2007 August | gavman.co.uk

Archive for August, 2007

Aug

The State of the MMORPG

By Gavman 1 Comment

Categories: experiment, games, internet and opinion

With my current taste for social networky-type things, the next of my list is MMORPG, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Me and Jim have been talking about building a MMORPG. I’ve been looking at Multiverse as a start point, as it looks quite easy to get going with. It also provides a scalable architecture should things take off. We’ve, well, I’ve been saying we should base it on the Night Watch series of books, as this would make an excellent game! (They’re excellent books too, read them!)

But first things first, I’ve never really played a MMORPG. The most popular one is World of Warcraft. I’ve always taken the mick out of people who play this (Jezza in particular), so I thought I’d download the trial and see what the fuss is about. I installed it last night, but not played yet.

So will I find out Jim was a right “Gav, you’ve got a life, a career, people who love you, don’t do it!” or will I be dressing up in a costume chucking lighting (tennis balls) at people?? More soon…

Aug

Wispa Bar back in production

By Gavman 10 Comments

Categories: retro

Cadbury’s has bowed to internet pressure and is to re-release the Wispa bar. After about four years in oblivion an initial run of 23 million bars will be produced to see if the demand is there. I think they are going to go on sale at about 42p each.

I wonder what other “retro snacks” we can drum up? How about, bring back Marathon!

Aug

10-4, It’s the Bandit

By Gavman 0 Comments

Categories: 70s and movies

I dusted off the old film collection and decided to watch Smokey and the Bandit. Well, I say dusted off. What I mean is I bought it for a fiver at HMV! Still, its a great film. You just don’t get the same kinda feeling of camaraderie today. Back then , truckers and CB’s, beer smuggling, brides to be running from the law! What a great concept for a film!

So in the immortal words of Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Watch this film again, you suuuunbitch!

Aug

To blog or not to blog. That is the question.

By Gavman 0 Comments

Categories: internet and opinion

Firstly, apologies for the delay since my last entry. Busy times at home and work. But back now.

So, its launch day for our company blog at work. I’ve been asked to write something to get going. So what better way than to have chat about blogging itself. As you know, this blog is a little experiment of mine to see if I like it and if it’s useful. I’ve got a slowly growing readership, so I guess I must be doing something right?

Recently I’ve been reading a few things about blogging and whether you should do it. In a word. Yes. Blog away!

A blog is a personal thing. Whether in the context of the large, work orientated environment or just a log of a personal project, the content still evokes the same responses. The key thing to remember is that a blog is a written record of your personal opinions and feelings. This is the great thing about it, but also something to bear in mind.

A blog is more than a list of entries on a page, its a dialogue. People can comment on what you’ve written and turn an entry into a discussion. This not only provides valuable insight into what you’ve written, it’s also engaging for you and the reader. This is something you don’t get from books or people’s diaries! Embrace the technology!

The technology can help make your blogs more than just text. You can link to other sites so the reader can get more information on what you’ve been talking about. I use this all the time. If I reference anything, I link to the page and give a quick, one sentence summary. Videos, audio, etc, are also powerful mediums at your command. Look at the proliferation of video blogs on YouTube!

Finally, write personally and have fun. The reader wants to know what you think, not a list of facts. Facts can be found elsewhere, but your opinion can only be found on your blog. You get out what you put in. Write about what you want, when you want! This will come through in your writing!

Aug

Chester’s Arrival

By Gavman 0 Comments

Categories: personal

Well my folks have now added a new member to the family. Chester is now at home happilly chewing and peeing everywhere! Buffy (our other dog) has got the hump though. I’m sure it won’t be long before they’re both running around like loonies together!

Aug

Transformers-mania!

By Gavman 1 Comment

Categories: cool and transformers

Have a look at this. A Soundwave MP3 player! Not sure about the headphones though. I’ll have to scour eBay to find one of these. Although they have only just come out in Japan, so it might be a little while. I think I’ll keep one boxed to appreciate in value as an antique. If they don’t, I can always relive my youth when I’m 100!

Aug

The Blog – 3 Months In

By Gavman 0 Comments

Categories: blog, internet, opinion and personal

So, we’re at the 3 month mark now. I must admit, I didn’t think I’d make it this far, let alone move to a more permanent hosting arrangement. The readership is huge (yet), but the numbers are going up. So thanks to all of you that dare to get an insight in my mind! I’ve learnt a couple of things since doing this and though I’d share my blogging experience.

Write about what you want

I’ve found I get a better repsonse by writing about what I want instead of what I think people will want. Journalists get paid to write what people want, bloggers write about their thoughts and feelings. When I first started I was very tempted to write things to encourage people to read this. But that’s just not necessary. Like minded people will read it anyway. If you write it, they will come.

Links

If you refer to things, films, etc, put a link to more information about it. It is the Internet after all!

Write Personally

Write about things in the style you want, not necessarily the correct way. I try to keep my grammar on the straight and narrow, but let the words flow a bit more. Use colloquialisms, but provide explanation or links that explain it for the guys out there that don’t know what a chav is, for instance. A blog is a personal thing, not an essay!

So the experiment continues. See you in 3 more months! And thanks for reading.

Aug

Celebrity Tube Announcers??

By Gavman 0 Comments

Categories: opinion

Nostromo from Alien I was at chalk farm tube the other day and as I got into the lift, the automated announcement started about doors closing, etc. Now this voice had an uncanny resemblance to the computer from Alien, called ‘Mother‘. It got me thinking, what if TFL got celebrities to do the announcements? Just like BT did with Tom Baker on the text to speech service. Like Catherine Tate doing “Mind the gap, am I bovvered?”, or Stephen Hawking “The next station is Baker Street. Alight here for the planetarium and Madame Tussauds”. I think it could be the next big thing!