Still tired - and now suffering from technology malaise...

I'm still pretty shattered, I think the lack of sleep over the last month or two has more or less seized me up.

The USA and Brighton trips were pretty exhausting and I feel like I've done a bit too much, but looking at the schedule in June, I could have been forgiven for predicting that. Next week is the Leipzig/Prague trip - and tomorrow is Team17's party in York... no rest for the wicked.

I've had a day knee deep in tech-kit set-up and I'm done for the day. Sky HD was installed, as well as a new 1080p 40" Bravia, I re-attached the PS3 from work (mainly because it's rated as a great up-scaler), attached the 360 and finally my Denon amp.

The whole process wasn't without some issues as you'd expect... and a bunch of niggles have left me with a bit of 'technology malaise'.

SKY HD
A bloke came to sort out the wiring and stuff - and given I'd already got the Sky+ set-up, holes already in the walls, phone-socket nearby etc, I didn't think it would take him long. "Between 9am and 11am sir" he'd said on the phone... at 10.59am he arrived and promptly took 2.5hrs...

The box is all sorted and in now, there's not a ton of HD channels as yet, but obviously there are more in the works. I can't access half of them yet either since I don't think my subscription kicks in just yet. The HD channels are remarkably better than standard Sky Mpeg1 broadcasts.. there just needs to be more of them. I did call Sky to sort this out but it's still not registered yet - it was a call centre and I thought I'd more chance of getting a Chicken Byriani.

Another niggle with the SkyHD is that the Dolby Digital audio output via optical has to be mucked about with and delayed if you're playing it through an amp, this took a bit to get right as it was out of sync.

Another niggle is that the volume on HD channels seems a little lower than it does for normal channels and so you have to muck about with the volume, just a chore really.

SONY BRAVIA 40" W2000 (LCD, 1080p)
I was in the midst of getting a 46" Bravia, but a combination of an order falling through and the realisation that it might well have been just too big for the room left me with the decision to grab a 40" instead.

I'd been keen on this model after doing quite a lot of research and reading a lot about it online. I initially fought with the idea of getting a 1080p set, since I wasn't convinced it would be worth it, but I then thought I'd might as well future-proof myself (I certainly don't intend replacing my fairly extensive DVD library with Blue-Ray discs).

I dropped on lucky with the set, especially after my order for the 46" set was through a pal and had netted me considerable discount... but alas it was out of stock and they couldn't say when it would come, so I opted to sort myself out. After a time on the net, I managed to find the same set (in 40" form) at a local Comet store - and the best thing was that you could save 20% if you opted to order/reserve online and then collect. Basically £300 off the in-store price, no strings attached, no complex on-line thing to do, nothing. So I did - and collected it later in the day. I'm not sure many people know the extent of savings you can make by simply doing a few clicks on the net, so think on!

As for the set itself, once you totally drop the default screen/audio settings, which are obviously randomly generated by a half-deaf, half-blind monkey, the results are great.

I'm not finding too many niggles for the TV really, quality is excellent on the SkyHD and the consoles (especially the PS3 at 1080p). It has a good system to sorting signals out and if I have to be really picky, it can be a bit slow sorting through the inputs (AV1-6, PC, Digital, Analogue etc).

I'd like to be able to switch off the inputs (or ignore them) that I'm not using, but there seems no option to do that - although in typical style, I've not read the manual yet. The TV didn't spot the Composite 1080p mode on the 360, but I assume that might be more to do with the 360.

Tweaking tips: Turn off the screen modes and put it on manual-settings, take off the sharpening (or lessen it), take the backlight right down and turn all noise-reduction off etc. You end up with a very clean picture.

Style wise it's a Sony, so it looks good as you'd expect.

PLAYSTATION3 via BRAVIA/AMP
Firstly, on this telly (once the tweaks for the image are done) the image is fantastically sharp. It looks great.

PS2 games look good as they are up-scaled to 1080p as are standard DVD's and I had a bit of a job trying to spot the difference between Casino Royale DVD and Casino Royale Blue-Ray. The up-scaling is every bit as good as I'd heard it was - my DVD collection can rest easy, I'd been worried they might be a but fuzzy. Note that the PS3 only upscales this stuff via HDMI output and not anything else.

The only and I mean ONLY niggle I have with this configuration is to do with audio and nothing to do with the TV; basically you can't have dual audio output i.e. via HDMI and Optical at the same time on the PS3; which means messing around in the menus if you wish to switch.

Normally I'd use audio via HDMI through the TV (which sounds ok) but I'd like to hear full surround and loud volume through the amp if we're playing Guitar Hero, watching a movie, or playing Singstar etc. I found this quite annoying that I have to bugger about if I want to do that.. the 360 carries both, which is as it should be.

360 on TV/AMP
It's connected via the PC input and works a treat (the 360 doesn't have HDMI yet) and whilst it reports a problem at 1080p (1920x1080) it works fine in traditional resolutions and looks pin sharp, with great colours - Bioshock looked fab.

Audio was great via TV and through the amp, job done!

So all in all not too bad, I'm still ticked off about the PS3 one-sound-output-only (maybe a firmware change could fix that) and I can wait for more HD channels. The TV is great, just got to read the manual now and see if I can set a default channel and speed up choice.

Party Time!

The first (of two) major parties takes place on Friday in York, North Yorkshire this week. "17-17-17 Party One" (Team17's 17th Year Celebrations, on the 17th...) this time for a private party in a rather strange location. The party is already heavily over-subscribed but am sure it'll be a laugh - photos to follow next week.

"17-17-17 Party Two" will follow on Dec 17th in Wakefield/Leeds.

London Bound

Off to London today with John... and then on to Woking to see one of our partners and then into London on the way back to see another. There'll be a game of dice early evening with Matt (now of Eidos) then back on the 9.30pm train.

The days are counting down to the Germany trip and I'm pretty tired all told since I've not had a good nights sleep for a few days, which is leaving me quite short-tempered and ratty.

The kitchen bloke came last night to measure up for a new Kitchen, so Katrina's all excited about that - I'll be less excited when the quote comes in.

Speaking of Kitchens, I managed to turn my previously white, curry-covered shirt blue by not noticing I'd popped some boxers in with it on a hot wash... oh well, at least the blue it is now actually looks ok (blush).

Deadberries

After almost killing my Blackberry in Brighton (it works, sporadically) I managed to get a loan of a new one whilst I'm still disputing the insurance arrangement with Carphone Warehouse which is a long and tiresome story in itself.

Unfortunately the replacement one lasted just 24hrs before it too died. Only one button is working (the one that turns it on/off) and I haven't the heart to tell my mate who lent me it. I didn't drop it, wet it or anything... bloody hell.

Oh and there's a review in for the latest Worms for DS, 87% in the official mag, citing it's the series at its best, which is nice :)

Busy weekend

Had a busy weekend, the highlight of which was a trip up to Newcastle to see off my pal Dave Jefferies, who's leaving to live in New Zealand. I traveled up with Craig Albeck and we met Dave at a pub in Ovingham, a small village in Northumberland. Needless to say that it wasn't long before everyone was in high spirits, especially Craig who'd been out the night before and was 'topped up' pretty sharpish.

In the evening we went out with Ben Cosh and his partner Jill, who was enjoying her 30th birthday. We helped celebrate with a bottle of champers and as ever when I have champagne, a black-hole appears in the evening... I have not much clue about what went on between about 11 and 2am, suffice to say that my shirt had a better idea since it was covered in curry.

On Sunday I managed to get on the wrong train and had to get off in Sheffield before making my way back up the country to Wakefield, I got lucky though in terms of a train being in and I was only a little late back.

The rest of Sunday was spent keeping busy (sorting out the conservatory) and concentrating on not being sick. It's only this morning I feel ok...

A busy week ahead too, with the trip to Czech/Germany next week (the last major travel booked this year with the exception of Lyon in December) and a visit to London and the South West on Tuesday. I'm also looking forward to taking delivery of a shiny new 46" HDTV this week, so that'll be good - oh and Sky HD is being 'plumbed in' too.

Blog suffrage

It's really been quite tough keeping the blog up to date of late, I've had seemingly little time to document all the many events of the trip to the USA and also then Brighton, let alone stuff at work. I guess being on Facebook (www.facebook.com) doesn't help since that's been occupying a fair bit of my spare time.

Asides from a ton of work stuff (and the T17 17th summer party next week in York, on the 17th of course!) we've been up to a lot of stuff in the house, giving it something of a make-over, although it won't all be done for a few months. Part of that includes me going "fully HD" and getting a 1080p HDTV for the room. I was quite reluctant, but hey-ho, I got a good price on the screen and it means I can use the PS3 at least, since it's upscaling is supposed to be top-notch.

We've got our Worms handheld sequel looming and it'll be interesting to see how that does, since it's probably the best 2d worms game we've produced in a decade :-)

And 2008 should see a few new things too... watch this space.

Highland Photos up...

A collection of some of the photos taken in Scotland are up on my Flickr site:

HERE

Back from Scotland

Am back from a mini-holiday with our friends and ex-neighbours up in the Moray Firth area of Scotland (about 1hr up from Aberdeen and 1.5hrs east of Inverness). We had a great break, had a lot of fun and got about the place. The sun poked through long enough to get the kids out on the beach and I managed to take a hat-full of photos which I've got to sort and whack up on Flickr.

We set off in 15deg temperatures from Aberdeen (and light rain) returning to a fairly oppressive 30deg here in Wakefield, but that hardly stopped me dashing for a curry first chance I got; there are few take-aways in the area where we stayed, which manages to make Cornwall look urban and busy!

Spinning around the viral spiral

Not the best weekend ever, fighting a viral infection in my throat and a hangover that reached 8 on the Richter scale. I'm finally coming round though, slowly and surely, I actually thought that was it, I was doomed!

