass characters ever to grace the screen, like a cross between Clint Eastwood and Batman. It's epic, and I recommend everyone give it a go. Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood just came out recently too, and I've been playing it for the last few hours. It keeps to the high standards of visuals, music, dialogue and voice acting the original did, and adds in some nice new tricks. The game world is a curious mix of linear missions and massive sprawling sandbox desert between scenes. The story is every bit as good as the original: 20 years before the original game, Ray McCall and his brother Thomas desert the Confederate army to protect their home and family, and end up running to Mexico as outlaws to find the Gold of Juarez while their poor younger brother, a priest, tries to save them from their evil ways. The dialogue is witty, the voice-acting is superb (I want to buy the man behind Ray a drink sometime, he's amazing), the action is fantastic, and the atmosphere is spot on. My particular favourite example of atmosphere is in the one-on-one duels that pop up every now and then- The camera switches to just behind the player, centering on his gun hand as it hovers near the holster, with the opponent in the distance. You get to circle eachother, move your hand with the mouse, and when the clock strikes, you move it to the gun and try to aim and fire before the other guy. You'd have to see it to see exactly what I mean. Everything is done right there, the way your fingers twitch when they get close to the gun, the way the two gun men slowly circle eachother, the music, it all fits together perfectly. The first one of these takes place in some crappy town in the driving rain, just as the sherrif calls out the McCalls for deflowering his daughter. This ain't your John Wayne fun-for-all-the-family Western, this is Unforgiven-meets The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. I suspect, alas, that Bound In Blood is rather short. I've been playing for about 4 hours on medium difficulty, and I suspect I'm about halfway through the main story. What I've played through so far is solid gold, and I certainly hope I am wrong about the game length. Nevertheless, I'm starting to worry that it'll be over soon. The first Call of Juarez went on for a very satisfactory time, there were nearly 20 seperate missions. If Bound In Blood is very short like I suspect, it will be very disappointing. If it ends soon, it's not worth the €45, and I couldn't recommend it until it came down to half that, like Mirror's Edge. I guess we'll find out soon enough. Bang bang bang! *glee* |
| Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 |
pinkymonster
|
3:18p |
Henna tattoos
Does anyone know a place in Dublin that does henna tattoos? I'm not interested in someone sitting on a path in Temple Bar - I mean a place that does real tattoos and also does henna. I normally get one in the summertime and even though I'm not going abroad this year, that's no reason to not indulge a little. |
[ << Previous 25 ]
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
irishgaming
3 (11.1%)
tired