Having splashed out on a new TV and receiver I needed something affordable and quiet to playback all my media. Enter Raspbmc, the Raspberry Pi media centre.
Google Chrome extens...
posted by Ragnar
My browser of choice is Google Chrome and you can customise your experience with Google Chrome extensions. These are the selection which I have installed and use regularly.
Capture and Leash
posted by Ragnar
The Capture camera clip and Leash are products of Peak Design, a company I discovered originally through Kickstarter. These products are really quite awesome frankly, let me tell you why.
Kerbal Space Program
posted by Ragnar
At the latest DaGodz LAN one game became the go to game in between all the others, the Kerbal Space Program. Gameplay The game is pretty simple in terms of concept, build a rocket and launch probes or little astronauts (who have comical expressions when it goes wrong) into space. However it...
Heart of the Swarm – Starcraft 2
posted by Ragnar
My favourite (and easily most played) game of 2012 was Starcraft 2 and so I have been looking forward to the release of the first expansion Heart of the Swarm. This weekend at DG LAN 9 was when I was able to play through the campaign for the first time. Gameplay – Heart of the Swarm vs Wings of Liberty Singleplayer The core of the Starcraft 2 game hasn’t changed. It is still the awesome real time strategy (RTS) game which was launched three years ago. The same game which has brought massive esports coverage online to thousands of viewers watching their favourite players play with passion to win massive prizes. From a single...
Bastion
posted by Ragnar
Having been told that Bastion is a game which was brilliant because of its styling and story telling I though I would give it a try. Within minutes I was sucked in because of its simplicity but high quality production.
Django Unchained
posted by Ragnar
Having left his mark on big screen history with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction in the early nineties Quentin Tarantino kept on going with the Kill Bill films (did you know a third part has been announced?) and Sin City as well as several others. His style of production and direction is quite distinctive when you compare with his peers of this era and so I couldn’t miss his latest offering. Plot Several of the films I have seen lately have had plots which have particularly large leaps of faith, or were quite simply poor, but Quentin kept it simple and just used some nice twists and turns to keep the viewer interested. In fact I...
A Good Day To Die Ha...
posted by Ragnar
The infamous John McClane (Bruce Willis) returns for his fifth time on the silver screen some six years after his last outing. I give it a 2.5 out of 5.
Job hunting
posted by Ragnar
If you don’t want to read the whole thing you can always jump to my summary with quick tips at the bottom. The redundancy Last year my time at Games Workshop ended as my role was made redundant, in a way I was a victim of my own success actually, and after 11 years working there it was...
Films for 2013
posted by Ragnar
Whilst it isn’t an absolutely definitive list these are some of the films I am looking forward to, or plan to see, in 2013: Django Unchained Zero Dark Thirty A Good Day To Die Hard The Evil Dead Oblivion Iron Man 3 The Iceman Star Trek into darkness Man of Steel World War Z Kick-Ass 2...
eBooks and physical ...
posted by Ragnar
I’ve been involved in or heard the eBook and physical book conversation several times, which can take many different forms from heated to jovial but I feel rarely actually reaches any real conclusion. Why? Because I believe people are approaching the conversation entirely the wrong way...
Atom Zombie Smasher
posted by Ragnar
A little present from my brother (who is intent on screwing over my Project Completion resolution) this game was an instant hit for me, perfect for squashing some Zed if you have just half an hour or a rainy day to kill. Gameplay Once again a game with simple design, premise and style makes for an enjoyable experience. All you have to do is choose your unit, point and click, then let things happen. Maybe point and click again. Oh, lots of zombies? Ok, rapid pointing and clicking! Furiously panicked clicking! ARGH! THEY NEVER STOP! … The pacing is well done, and you literally dive straight in without needing to know much at all. Of...
Resolutions 2013
posted by Ragnar
I haven’t made any New Years Resolutions in quite some time, and I rarely tried to stick to them when I did in the past, however this year I want to give it a shot. So here are my resolutions for this year! Health – part 1 For quite some time I’ve known I am overweight and...
An Unexpected Journe...
posted by Ragnar
After the success of the Lord of the Rings films Peter Jackson returns to produce The Hobbit in full ‘technicolor’, this time complete with 48 frames per second versions of the movie (something which I’m not particularly convinced by). Plot Whilst I realise that Peter...
Graphical upgrade
posted by Ragnar
This year my present was a shiny new graphics card (my thanks to my folks)! Specifically the Gigabyte HD7870 2Gb OC version which is a pretty tasty piece of kit, and a substantial jump up from the Radeon HD4870 which I had previously in terms of overall performance. This was purely for additional power in terms of gaming, and indeed in Starcraft 2 all of my settings immediately jumped to their highest which was nice to see.
Of course it wouldn’t be my latest PC without there being some teething issues!
Insomnia
posted by Ragnar
I have no idea how many people experience genuine insomnia in their lives. Maybe everyone has it at least once, maybe brought on due to stress or self induced through too much intake of stimulants like caffeine. Chronic and repetitive insomnia though is something I’m confident very few...
Plants vs Zombies
posted by Ragnar
On a whim I decided about two weeks ago to give this a game a shot since I hadn’t actually played it, but had heard that it was worth a shot. How little did I know … Gameplay The biggest thing about this game is that the it is simple enough to play, yet you can make so many...
Skyfall
posted by Ragnar
There have been many faces of James Bond over the years and Daniel Craig is the latest one, having starred as 007 in Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale before that. I think of the prior actors Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore and Sean Connery are the ones which stick in my mind as they were in films I watched during my early teens. Though of course Pierce Brosnan was in several movies but that was when I was finishing school or at university so inevitably my memory of those years is dominated more by other things. Now the new face has his third movie (with several more slated apparently) in Skyfall. Plot As the quintessential action hero...
Osmos
posted by Ragnar
Simultaneously relaxing and frustrating at times Osmos is a game of such simple premise yet with a great puzzle challenge which makes it thoroughly enjoyable.
Carry in style
posted by Ragnar
When it comes to carrying your stuff, not your shopping but rather your camera say, in my opinion there is only one brand which is worth going with. Crumpler.