I went into the office for a couple of hours and saw to a few things, to recommence my holidays in the afternoon. We took the kids to see the Simpson's movie (great first 30mins and isolated laughs for the remainder in my opinion).

Tomorrow is packing for Scotland as we head up to see Marc & Tracey, our old neighbours now holed up somewhere near the Moray Firth. Fortunately Doctor Ghandi said that I didn't need antibiotics so the Whisky tour is still on. Bless the lord (and Allah).

Home improvements

We've decided to take the plunge at home and extend our house a little bit, creating a larger kitchen and a utility room. We've got a fair bit to do first, which includes getting some plans drawn up, getting them approved and getting quotes - all this before Katrina gets her long-awaited 'bastard kitchen' with an island, Belfast sink and huge fridge-freezer thing. I just hope we can get it sorted easily enough since I'm pretty busy with stuff at work.

On non-work related stuff I've managed to shed about 15 lbs since cutting back on stuff, so that's good news.

Golden times

I read somewhere (probably on Eurogamer, I think) that it's being described as a golden-time for indies right now. I've been banging on about that for a little while now and we've a bunch of things going on which will affirm this, as the Yorkshire death-star readies for action :-) I've never been quite so positive, relaxed, confident or utterly convinced of our future and how we will make our mark than ever before - and it's a great feeling.

I'm looking forward to taking some good people along with us and simply do what we can to ensure it's a fantastic time for all.

Although right now, I just wish I didn't feel like i'd been gargling on broken glass - I have a terrible sore-throat, but them's the breaks...

Ouch

Great trip to Brighton for 'Develop 2007' where I spent a ton of time with a number of people and as is tending to be consistent, good times were had in terms of business and social, with a great bunch of people. It was nice in particular to catch up with a few people I'd not seen in a while.

To be fair it's left me pretty drained, coming on the back of the recent trip to the USA, so I'll be lying low for a few days now, given I have a shocking hangover.

On the way to brighton....

Am on the shitty local train so its taking forever. No sign of undue water deposits or delays yet, but am sure bry is quite capable of mustering enough of those up. I currently have no idea when/if we'll get there...

Martyn Brown,
Studio Director,
Team17 Software Ltd.
(Out of office, sent via Blackberry)

Bloody lag

I only lasted a couple of hours in bed before getting up around 1:45am, wide awake and with head-ache. I'd had a 10minute cat-nap around 9.30pm and I reckon that's been enough to convince my body that it's still somewhere in downtown Seattle.

It's hardly the preparation I need going into 3 days of meetings and social extravagances down in Brighton...

As it is, I'm avoiding the trains which are in a shambles due to flooding and travelling down with Bry (Gamesauce) and Joe (Strawdogs) so at least that should be entertaining, in Bryan's flash new BMW.

I might go and try and get 2hrs kip now, before the kids get up, I've spent most of the night exploring facebook.

Jet spraying cat-piss off a rug...

Not really the ideal start to the day, the only consolation was that it wasn't Monty - and Herbie's not exactly out of the frame, despite not being a cat.

I'd got up at 4am (bed before 10pm) as the lag rolls on, but I feel I'm getting somewhere now.

Busy, busy, busy day today sorting out the schedule for Brighton (Tues/Wed/Thurs) and picking up on anything I've missed in the last 10days, the hours will fly by.

Still, onwards and upwards... if there wasn't enough work to do before (joke!) then there certainly is now :-/

Flickr of the wrist

I've added a bunch of photos taken with my DSLR in and around Santa Monica, Venice/Venice-Beach and Seattle. The camera made it safely home. Most pics were taken with either a 24mm AFD prime or the 18-200mm VR zoom. I took a few of the Seattle Center with my fisheye too.

I'll get around to commenting them when I can, they're mostly architecture.

Facebook

I joined Facebook, a web friends-focus-zone (www.facebook.com) a few days ago and it's been very addictive. It's a kind of "fits all" answer to all the previous linked-ins, blog-communities, friendslists and all that stuff. I'd always thought this "web 2.0" stuff was a bit far-fetched, but you can see how this stuff is just going to be so very big.

After returning from a pretty spectacularly successful trip to the USA, I can also see why there's so much focus on digital entertainment, where interactivity is the keyword; stuff like Facebook will become just as entertaining as playing games, or moreso than watching tv.

Games are set to explode and this is in a period where perhaps only 2 generations of people play (us, the post-baby-boomers and our children) - the next generations will be born surrounded by digital interactivity and have total acceptance.

I even think people will be still playing Worms then, when ironically enough, i'll be being eaten by bloody worms :)

Home is where the heart is

Finally got home after a marathon 24hr planes/trains/automobiles journey and as expected, am shot. The idea of staying up long enough to crack the jet-lag and go to sleep at night lasted about 20mins and I crawled into bed at mid-day, getting up to see the kids at 4pm.

The school BBQ planned for today has also been abandoned due to "2 months worth of rain" which is due to start arriving... that lucky gazebo eh.

Oh and the dog was so excited to see me that he pee'd on me. Nice.

Flipsides

It's 3am and we leave for the airport in a few hours, I can't get to sleep because I'm worried about not getting up in time and so am pretty whacked. This has been a mammoth trip in many ways and it feels like I've been away for months.

Right now, I just want to be home and the prospect of a drive, flight to vegas from seattle, flight to manchester from vegas, train and then finally a taxi to home fills me with total dread.

Fortunately I listened to the voice of reason (JD) and took things a little steadier at the parties/meal we went to last night, so it ended earlier and a lot less messy than I usually manage.

Fingers crossed that the journey runs smoothly.

Almost time for home

This marathon of a trip has been spectacularly positive, but left me pretty exhausted. I think both myself and John just want to get home now and see our families. LA/Seattle has been great.

In Seattle

We've arrived in Seattle and are going out with a friend from Microsoft tonight. I'm not sure that John is looking forward to it, having been rough all day because of last night :-)

E3 over...

...and we're preparing to go out with a friend from Capcom up on Sunset Strip... hopefully we wont be too battered in the morning and miss the flight to Seattle.

The meetings here in LA/Santa Monica have been great and we look forward to more up in Washington State at the weekend and next week.

I've still not lost the camera and took some nice pics of the canals in Venice :)

What a difference a day makes

The sun came out and it got very hot. Especially hot when you're walking a "Kilburn Mile" to Santa Monica from Venice, the very same "Kilburn Mile" which registers as actually 5.5m there and back.

Yesterday was mostly spent at a publishing partner and things seemed to go really well, which was excellent given that meeting was one of our main reasons for being over.

Later in the day we enjoyed the company of the team who did XBLA carcassonne and I played truly awful, much to the delight of John Dennis. In the evening we had some food and drinks in Venice with yet another publishing partner.

Today we visited a little bit of the "new style" E3, which is pretty low key, it has to be said - but we'd got a few meetings there - the most impressive part of it is that it's all in the hotels right on Santa Monica beach... much better than a huge conference centre downtown. It's really more of a media event and I'm sure it'll be declared successful, not that I'd really relish travelling over for it - honest.

Update from a perfect climate

Well, perfect if you like mid 60's and shrouded in cloud - all year sun my arse!

Anyway, despite a delay in Vegas for an hour or two, where the only gamble was whether to have a hotdog from 'Sausage Kingdom' or go for a mini-express Pizza-hut pizza, we arrived at LAX around 6pm.

Once we'd got over the disillusionment of the cloudy weather (after 100deg heat in our short walk in Vegas from Terminal 2 to 1) the second kidney punch came in the choice of 'convertible' (especially given the weather). Let's just say that there were a bunch of choices that might have pleased the wife. We ended up with a Chrysler PT Cruiser (cough) despite my rantings if there was anything else at all, still the cyan beetle would have been pretty bad too.

Our hotel isn't all that, we're a few blocks from the sea but it's a dingy place (there wasn't much on offer when I tried to book, E3 and high-season etc) and the room stunk a bit even before we got in it.

We've got a busy day today so it's not like we'd need the facilities of the room, have time to enjoy the sun or even get the benefit from our car (we've a few short miles to do) so in hindsight, there appears little to really whinge about.

We had a bite and a drink with Cris Blyth last night and he was in great form and totally besotted with his iPhone - which truly is a thing of beauty, if only to use on the net and as a portable photo album/music thing... (mmm... if I see one, one could come home...)

Delayed in Vegas

Arrived in Vegas ok, but now delayed in las vegas for an hour or so. We had to walk between terminals in 40deg, which was interesting with all our baggage etc..

Onto to LA now and to collect a car and take the hair-raising ride on the 6-lane crazy highway up to Venice/Marina Del Rey where we're staying. We're seeing old mucker Cris Blyth tonight for a meal and then it's down to business tomorrow - and the schedule doesn't stop until we drop :)

In a state...

Well, I will be tomorrow, probably in more ways than one.

We're over to see some publishing partners in the L.A. area and then on to Seattle for a conference/event. Chance to catch up with a bunch of old friends and publishing people in Santa Monica and Venice before we head up to Washington State on Saturday morning.

I'm taking the D80, so I'll hopefully get some nice shots inbetween the talks and meetings. If I get chance, I'll pop some up on Flickr.

Lost 3, Won 1, but had a bunch of fun.

Harry's full debut for the under 7's came initially in goal as he played for the 'B' team at a gala over in Minsthorpe, South Yorkshire. They lost 3-0 but he didn't really have much chance with any of the goals. As it was their first ever series of matches, there wasn't a great deal of expectation, but I think they all enjoyed the experience.

Most of all I laughed loudest at the ultra-competitive dads on the other teams who'd really lost all sight of the fact that these were under 7's, not Man U v Chelsea premier-league deciders.

They played 4 matches, with Harry playing outfield in the other 3, managing to win their third match - the only one I missed as I legged it back to the car to stick my camera in the boot since we were enduring a torrential downpour.

Will the last one out of the kop turn the lights off...

It's incredible that a club so steeped in history and (Leeds fans aside) pretty much universally disliked is on the verge of going out of business completely. Its something I'd never would have imagined in my wildest nightmares. Given that I had become somewhat disenfranchised with everything LUFC at the end of the O'Leary/Risdale/Bowyer-Woodgate period, it's still incredible to see something so apparently impregnable crumble to the ground, now penniless and pathetic, hovering around division 3 (somewhat falsely named "Division 1" to make everyone feel good, perhaps).

I obviously hope the club survives and I also really hope that a new backer comes in - I've no faith in Ken Bates, that's for sure...

Freedom of Speech!

If you believe in the freedom of speech and have Worms for Xbox 360, then hot-foot it onto the marketplace and download the audio packs (one mistakedly named 'music pack 2') and grab lots of free speech banks, including the classic 'Tykes' one I recorded some 12 years ago! :)

While you're there you can also peruse a range of additional landscapes which you can buy (if you so desire) for 150ms points each - there's also a space landscape too that's totally free.

Clogged up

I got back from Amsterdam early this morning, it's amazing to fly at 10am and be back in the T17 office by 10.35am :-) courtesy of the 1hr you get back due to Holland being +1hr on GMT.

The trip was good, with us spending time with our friends and colleagues over at Two Tribes, we discussed some longer term connections and had a few drinks (and a nice meal). Myself, Kel and Jamie then enjoyed a bit of the Amsterdam nightlife before gracefully retiring in the small hours.

I'm pretty knackered now after 2 early starts and a late night, so I'll probably be in bed and out-cold by about 10pm.

I've a ton of work to try and get done prior to flying out to the USA next week - a trip which I'm looking forward to for a whole bunch of reasons, it should be very useful and illuminating and I'm keen to revisit Seattle too, I really enjoyed the place when I went there a few years back.

Travel time, part 1. "Route Canal"

After a fairly sustained period in the office, there now looms a pretty busy period of travel for me.

This kicks off with a visit to Amsterdam tomorrow where we'll spend some time with a development partner of ours and discuss a bit of business we have in mind. We're only there for the night, so we'll be back in the T17 studio by mid-day on Wednesday.

Next week sees a much larger expedition to the west coast of the USA, taking in two of our publisher partners around Los Angeles prior to heading on up for a conference in Seattle with another of our partners, Microsoft.

I'm still in shock that half the year has gone already, the pace of life these days is pretty damn scary!

One bag of sugar gone, plenty more to go...

Well, with a week on my diet completed, two pounds or so have been lost - which is as expected given the calories involved, which is what i have been tracking. I did pretty well all week although I saved a lot of calories for a bit of a blow-out on Saturday night, which included a curry, naan bread, bottle of wine and such.. it will also be put to the test in Holland, but I'm motivated enough to keep it on an even keel right now. The aim is to lose at least 2llb a week until October or something like that - and see where that gets me.

D I S C - oh!

We've recently being doing a spot of psychometric testing at Team17, in order to initially help the management team understand everyone else a little more and secondly to communicate better and enhance how we work. The initial results have been pretty encouraging, it's incredible that a short 'test' gives an unnervingly accurate summary of a person's psyche.

It's been really interesting talking to sceptics and then seeing the transformation post test-results. I know a lot of people call such devices and tests low on practical use, but I'm not so sure, it just depends on how they are used; they are a tool and reference aid and not a determining factor. In particular they can help you understand someone's inner self and see where and how they'd be useful (or not!) which has its benefits on an interview level. Personally I like the fact that they can re-affirm what your concept of a person's motives and attributes are - or they can point out one or two things that perhaps hadn't been obvious.

An instance that occurred recently is that one of the guys who's had a profile at our place has been determined to simply not read verbose text and will often seek a simple, punchy overview or ask a trusted other to give them the overview.

Something like that is not always obvious and it's made me consider that in the materials I send out - perhaps there's room for me (who is known to bang out the odd verbose doc) to accompany any longer reports and docs with a short, to the point summary overview that is brief on factual detail for example. At the end of the day the whole process is about improving where we can.

Incidentally, the DISC in the subject matter refers to the common profiling system of testing DOMINANCE, INFLUENCE, STEADYNESS and COMPLIANCE in terms of character traits - the results are generally observed by looking at the scores in each (+20 through -20) which are then plotted on a graph and common patterns emerge according to those traits. Personally, I'm a high I/S in an inverted U shape, which oddly enough is summed up by a "gregarious communicator/counseller" where people & emotions are the priority rather than practical detail.

It doesn't take too much thinking to consider that someone who scores high in Steadyness and Compliance would work well in a technical, production role and those with dominance (and to a lesser degree, influence) would work well in direct management positions under pressure.

It's an interesting subject and one that certainly makes you sit up and think, there's a ton of pages on the net on the subject, just search for DISC profiling and enjoy!

You Tube

It's amazing how many You-Tube links are spat around daily. And why not, the latest being "midget relay v Camel" racing... The 3.30 from Tangentville...

"Look, it's geeky dad!"

Nice eh? But that's how my kids greeted me, equipped with new glasses... It's a pain having the reading glasses, which are great for reading (surprisingly) but just out of focus enough to spoil watching tv from where I like to sit, meaning I use the other pair most of the time. I assume my eyes will benefit from non-contact-lens wearing after a few days, they usually do.

Now I need to get some prescription shades and also ask about some odd colour effects on bright objects with the glasses I've got, I get an almost 3d image effect at the edges of objects if I squint into my peripheral vision, which is a bit odd although I'd warrant there's a bunch of people in society dropping tablets that do that kind of thing for their kicks.

I'll most likely wear my contacts at industry events unless I'm speaking and wish to look more distinguished (thanks JD).

New diet going well...

4 days into the new diet regime and I'm doing well too, all-set to have lost a couple of pounds by the end of the week at least. I've averaged about 1750 calories a day, which is 750 lower than the average for a bloke, prior to exercise and Herbie's helped me there in terms of his walks. I've had a couple of glasses of wine tonight and not much else all week, drink wise... but travelling and opportunities beckon next week, starting in Amsterdam.

Lots of ark's on Ebay... and tilt-shift photography.

...now the rain has ebbed. Looks like we pretty much escaped the worst since a lot of Yorkshire areas copped for it pretty bad. Sheffield, Leeds and some areas of Wakefield got soaked - they even closed the M1. Looking outside here, you can't tell it even rained at all, even my gazebo is dry.

There were some shocking pics on the web of Sheffield, with cars fully submerged, so it was with some vindication I recounted the virtues of living atop a hill :)

One of my ebay camera lens purchases turned up today, a good value Sigma 105mm macro lens, that really should have seen me list my 60mm macro (a Nikon) but such is my lens-lust that I can't part with the 60mm... stupid I know, but there you go. I'll come around sometime or other, keeps me out of trouble at least.

Do the tilt and shift...

I have been turned on by a Hartblei "tilt and shift" lens, made in the Ukraine by clever Russian boffins, some results can be seen here... it gives an amazing toy-like feel. MUST..NOT..BUY..ONE.... NOT.BE.TEMPTED...

A fuller explanation (and more examples) of Tilt-Shift photography can be found here.

Back to College

Additionally, I've been invited to give a talk at the Wakefield Tech' College annual awards in December (a day after I stagger back from Lyon) - that'll be interesting and special given I went there as a scruffy-haired, awkward nerd back in 1982... at least I've evolved into a grey-haired, awkward nerd some 25years on... :)

Brilliant

That's the ace view from my window at 3.15pm today - and it's been like that since 9am.. actually it's been like that since yesterday afternoon.

There's a few people off today and I've been taken to wondering if they're all off building an ark...

Actually that's not so bad when compared with some local low-lying areas - just seen some pics out of the window of Sumo's studio in Sheffield and there are cars floating down the street and stuff. (Sumo are another Indie studio in Sheffield).

Predictable, all told...

In the long list of things that are ultimately very predictable, me piling weight on ever since getting an "all clear" in terms of getting my blood-sugar down to human levels again late last summer, must have been an evens bet - along with the incessant rain ever since I got the marquee-thing for my decking.

Obviously I'd taken this "all clear" (or more accurately, "discharge" from hospital care) as a green flag to think I was ok and get on with some serious living again (not that, to be honest, it had dramatically affected my life as much as I'd imagined it might).

So, 9 months on and a stone and half on, it's time to do something about it. I've realised myself that I've been a bit of a slacker on this front for some time, so it's time to get back on the calorie tracking thing I was using before (www.weightlossresources.co.uk) which allows you to input what you eat (and, cough, drink) and see clearly what you're up to.

I used this for 4 months in early 2006 to incredible effect, shedding almost 4 stones and whilst my blood sugar remains ok these days, the odd pizza's and more so, the odd pint has crept back in which despite my increased exercise has left me where I am today.

The circles and situations I tend to find myself in hardly help, but it's time to give it a go - I've noticed the new jeans I bought getting increasingly tighter and as for the Puma Ferrari t-shirt I bought in San Francisco, May last year, there's no chance that is going on with my gut bulging.

Harry's first trophy :-)

WRAFC_31.jpg
Originally uploaded by daspadger

Spent most of the day at Wrenthorpe club with the local football team, of which Harry is part of. It was end of season presentations and he got a little trophy and a special mention for always entertaining everyone and making people smile :)

I had a burger and what seems like a dodgy pint of Guinness and haven't felt right all day, so its been pretty wasted, all told.

I took a bunch of photos for the club, but my pal Bob was head photographer, just as well since the poor bugger was there six hours, doing all the age-groups...

Liberated?

For what must seem the first time in, oh, probably 25 years, I actually think I have a new hobby. A proper hobby.

I must have really... As an aside, I got asked what games I'd played recently in the boozer earlier today and there's a few that I've chucked the odd hour at; Forza2, DiRT, Hotel Dusk and also Puzzle Quest - but the 5/6 unwrapped premium 360 titles told me something when I thought about it.

What told me even more was the passion I then spoke about a new interest in my personal life, when prompted, which I've found all-consuming since I dived in; that of Photography.

I love it because it's part technical, it's part creative, it's part luck, part art and most of all, part personal and utterly subjective.

I love it because for the most part it's a real step out of my commercial world and away from the day to day I'm used to. It's an opportunity to quickly capture and express the world around me and things I wish to enjoy again, or wish to capture a special memory.

Don't get me wrong, I totally love the work I do, the studio I helped create and nurture, I love the positive vibes from what we do, how we do it and who we do it with.

But for once, and it's been a long time, there's something else I can really enjoy and get personal, wanton reckless personal gratification from that my mother wouldn't object to... or my mates either. I feel a little self-indulgent, but it makes me smile inside and if that means taking a break from playing games all night after helping make them all day, then all well and good.

And for the record, I only got one badge as a cub-scout; at the age of 9... that of photography. My black & white shots with a Kodak Brownie self-developed in a make-shift dark-room will never, I guess, see the light of an exhibition gallery, but I know, I really know they've been lurking somewhere inside me for a while.

I do feel a tad liberated, it has to be said.

Colour me old!

Well, talk about a double-whammy... first there's my eldest, Jack, getting to the ripe old age of ten, into double-figures and making me feel old, then there's the bloody opticians today declaring "well, you're getting old now, you should have some reading glasses - it affects men in their forties generally". Ouch.

Pass me the blues CD's, it seems my rock and roll days are alas over - at least it appears that way from over the top of my bi-focals.

(Those aren't my new reading glasses btw.. just some joke ones I got Jack in Seattle a few years ago!)

Keeping my head down

There's a ton of stuff going on at T17, which is largely keeping me pretty quiet right now. With few trips out of the studio in June, it's at least let me get on top of that stuff, even if it's still left us a little stretched. Most of the work is to do with some initiatives and opportunities for late 2007 and stuff going into 2008.

I'm trying to get a bunch of this stuff done since I'm pretty much on the road during July and August without hardly any office time, so it's important that momentum is built up with work stuff while I have the chance.

DiRT arrived from Codies today so I'll look at giving that a spin tonight, I've been grabbing the odd hour on Forza on 360, which i've been enjoying, but I still find myself consuming photography/digital-editing books, magazines and software when I get any spare time - which as ever, is at a premium.

Busy weekend

Another weekend flies by... mostly wet of course, as was the rest of the country it seems. We spent the night in York on Friday, at a hotel just outside the centre, the Best Western Pavillion. It's not one that I'd recommend, it was the only one with availabilty at the time, probably due to the race meeting - although that was called off due to the weather.

We had a couple of OK meals, a few OK pints and had a wet walk around for a while, returning early Saturday - not our greatest trip to York ever and certainly not our most entertaining time away.

Saturday evening we had friends round, drinks and Pizza which was pleasant enough... tonight, since it's father's day, it's off to the local with Bob.

I spent most of the day entertaining Jack (who was having his tenth birthday) and his buddies firstly at Nando's in Wakefield and then watching the almost 3hrs long Pirates of the Caribbean 3... which was a muddled, slightly entertaining mess. The kids were a bit loud, but mostly behaved which was a relief.

Other than that, I've been spending a lot of my time cataloging my digital photographs in 'Lightroom' on the Mac, which is taking some time but will be worth it (I keep telling myself). I bought Forza for the 360 the other day and I've a bit of a go on that, but only an hour or so.

Wedding Anniversary

We chalk up 11yrs as of today. When we got wed, June 15th 1996 (at Waterton Park, Walton) it as gloriously hot - but alas not today, which is a shame since we've booked a nice room at nearby York (recently voted one of Europe's top cities) and given the sheer amount of rain, there are flood warnings in place.

Still, you can't control the weather and worst case scenario, we'll have to stay safe in the pub :-) And there was I, hoping to get out with the Camera...

Just reminds me of another time we went away, to Venice, which is somewhere where you'd expect to find plenty of water - but when we went there was a high tide and a flood (7th worst in it's history) and our hotel reception was 4ft under water...

Busy

There's a ton of stuff on right now so I've been keeping my head down, not much I can really discuss either. Most of it is good and a lot of it is exciting in one way or another. Big things for T17 loom.

Yesterday I enjoyed a good night out with some developer pals in Leeds, where we did the usual Browns+Akbars+Mojo 'til late and I'm out and about in York tomorrow, with the missis actually since it's our 11yr wedding anniversary, so I'm likely to be on my best behaviour :)

Had a lunch with Charles Cecil yesterday and it appears his jacket ended up in the Ouse following the Northern exposure event...

It lives :-)

Courtesy of a replacement HD (exact same make and model) from Ebay for £19, I have managed to repair and recover my data-losses from last week. In the space of a couple of minutes (at least once I'd recovered a security screwdriver - the star shaped one) I'd removed and swapped the controller PCB's on the boards. I popped the old drive back in the 2nd bay and hey-presto! Colour me chuffed.

I've now managed to pull all the docs from it and set it up after a rigid format as a back-up drive (there were no surface errors, it was simply a controller board failure) - get in!

It does beg the figures discussed by recovery experts though, £70-80 to just look at the drive, then hundreds (if not thousands) to recover data. Took me 5mins and £19 once I'd tracked down an identical drive :)

Weekend flies by...

Another weekend mostly punctuated with the activities of our kids flew by...

Apart from Harry's Saturday footy session (in hot weather for once), there was also Simon's son's birthday, which included a huge bouncy slide in his garden and rather unsurprisingly a cider-marathon. Needless to say that 10hrs later, I was fast asleep and snoring, getting 'comments' from my missus, which spilled into Sunday due to the lack of sleep she got :-/

Sunday was a slow day, but we ended up going for an Italian at Orlando's (Grange Moor) where the owner does a few magic tricks while you eat. I thought it was OK, but nothing so special, but everyone else thought it was good... must have been me, then.

I also watched 'Hot Fuzz' which had turned up on DVD and I thought that wasn't too great either, but my expectancy was very high after Sean of The Dead.

Another busy week of getting stuff sorted beckons, hopefully with no more technical problems. Worms Open Warfare2 is edging closer (after a protracted testing period) and I chalk up 11years on the marriage barometer next weekend.

Nostalgic ale session

Had a few, well, more than a few actually, beers with Rico and Tim Smith last night (amongst some other T17'ers) at The Mews last night - not my favourite pub by a wide margin for reasons I won't dwell on, but the words cash, bastard and orange tan come in to play.

Anyway, the night ended around 3am, which makes me kind of fuzzy around the edges today... quiet night in beckons tonight given I'm down at daft Simon's tomorrow afternoon & evening and that's only going to go one way - and he should be out of the dog house by then as he got very pissed watching England-Estonia the other night.

Tons of stuff going on in T17 land and it'll be nice to discuss some of that when and as it all happens :)

Testing times

After putting a bit of weight back (quite gradually, it has to be said) since I lost a lot over a year ago, I'd decided to try and get rid of a bit again. However, this is going to prove difficult with many opportunities that present themselves which include a bar and late-snacks. I'll just have to see how it goes and cut down where I can I guess.

Had a much better day today, lots of positive things going on and I've got the England match to look forward to in the local village pub later with a few pals. Not sure I'll enjoy the game, but the company will be good.

Bad start to the week

Yesterday was a bit tiresome really. Having got back from my break I was ready to get stuck into a shed-load of things that are awaiting attention, however, on booting up my system, it was shortly apparent that my HD had failed. Serves me right for shutting my system down properly I guess (normally it's just left on).

After spending a while trying all kinds of tricks to get it working again, I had to get my head around the fact it really was dead and go get another and do a full re-install of my system and a full recovery. Not great and by about 5pm, I'd more or less got back to where I needed to be - a total waste of a day.

I've since read that Maxtor DiamondPlus's (the HD in question) are apparently prone to random failure and it's certainly made me wish to avoid having them in any system I have from now on. I normally replace a HD once it starts getting the odd r/w error.

A few up at Flickr

I've posted a few shots up at my flickr site (link opposite) from the holiday. I took a fair few photos but it'll take me some time to get around to tidying them up and uploading. (HERE for the recent holiday pics)

We had a good break despite some so-so weather in Cornwall where it remained largely cloudy and overcast most of the week, with the first Sunday being the worst for the weather, where it was rainy and gusty. It's not really the best part of the country to be if the weather is crappy since there are relatively few indoor attractions to keep the kids amused - and its a beautiful place when the sun shines.

We had one worrying medical emergency when our friends son was ambulanced to Truro hospital after difficulty due to asthma, the main problem was for the ambulance finding our cottage which was somewhat out in the sticks, one mile down a dust track.

We managed to get 2-3 good trips to the beach and rockpools so the kids were happy enough and when the weather was bad, the Wii kept them amused. No boat trip this year :)

The weekend we left Cornwall, the weather was much better (mid 70s/80's) and we enjoyed 3 good days at Cheddar Caves, Longleat Safari Park and finally at Legoland Windsor.

As usual, my card and bank account are feeling a bit of a hangover from the trip :-/

Back...

Just got back from a 10-day UK break with the family, we went down to Cornwall for the spring-bank break and then a weekend that took in Cheddar, Longleat Safari Park and finally Legoland. 1,280miles/2,000km* later and I'm sick of seeing the car - which now needs a bloody good valet after having 2 kids rattling around in it during that time.

Herbie went crackers when he was reunited with us (he'd had a holiday too) and the house is upside down with all our stuff everywhere now.. which probably means a week or so of sorting it all out, if I can manage to put Hotel Dusk down (recent game bought for the DS).

Getting back, it appears I've had no email since Thursday afternoon, not sure what's up there (probably the T17 server) and there's all hell let loose on various forums because some of the Worms downloadable content is chargeable and some of it is free - I've made some posts on our forum about that and won't ramble on here.

I've only been back in the house an hour, so I'll get back with an overview sometime later in the week and pop some of my photos up on Flickr.

*Edited and added good old imperial for Kilburn, even though 1,250 miles doesn't really sound quite as impressively far as 2,000 km :)

Additionally I can also confirm that nothing was lost, not even a boat. Mind you, it wasn't bloody sunny either for the most part, until the day we left Cornwall.

Viva Pinata

And for once, not on the 360... Harry enjoyed his 6th birthday party by mutilating a Horse Pinata in the back-garden with a couple of his pals. I helped when it had been rendered un-hangable by kicking the living shit out of it until the sweets scattered all over the garden, cueing a mad scramble from Jack and some other kids who'd arrived.

On other things, Worms finally got it's XBLA update today and there's been frantic action on the leaderboard front. We're also on the verge of annoucing the downloadable content, which will come on Friday morning (the news/info, the content arrives next wednesday). Unfortunately I won't be around for that, but the news should be on the Team17 site and also the Team17 Forum.

Blogs will be sporadic for a while, I'll be blogging from my Blackberry due to no Internet connection where I'm going :(

More photo fun

I've now started dabbling in the dark arts of digital photography, mucking about with RAW format files, buggering about with Photomatix, High-Definition-Range images and tone-mapping.

I'm only really starting out but am quite pleased with some of the shots.

I took a few at Newmillerdam again at the weekend, mostly in wide-angle, but the more I mess with this stuff the more intriguing and addictive it becomes. I've also spawned a lot more closer acquaintances with friends simply through the whole photography thing too, which is nice - and I'm invariably spending way too much time on Flickr.com.

I'm away to Cornwall for a few days soon and I'll be looking forward to getting out and about with the camera then. I also got Jack a point and shoot for his birthday so hopefully he'll get the creative bug too - he already wants to start his own blog!

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A colour version of the more arty processed B&W shot.

Update Looming!

Worms for Live Arcade gets it's update this week and the downloadable stuff follows a week later. As usual, I'm not going to be around to enjoy it - I just have the habit of being away anytime anything Worms happens to go live...

We're also looking into having a monthly Worms award for XBLA and the possibility of regular tournaments. We're just in the process of sending out a ton of signed awards for the top players in the leaderboards prior to the reset on Wednesday.

Having your cake and eating it...

Check THIS link out!

Brilliant :)

Egg Head

I had to laugh this morning. We took our resident Polar Bear out for a fairly long walk through some local fields and Harry was delighted to find a birds' egg. He carefully carried this on his journey, despite strong gales - almost dropping it when I had to stop Herbie rolling in something very unpleasant which necessitated a bath when we got back, the little stinker.

Anyway, 2 mins from home and cue rain & strong winds, harry managed to "drop" the egg on his own head, which smashed and trickled down his face, he was quite upset... poor mite.

We'd also set off in the sun and at exactly the furthest point from the house, it totally lashed it down - and I got soaked since I had no coat. Typical.

Ritual Burial

The family will be holding a ritual burial and wake in honour of my Sketcher's sandals which have now past away, their last hours spent in the tortuous grip of Herbie who gnawed the last buckle. They'd recently split and the writing had been on the wall for a while; they'd begun to pong and fashion disaster 2006 (wearing them ignorantly and willingly with socks into the office) meant that they were doomed to a certain and disappointing death.

My feet will sorely miss them though, proper bloody comfy they were.

Component Joy and Photo-realisations

I finally got around to getting a component (RGB) cable for the PS2 the other day (yeah, I know) since I've always been curious to see if the fuzzy display could be any better through my projector (especially for Singstar and Guitar Hero).

After buggering about for a while, I just couldn't get the thing to output properly and eventually, frustrated, I gave up, thinking it must be something with the cable and/or my projector set-up.

I then stumbled upon some information that you need to actually set what type of output is set by the PS2 out of the component cable (it's not just component)... so a quick fiddle with that and it works great - and looks great, so incredibly better than composite, with GH2 working in progressive-scan too.

If only I'd sorted this 3 years ago! And also, fed a set of component cables through my wiring ducts, I've got everything else but - just that 3yrs ago, I thought DVI/HDMI would be enough (along with S-Video, AVI, Scart and PC D-Sub). Messy cables aside though, it is way better.

Camera Learnings

On the subject of learning, I feel that I'm getting somewhere with regards to my footlings with the DSLR camera. I recently forced myself to start taking pictures in full Manual mode (even focusing for god's sake) and setting exposure etc.

I use the other modes occasionally, usually when just snapping the kids or I don't have time to set up my manual stuff. The fact that the auto/program modes throw up better images right now is a moot point... I'll get there :)

I feel like I've learnt a ton about exposures, ISO speeds, F-stops and more besides, but in doing so I've opened somewhat of a Pandora's box... there's so much more to learn and try - and importantly, things to fail on, which is the only way to learn. Next up is sorting out HDR (High Dynamic Range) images and tinkering with RAW format files.

I'm really enjoying the photo thing and I only wish I had more time for it - I'm going to try and make some when I vanish off to Cornwall next Friday.

I did take this one in full manual mode, so I'm getting there... incidentally it was taken at Harry's 6th (yes, sixth) birthday party last weekend.



Camera geek-detail:
Nikon D80, 100th/sec, F2.8 60mm Nikkor Macro lens, with SB600 flash bounced. I felt the colours were perhaps a bit too vivid and have since toned them down (I can always sort in software). It was sharpened slightly but no other edits.

Living and learning

I'm not quite sure when it is when you stop learning important stuff, or at least stop taking things for granted - perhaps never.

It's very easy to be nonchalant about things or even worse these days; not fully consider the ramifications of your actions, despite any best intentions you had. I must be knocking on if I'm starting to be considerate... (must try harder).

Suffice to say that today I've had a stern, sharp reminder that it's never too late and that I've got to find time for 3 or 4 times properly cycling through my thought patterns rather than the twice I'd thought was enough and sufficient.

This, after usually snapping just half-way through my first thought cycle for perhaps 30yrs of my life... and the change & benefits even then were remarkable. It's not a case of biting your lip, it's biting both and then thinking again. Twice.

I'm not sure this will make any sense to anyone, but it makes sense to me and is therefore fairly thereputic as a result.

Going live

The long-awaited Worms update (detailed a couple of blogs ago) will finally go live next week, which is great news for all folks playing the game... I'm actually glad it's a few days because everyone's going Halo3 crazy right now!

Our downloadable content follows hot on the heels and there'll be a seperate trumpet about that no doubt.

I'm feeling quite low and subdued this evening, but nothing I can blog about - at least Herbie, my dog, is getting shaved tomorrow, he will cease to look like a scruffy West Highland White and take on his "Polar Bear" persona once trimmed.

Where's Phil Collins when you need him?

Five days on and Charles Cecil's jacket still goes unreported in terms of sightings. Best thing is, a new photo has come to light and I'm definately the not the last one wearing it (since I'm wearing "Ken's" (whoever bloody Ken is)... this is a good thing. I think/hope... my memory is very, very hazy.

Work wise, it's been both busy and very productive, with a bunch of stuff getting sorted and I'm confident that I'll be able to go on my break a week on Friday with pretty much everything sorted for the time being, meaning I can relax.

I've had a few mails from people over in Sweden to say that they've missed our special brand of humour, which is nice - and I would have enjoyed going out there... maybe next year, or later in the year at least.

Oh and the Worms update will go live next Wednesday it seems.

Worms Live Arcade Update due any day

Yes, what all Live Arcade users have been pining for (never mind Halo3) ;-) is on it's way in the next few days. A full list of what the update does is listed HERE.

Cancelled Travel

I was due to go to Malmo, Sweden along with John today, but there's too much stuff that needs my attention back at T17 towers really (especially with me going on holiday a week on Friday) and 3-4 days out of the office now isn't where the priorities lie. It's a shame, since I'll miss catching up with a lot of people (and friends) over there and the Nordic Games Conference is usually very well organised and entertaining.

Jacket-Swap, Sobriety and Lack of Moderation (Not necessarily in that order)

Funny old day, Thursday.

First I wasn't very moderate with moderation on two fronts; namely going without food all day, with only a few coffee's and waters during "Northern Exposure" - a day long conference at York Racecourse where I did a talk/presentation and a quick spot on a panel. Secondly, well, you know what.

I didn't eat simply because there was a lot of studio stuff going on which I kept having to sneak away and grab time on my blackberry for, people grabbing me to chat and before I knew it, it was 7pm and time for the evening events to start... it was a very good day though and well put together.

I was very concious of not eating but despite protesting about it (no, really) it fell on deaf ears and after 2 (large) glasses of red wine, what followed was pretty predictable.

Boxhall lost another hat (this time it ended up in the Ouse) and I lost a t-shirt, eventually playing a rather silly game of "wife swap" with Jackets for some reason. I ended up with Charles' Cecil's white number, he got my denim one and I woke up eventually in a blue jacket.

One problem, my jacket had my bloody blackberry in it. About 4-5hrs later it was found out that Charles still had my jacket, in York, whilst the blue-jacket believed to belong to a Glaswegian producer called Ken.

I was pretty rough on Friday and I only just came round before Marc and Tracy, our former neighbours (since moved up to the highlands) arrived for a weekend visit. We used to play Singstar a lot with them and this was like days of old, with it eventually ending at around 2.30am with Trina and I belting out "Life on Mars". I actually won a battle, getting an almost perfect score on "Enjoy The Silence" which is my joker. Earlier in the even I'd been on Guitar Hero again - I bloody love that game.

Saturday (today) is Harry's birthday party, even though his actual birthday isn't for a couple of weeks - so he's having a swimming/water-party in Dewsbury later today. That'll certainly sober me up. Bob and Julie are round tonight, so another late/tipsy one is forecast and more Guitar Hero I'd wager.

Worms XBLA update coming very soon

The update for Worms XBLA will come very soon, it's now ready to go. It fixes a number of connectivity issues, various bugs and leaderboard glitches, adds a bit more fizz to mines and additionally speeds up the AI.

DLC will follow later this month and there's a Worms day on XBLA on 17th May!

In addition, Worms Open Warfare 2 for DS and PSP (coming this Summer from THQ) have been very positively previewed in IGN, which is nice. The game is now in it's final stages of testing and fixing prior to the game going for manufacture testing and submission.

Didn't do much on Monday either...

The dog got walked and that was about it. Weather was so-so and we just couldn't be arsed to go and watch Spiderman 3, although the reviews are a bit hit & miss, so that hasn't helped.

Back to work tomorrow and out in Leeds in the evening, by which time I hope to have fully got over the Friday/Saturday nights excess. Been a very weary weekend for me - and to be honest, a bit of a waste of time.

Bank holiday hangover

I only just realised that I'd not added to the blog in the last few days, funny since a few things have happened really. Friday was a busy day, I'd given a presentation to a local business networking group at the nearby Cedar Court - that went pretty well and I'm sure i'll get more comments again if it's featured in the local rag.

Friday evening I went to the Aagrah Indian restaurant with my wife's side of the family, who were seeing off Dale, a visiting ex-pat Aunt who is by now, back in her native Sydney - I can't believe how quick her 6 weeks visit seemed to fly by. We took the kids with us and Jack seems to be really getting a wide taste for exotic foods now; he had his usual masala fish and tried tandoori chicken. I was pretty hammered too, i'd had a few pints of Guinness with Craig Albeck post presentation, so I was in high spirits throughout.

Friday was also the day that Leeds finally got relegated - without kicking a ball! The club entered into administration, with a -10points docking as a result. It's time to rebuild and it'll certainly be an interesting summer... the team lost their final game, too, but it was immaterial by then.

On Saturday I was out with my side of the family, seeing off Laura and Paul who are moving out to start a new life in Australia. I spent the evening in the Vine Tree and then ended back at my uncles with the intention of watching the boxing on sky, being shown live at 4am... However, a few too many whiskies saw me very, very smashed and I don't recall too much - I walked the mile or so home and woke Katrina up at 3am or something, struggling to use the key I had in my pocket. oops.

Sunday has been a write off as I've spent pretty much most of it feeling very rough and hungover. As a result, aside from a couple of dog-walks and a family board game (Hotel - Trina won, much to Harry's disgust) I've not done much at all, which Katrina has been kind enough to remind me of every few minutes :)

It's bank holiday Monday tomorrow (May Day) and I'm not sure what we'll be doing since the weather is supposed to be dodgy. We might take the kids to see Spidey3 if the weather does take a bad turn.

Game for a laugh

I've been getting a bit of a ribbing at the games "I'm playing" by people commenting at my gamertag "last 5 games played". Well, there's a reason that Turtles, Frogger and mostly Viva-Pinata are there... he's nearly 6 and called Harry!

Truth be told, I've hardly touched the 360 in the last few weeks (given I can hardly get near it for Viva Pinata) and I've been doing other things. The PS3 went into the office and has been donated to the design room, although I think it's still lurking in the producer's office such is the anxiety in which JD rushed out to get a HDMI cable so he could use it...

Games wise, I've been playing Puzzle Quest on PSP which is essentially Bejewelled with fantasy RPG knobs on and for some reason it's very more-ish even if I've just skipped every part of "the story" which seems nonsense to me (even though the fantasy art and characters are very nice).

I'm looking forward to getting back online and playing Worms when the update goes live - should have news on that soon really. In the office we're pretty much at submission with a new PSP/DS title and it's all hands on deck for that.

Life after Mars

Well, that's that then. Life on Mars (both series) succesfully watched. Not 100% sure what to make of the last episode, but at least I don't have to run out of the room, re-tune the radio or avoid chatter when it's mentioned anymore.

I really enjoyed both series, if only for Gene Hunt's politically incorrect banter and the curious, can't quite-put-your-finger-on-it attractiveness of Annie, the WPC turned inspector, you always knew Tyler would end up giving her the benefit of his nightstick... (to quote DCI Hunt).

I'm not sure what we'll watch at home now, since Katrina and my tastes differ so wildly and it's rare to find something we both enjoy equally. The next series (Ashes to Ashes) is supposed to be set in the 80's and thats a bit crap really (being a 70's child, born in the 60's) since I just about associate the 80's with relatively crappy music.

I watched the European cup semi earlier and it was good to see the grimacing fans and players of Chelsea at the end, perhaps it'll keep pictures and discussions about the glorious demise of Leeds Utd off the back (and front) pages for a little while.

"Range: 0 miles"

Not quite the best first message to greet you on a morning, not creeping up a steep country hill a couple of miles from your office, with the garage a mile away and your wallet firmly left on your office desk. It was almost time for the dunce hat to have a second wearing within 12 hours or so.

I made it to the office by driving pretty conservatively (a first) although I've got to try and eek it up to the garage later on and fill it up. Before then I've got to survive the heat in my office, which is roasting due to early morning sun on the side of the building... I'm hopeful the aircon will kick in soon and save me from having to wear another less sweaty t-shirt.

Oh it's May, too, which makes it May-Day, some kind of pagan festival marked by a celebration in these parts of dancing around a May Pole (there's one just up the road, near the school I went to as a kid) and the "World Coal Carrying Contest" is also held there. It's all a bit Wicker Man really.

I've uploaded some new pics on my Flickr site and re-organised it all a little bit, after finally getting on top of the many hundreds of pics I've taken since I got my shiny new camera in January. I've not bought a lens for a month or so, I'm doing well... (although I've got my eye on a long telephoto one...).

I was kicking myself the other day, Sunday, when I missed the opportunity to take an amazing sunset photo (they're pretty good over Low Laithes, half a mile or so from my house - and a mile from the office) - the sun was low, large and gloriously reddy-orange. That'll be the golden rule about taking your camera everywhere... but I'd taken it out since the car was going for a MOT test. Grr.

Wearing hats

Wearing different hats is something I have to do but not necessarily always enjoy. As a more laid back, amiable character (so my DISC personality profile revealed) I prefer to keep things cordial and pleasant where possible.

On occasion, my standard issue, happy-go-lucky hat is replaced by something else with several getting worn today.

Hat 1 was my deflection hat, knocking back emails, MSN's and phone calls taking the piss out of Leeds' fall from grace and into the depths of division 3, curiously termed 'League One' these days.

Hat 2 was business hat. Business hat is the one where the head must rule the heart (I'm generally the other way when I can) and today I had to give some bad news to someone that was common sense, but ultimately disappointing.

Hat 3 was a tin hat, going into studio defence mode in a round of emails.

Final hat of the day was Dunce hat, I queued for 20mins in the post office for my new car tax disc, only to get to the counter and find I'd forgotten the bloody MOT certificate, which the Jag had fortunately passed earlier in the day, albeit with a warning of wear on some bush of some sort or another (me and car terminology don't mix well).

I'm not sure what other hats are lined up for this week, but it wouldn't surprise me to don the tin one again! I'm hoping to break out the party hat again with some news on Worms, too.

Steady weekend

Had another quiet weekend and not really got up to too much. I spent most of Saturday morning still chipper from the skinful I had on Friday night, there was a Poker night at Team17 (I didn't win - or get even close) and I overdid it a bit with a bottle of Jameson's and then went down into Wakefield with Colin and the Albeck Monkey. I vaguely recall dancing in a club, so I presume I was fairly intoxicated.

I felt quite rough the latter part of Saturday so didn't do too much at all, apart from watching another episode of Life On Mars (second series) which myself and Katrina are enjoying. I'm enjoying it a lot if only because DCI Gene Hunt is Jon Oldham incarnate - I'm not sure when Jon turned scriptwriter... I'm supposed to be having a pint with him in London next week, so I'll ask him.

Next week is pretty busy, there's visits to Manchester, London and a talk for the regional development agency where I will chat about Team17 and our experiences as well as the games industry in general. We don't, as a rule, really have too much to deal with in terms of local business and industry, but I'm quite looking forward to it.

By then we'll be into May, with me already fretting just where the hell the time is continuing to go... there's an event in Newcastle the week after then the Nordic Games Conference which will see me being in Malmo for a few days.

But, there's still life in April and that means the pub with Bob later, we'll probably nip down to our local "The New Pot Oil" but there's some rumination on whether we should cab it over to The Pride in Ossett, for some Addlestone's (proper Cider)...

The fat lady has sung...

...and Leeds United are relegated. It'll take a while for the enormity of the situation to hit me - Leeds are now effectively in the 3rd division; for the first time in their 88year history. A fate that has befallen Notts Forest and also Man City, famously (the latter now back in the premiership).

There will be a lot made of this and ultimately the club has paid for a few years of serious mismanagement and the dark days of the Bowyer/Woodgate scandal. No doubt that the news will please a lot of people and there'll be some smiling faces at other clubs. I just don't know what to think really, I got pretty disenfranchised some time back.

Round up

It's been a busy week really, despite there not really being much to blog - at least to talk about which I can.

I've pretty much been very busy at work with a few things and it's been a case of moving those things on. Worms update for XBLA is in cert and expected out soonish, which will be cool (followed by a cluster of downloadable content).

At home I finally succumbed and upgraded my Mac laptop to a 17" pro after getting used to the speed of the Mac I'm using in the office. Working with high rez digital photo's is now a breeze in 16040x1050 rez and plenty of memory coupled to a fast duo processor. I also got an early fathers day pressie in a patio heater for my decking, but it's too big to go in my Gazebo, so I've had to sell that, which was a shame - I'll just have to make sure I've a beer-coat on when I'm outside.

Tomorrow night is Poker night, it's been a while and I'm looking forward to that. Poker at T17 towers then a curry and more beers somewhere else, hopefully funded by some winnings...

Good vibrations

It's been great to read and hear comments about our new Worms title for PSP and DS (launches in the Summer). Both formats sport an amazing feature set and tons of game modes, extras and little touches; new weapons, returning favourites and racks of customisation. Even online for both handhelds has gone to town.

It appears that we've hit a "magic combination" in terms of features and it's exactly what players have been asking for. The game has also been getting a lot of press coverage (some 4-5 page previews) and has all been really buzzing.

Cursed

My successful curse on any potential of a BBQ is now complete. After sorting out the Gazebo, fitting Solar Lights (solar lights!) in it, adding a light for the roof of the gazebo and re-wiring a water feature, the sun has promptly gone in and the weather is crap again.

I'm stuck inside again, nursing yesterday's hangover which was obtained after going out to the Pagoda for a great Chinese meal with some friends and quaffing 4 bottles of nice wine between three of us in the main. However, whatever mild hangover I've got can't be as bad as my wife's who's still in bed feeling rough and it's approaching noon!

GazeBO-Selecta

The new Gazebo arrived for our decking and I spent 2-3hrs building it before Keith, the brother in law had to come and give me a hand lifting it onto the deck (it weighed something like 70kg and at 3x3m, it was pretty unwieldy. Its in and looks good, the part of preparation for what will hopefully be a fine BBQ season!

Out with the team

I'm out with the XBLA dev team tonight to celebrate the completion of Worms for Live Arcade (which has performed strongly in its opening month or so). I'm not sure what state I'll be in tomorrow. We're having a bite to eat and quite possibly, the odd ale.

I'm also formulating plans for the company's summer party, which I'm hoping will be a hell of a lot of fun. Our big party this year is in December when Team17 celebrate our 17th birthday :)

New title announced

Today saw the official announcement of "Worms Open Warfare 2" to be published by THQ in the Summer. On PSP & DS, it's fully online and is rammed with good stuff, it's quite possibly the most complete, feature-packed, customisable thing we've produced in a long while. The new handheld editions are going to make a lot of fans of the series very happy.

We worked very closely with Dutch team Two-Tribes on the DS edition (they did a great job on a port of Worms for the N-Gage deck a few years ago) and the PSP edition has been fully developed at Team17. We're really excited to see what people will make of these editions and the PR for the titles has begun in earnest.

It's not the only title we've been working on, but it's the only one we can talk about for now :)

Please note that any requests for further news, quotes, screenshots and stuff should be directed through THQ themselves rather than myself.

Full information on the title can be found HERE

Back at work

Been back a couple of days now and it's good to be back. I enjoyed my break (if that's what you can call 2 weeks with the kids!) but it's good to have something to get my teeth into again and there's a fair bit to bite right now - an exciting time for the studio.

We've got a couple of events this week, a press day for an upcoming title tomorrow (and a night out with the publisher folks tonight in Leeds) and then out on Thursday evening as the XBLA Worms team finally get around to celebrating it's release (and hopefully news on the update, fingers crossed) - there'll be a bunch of us eating at Akbars and most likely some decent bar somewhere.

I've got a stack of photos to sort and post on my Flickr site, I've took a load with the Nikon lately but post-processing (mainly sharpening) is too slow on my iBook and I'm finally considering upgrading it because the stuff gets done in an instant on the Mac Pro in the office...

I've got a couple of talks looming too, one for a regional government thing to local businesses which is likely to be industry generic and one at "Northern Exposure" (www.northexpo.co.uk) which is probably going to be me rattling on about digital publishing and our XBLA experiences.

I've also had my wrist lightly slapped for mentioning Worms DLC without final clearance :( It seems there is still some work to do on what'll be released, when and for how much. I hope to have all this cleared up in a few days, but our priority is the update really.

First real BBQ of the season!

Not only did we have this year's first real BBQ, but we had 24-25 degrees of sun, typically unheard of at this time of year - and it felt like midsummer. Totally bizarre - and quite nice, naturally.

We'd been to Cannon Hall/Cawthorne Park earlier in the day and called at the farm shop and got some great meat (steak, pork medallions and ribs) - I couldn't wait to get back and get it cooking and it was sublime.

Back to work tomorrow, been a strange couple of weeks not being in the office and it's flown.

First BBQ of the season!

Admittedly, not much to BBQ, a bunch of sausages and a rack of ribs, but it's begun!

We're at a BBQ tomorrow night too, at Bobs, with the weather allegedly supposed to be record breaking (25 or so, it says...) - I'll not be taking the shorts, just in case...

Spring, not summer.

After promising the kids a trip to the coast and confidently checking the weather, particularly after a glorious day on Wednesday when we went to Harewood House, I donned my T-Shirt and Shorts and packed the family up (replete with picnic) and set off for the "glorious" Yorkshire East Coast.

All was going well in the warm sun until we got to the A64 at York, the horrible bit where the dual carriageway ends near the roundabout... it was obvious that there had been an accident as there was no traffic on the other side of the road... and then an ambulence burst past.

Once I got to the roundabout, it was evident that with 8-9 miles of single carriageway and what looked like a evacuation-size queue heading for it from all directions, that we weren't getting to the coast very quickly. I had to turn off and go via Thirsk - a detour of over an hour, with the kids, the missis and even my mum (who we'd promised to take) starting to bang on about the fact that we had a picnic in the back and they were all hungry...

We eventually arrived, past lunch time, in a journey that took almost 3x the usual time and I obviously wasn't best pleased. I was even less pleased when I got out of the car; it was bloody freezing cold. The sun was hidden behind a haze and wasn't really doing it's a job and a distinct breeze off the sea managed to make things feel really cold, especially for one with T-Shirt and shorts on. Prat.

Our picnic, or rushed snack as it turned out, was gulped down in Peasholm park and the stuff put back in the car sharpish. I managed to find another top before we went to the beach, with me having goose-bumps the size of toes. The kids were determined to enjoy it though and stuck it out (after a trip on a bus to the South side of Scarborough where it was more lively).

We eventually got back without major traffic issues in the evening, with me enjoying the warmth and sanctuary of the car - I'd spend most of the late afternoon clutching a bloody blanket for fear of dying of exposure. It was even too cold to take photos!

The forecast for the weekend is supposed to be very warm, but the shorts will be staying in my drawers, for now.

Oh dear...

Leeds' bid to make a great escape from relegation took a sorry turn for the worse as they came off the rails at Colchester, despite being in the lead with 8minutes to go - and at that time, all the results going for them (QPR losing, Preston winning). But at full time, Leeds had conceded an injury time goal to lose, QPR won in extra time and Southend scored two in the last minute to beat Preston. All of this meant, in addition to Barnsley surprisingly beating Birmingham, meant Leeds were back in the bottom 3 relegation spots and 2 points off the pace - with only 4 games to go, this spells a difficult and nerve-shredding challenge with two winnable home games and two difficult away ties at Southampton and Derby to come.

We didn't do much over the easter weekend due to the crappy weather, it's supposed to warm up the rest of the week and we hope to get to the coast and stuff. We're out this afternoon and off for a meal now - after getting back from dropping the mother-in-law off at the airport.

Great Escape?

Well, Escape anyway, if Leeds' performance was anything to go by. Despite not playing very well in front of a 30,000 crowd, Leeds got the rub of the green to beat a determined Plymouth side 2-1 and move out of the relegation zone for the first time in months. Credit where it's due to Barnsley though, who got trounced 5-1 at Ipswich. Leeds play again on Monday, away to Colchester, touch wood they can get something there.

I ended up having more than a few beers, stopping off in the Adelphi for some Addlestones (which is great to hear) before having a couple in the ground, then onto Whitelocks afterwards before we went for a great curry at Akbars.

I got home around 8.45pm, so not so bad as I think the missis expected me much later, so whatever few brownie-points I still have remained intact.

It's a bit breezy today so I forecast a lazy day on the cards - the kids won't mind, with it being Easter Sunday, they're excited about their easter egg haul. The BBQ we were invited to has been cancelled too - I might go and clean all my decking and BBQ area up ready for one later in the week, since the weather is supposed to start warming up soon.

Easter Weekend

Am currently preparing to go to the Leeds-Plymouth match this afternoon with my mate Andy. After that we'll be out around Leeds for a few jars and quite possibly a curry later on - looking forward to that, especially after feeling a bit crappy earlier in the week.

Leeds are on the verge of what looks like a great escape from relegation after looking certs for doom for months. If they win today, they're likely to clamber out of the bottom 3 teams for the first time since October... with a packed Elland Rd, it should be a storming atmosphere. Two results went for us yesterday and hopefully with 3 points against Plymouth, all eyes will be on Barnsley's game at Ipswich - and then hopefully a point or three away to Colchester on Monday.

I took part in a Sky Poker tournament last night and crashed out after an hour, when I was a single spade away (in 2 cards) from actually leading the tournament (which would have set me up for the next 2 hours or so). Unfortunately the spade and nuts flush (best possible flush) didn't turn up and with me all in (just the way the betting went with 2 strongly positioned players having AA and QQ pairs from the hole cards) - so a bit of a bummer and that's the game.

I took the kids to Tropical World at Roundhay on Thursday and then around Roundhay park, which they enjoyed. Tropical World is quite good fun and excellent value, especially considering what we paid to watch the Dr.Who travesty last week.

Didn't do much yesterday really apart from build some cupboards for one of the kids bedrooms and then spent an hour sorting out the drawer handles which were woefully constructed in the first place - and bloody typical for self-assembly stuff. Grrr.

What a great way to start the new blog-year!

http://www.develop100.com/
Team17 in at number 31, which makes us amongst the top 10 independent studios in the world (i.e. not publisher owned) and no.5 in the UK independents (and no.1 in Yorkshire Independent, which is perhaps most important!)

Terrific news indeed and one that I can imagine has gone down well in the studio - I'm still on holiday!

Year 2.

Well, here comes the 2nd year of the blog.

Things are going well for the company - we'll hit our 17th birthday in December - and I'm feeling good myself. It's going to be another interesting and busy year and we'll see what unfolds - there's a bunch of stuff up our sleeves and it'll be exciting when some of that stuff gets out.

News is spilling out about an upcoming handheld version of Worms (a follow up to Open Warfare) which will be out in the Summer - not much I can say about that until THQ's PR machine have had their say, but it's all good :)

I know people think all we do is Worms, but that's not really the case, honest! It just seems that way when other projects are unannounced.

One year blogged...

Well, that's more or less a full year blogged. I can't believe how quick it's flown by. Today is the mum-in-law's birthday so we're off over to see her in a little while, followed by lunch somewhere. I'm still off on holiday although I'm starting to get twitchy for work again - and I've only had one day off...

I've added a "Twitter" feed to the blog, which allows me to post what I'm up to or where I'm at. Friends and family can track this if I'm out and about or whatever. There's just a couple of test messages on there for now.

Anyway, that year in blog; can be more or less summed up as:

April 2006:

Started the blog.
Reported on Worms and Lemmings performing well in the PSP charts.
Got a Nintendo DS.
Switched my PC Laptop for a Mac iBook.
Guitar Hero launched.
Got back in touch with an old mate.
Diabetes under control.
First BBQ of the season.
Drink Mojitos with the dutch guys in Mojo, Leeds.
Discover “Curb Your Enthusiasm” TV-Show (Highly recommended)

May 2006:

Attend Jon Oldham’s leaving party in Manchester. Ouch.
Attend Championship play-off final in Cardiff (Leeds lose)
Attend E3 in Los Angeles and visit San Francisco.
Lose my Blackberry in San Francisco.
Buy a sensible family car (ended up with a 3ltr Jag S-Type)
Go on holiday to Mylor Bridge, Cornwall with the family.

June 2006:

Get stranded on a boat we hire for 5-6hrs with Simon the postie.
Spend a night in a tent for the first time with the kids.
Finally get a replacement Blackberry.
Celebrate my 10th Wedding anniversary.
Watch the World Cup but England fail to do well.
Get the registration plate “T17 PSP” for my car.
Visit Las Vegas for a games publishing meeting.
Almost crash when landing.
Rent and drive a Hummer H2.
Get delivered back to my room in a “Spadge Chariot”.

July 2006:

Spend a weekend in London with the family, visit Legoland.
At the Develop conference in Brighton for 4 days.
See Pink Floyd cover-band “Off The Wall” at Ripley Castle.
Someone tries to set fire to our fence at home, Fire Dept. put it out.
UK has a heat wave.
Have a day out in Yarm.
Have a day or two in London.

August 2006:

Harry starts his football training (Dad’s proud).
Football season starts again and Leeds win, but that form is short-lived.
Visit Prague and Leipzig.
See a huge praying Mantis in Prague.
Leeds’ form continues to slide and things look bleak for their manager.
We get ourselves a pet-dog, “Herbie” a West-Highland White Terrier.
Get a nice Mame home arcade cabinet.

September 2006:

Team17 hold a party at Tiger-Tiger, Leeds. I lose my wallet.
Night out in Leeds and then Newcastle.
Got the missis 3 tickets for Robbie Williams’ concert.
Kevin Blackwell sacked as Leeds Manager.
Visit Sweden/Malmo.
Took Jack to see the “One Man Star Wars Show”
Go to Dublin for a long-weekend.

October 2006:

Attend the London Careers Fair, Café Royal, London.
Infamous Food-Buckaroo incident with Bryan Reynolds.
Manage to dislodge Graham Boxhall’s hat at a TIGA function in London.
Suffer an atrocious trip to Copenhagen via Amsterdam (13hrs).
Dennis Wise gets the manager’s job at Leeds.
Discharged from hospital (i.e. Diabetes much better)
Lemmings PS2 launches.

November 2006:

Finish 3rd in an online poker tournament.
Had a night out in Yarm.
See “Hayseed Dixie” at Leeds Met.
Get Guitar Hero 2.
Lemmings PS3 launches, Team17’s first digital platform title.

December 2006:

Visit Lyon for Game Connection. Manage to lose my shoes on the first night.
Manage to secure a Wii for Christmas.
Our snotty next door neighbour leaves. Cue celebrations.
Team17 Christmas Party.
Wii dominates our family Christmas.

January 2007:

Visit CES in Las Vegas, for launch of Worm XBLA… only it doesn’t make it.
Purchase a Nikon D80 DSLR camera (essentially my 40th birthday present).
Miss keynote with Bill Gates. Get interviewed by Major Nelson.
Our neighbours and friends opposite depart for a new life in Scotland.
I enjoy my 40th birthday party by holding a party at home, which is great fun.
Give a presentation at Bradford University.

February 2007:

Visit Galway, Ireland, with 17 other lads to celebrate my 40th. It’s a heavy weekend.
Visit Amsterdam for the Casual Games event and present on behalf of Microsoft.
Night out in Newcastle with Sony – ended up riding a mechanical bull.
Played 5-a-side soccer for the first time in years. Sprained my ankle.

March 2007:

Watch a full lunar eclipse.
Leeds are still bottom of the league and looking like a relegated side.
Worms is released for Xbox-Live Arcade and is incredibly successful.
Visit San Francisco for a week (GDC).
Spend an afternoon with 7 shipmates, dressed as pirates in San Francisco.
Discover “Life on Mars” TV-Show (highly recommended).
Grabbed a Macro lens for my camera (adding to the 50mm, 18-200mm VR & 12-24 wide)
Get a PS3 on its launch.
Did a presentation at Preston University.
Enjoy a fine night out with some US publisher execs in Leeds
Enjoy a good night in Yarm with some developers.
Renovate my office and switch office PC for a Mac.
Leeds Utd go on an unbeaten run and get a glimmer of hope.

Phew!

I have to face the facts, my powers are weak!

I just had a great game of Worms on XBLA. There I was, battling 2 french lads and it was a right old ding-dong battle. I watched as one coward eventually girdered himself away in a far corner before elegantly building a little hold-out up at the top corner, for when sudden death was going to kick in. However, I had other ideas and teleported in there when I reckoned he'd finished it.

Suffice to say his mad scrambling movements on his next turn indicated some anger and frustration at my squatting (with my 1 worm left). With 1 worm left, a few rounds of long-range grenade tossing ensued before Sudden Death kicked in and one of them was picked off.

Then, the remaining french guy made a mistake and I'd saved a rope, so out I went, tarzanning my way across the cavern, collected 2-3 crates (just to show off) and then perched on a ledge to get out my bazooka.

Unfortunately, in the brightly lit conservatory I'd not noticed some pixels that I thought were background and in classic school-boy error, I managed to blow myself up. Utter tragedy.

All my watching 5yr old could say "Dad, I thought you were supposed to have made this."

My powers are weak. I'll have to hone them on an innocent 5yr old - and probably lose.

Kids today...

First day of my fortnight off with the kids, the sun is shining and apart from taking the dog (or Polar bear, depending on your viewpoint) for a run in the field for a game of football, it's a struggle to get either of them out of the house.

I've offered parks, walks, coast and it's difficult to get my eldest snapped off Warcraft and the younger one is battering his DS, leaving me to relax, take the occasional photo, read books and contemplate the odd movement off the sofa. Relaxing I guess, but I do feel like it's somewhat wasting time. It's supposed to warm up later in the week and we'll head to the coast then, probably Scarborough/Whitby or something.

I've got a ton of books to read, some video games to catch up with and a ton of films to watch - which I better do so before the missis starts giving me jobs to do. I spent most of last Easter painting our garden fences.

Doctor Why?

Took the kids over to Manchester's Science & Industry museum today to the Doctor Who exhibition. Suffice to say that the 8minutes it took to stroll around some props and one animated remote control Dalek meant that the trip was fairly disappointing. The kids seemed to think it was ok but we perhaps expected a little bit more. We made up for it with a meal at the Hard Rock though.

I nearly didn't go in the first place after spending most of Saturday feeling rough as a badger's arse. I'd been up to Yarm with Jamie to see some developers and ended up enjoying the brunt of the town's finer bars and eventually a curry before heading back with Billy early in the morning - I'm not sure what I drank (or ate) to make me feel so bad, but it made me have to leave a get-together with our village friends on Saturday evening. Most unlike me to be ill and even odder still that I get up and leave my wine and pizza. Still, I feel a ton better today, despite the "Doctor Who experience".