Journals
As you may or may not have noticed I sort of announced in a previous journal, I will be visiting the city of New York very soon. I will also spend a few days in Florida before that.
My father has been telling me we'll see New York since before I was born. Twenty four years later, he honours his promise.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to this. As with every visit to a new country, I am sure there will be a whole lot of new experiences, sights, smells, and tastes. Unlike with other countries, however, I sort of know what to expect this time. I have had Hollywood shove all these ideas down my throat for over two decades, so naturally I can already imagine what some might be like. Everything I've seen in movies, all of it and more, will be there in a way or another, waiting for me to taste it*. "American Cars", "American Breakfast", "American Everything". It feels surreal... I can already imagine it, almost artificial. I figure that is a side effect of it being a world I have only seen in movies. There is so much to see, especially for an architecture student and photographer. My mouth waters at the thought of it. The landmarks, the cityscape, the subway, every bit of city life. And of course, the B&H store. Goodbye, savings! I may also meet Tetsu0 one day.
There is one thing I am not looking forward to, however, and that is my body cavities being invaded at the immigrations desk. DO NOT WANT. I can only hope it doesn't happen.
All in all, it looks very promising. Despite certain... inconveniences (such as the above, or the lack of a certain bathroom installation of French origin) I am sure it will be an amazing experience and I will definitely post photos when I return.
As a side note, I'd really like a Raspberry Pi for the trip. Portable and inexpensive, good to check mail and download photos to my portable hard drive. Sadly they are on mega back order. I'll probably end up going for a cheap netbook instead.
*not literally - licking parking meters is not in my plans
My father has been telling me we'll see New York since before I was born. Twenty four years later, he honours his promise.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to this. As with every visit to a new country, I am sure there will be a whole lot of new experiences, sights, smells, and tastes. Unlike with other countries, however, I sort of know what to expect this time. I have had Hollywood shove all these ideas down my throat for over two decades, so naturally I can already imagine what some might be like. Everything I've seen in movies, all of it and more, will be there in a way or another, waiting for me to taste it*. "American Cars", "American Breakfast", "American Everything". It feels surreal... I can already imagine it, almost artificial. I figure that is a side effect of it being a world I have only seen in movies. There is so much to see, especially for an architecture student and photographer. My mouth waters at the thought of it. The landmarks, the cityscape, the subway, every bit of city life. And of course, the B&H store. Goodbye, savings! I may also meet Tetsu0 one day.
There is one thing I am not looking forward to, however, and that is my body cavities being invaded at the immigrations desk. DO NOT WANT. I can only hope it doesn't happen.
All in all, it looks very promising. Despite certain... inconveniences (such as the above, or the lack of a certain bathroom installation of French origin) I am sure it will be an amazing experience and I will definitely post photos when I return.
As a side note, I'd really like a Raspberry Pi for the trip. Portable and inexpensive, good to check mail and download photos to my portable hard drive. Sadly they are on mega back order. I'll probably end up going for a cheap netbook instead.
*not literally - licking parking meters is not in my plans
Sorry for journalling 2 days on the trot but I just wanted to say that my unemployment has come to a sudden end...
I'm working again as of Thursday this week.
I'm working again as of Thursday this week.
I genuinely hate the fact that my brain can process emotional thoughts. I'd rather be heartless cold asshole than an emotional twat to be honest. Fuck feelings.
Cats. Right?
I like to think he's dreaming that he's Sonic the Hedgehog.
I like to think he's dreaming that he's Sonic the Hedgehog.
Don't you just hate it when you're driving down the highway and then your wheel decides it doesn't want to be part of the car anymore?
Fine leave wheel, we'll be better off without you!
Mint condition and only 13 years late to the party. Aw yeah.
Help with The Core?
On ModDB we have our fair share of Watchers (425 at the time of writing) and with every media release we tend to briefly make it into the top 50 ranked mods (out of 17,000).
Now don't get me wrong - this is fucking awesome and it's a real incentive to keep working on it even though we're using a dilapidated, fiddly engine.
However, I often see (frankly not particularly good) Source mods with more than double those figures and while my ego is not quite swelled enough to just assume that The Core deserves more, it can be a little disheartening when a 3-month-developed Source mappack of questionable quality is getting more press than a 3-year-developed full-length mod that myself and Andy have invested huge parts of ourselves into.
It's a lot more difficult to get people interested in Goldsource these days, especially when the majority of Goldsource gamers are only playing CS 1.6 and don't even know what a singleplayer mod is. So this is where I need your help - I was looking for action plans to potentially spread awareness for The Core and build up an audience in anticipation of its release in a few months.
There are hundreds of possible ways to go about this, and I'd like to hear your theories on what you think I should do (or if you think I should stfu and appreciate what we already have).
Some things I've been considering:
The Core on ModDB
On ModDB we have our fair share of Watchers (425 at the time of writing) and with every media release we tend to briefly make it into the top 50 ranked mods (out of 17,000).
Now don't get me wrong - this is fucking awesome and it's a real incentive to keep working on it even though we're using a dilapidated, fiddly engine.
However, I often see (frankly not particularly good) Source mods with more than double those figures and while my ego is not quite swelled enough to just assume that The Core deserves more, it can be a little disheartening when a 3-month-developed Source mappack of questionable quality is getting more press than a 3-year-developed full-length mod that myself and Andy have invested huge parts of ourselves into.
It's a lot more difficult to get people interested in Goldsource these days, especially when the majority of Goldsource gamers are only playing CS 1.6 and don't even know what a singleplayer mod is. So this is where I need your help - I was looking for action plans to potentially spread awareness for The Core and build up an audience in anticipation of its release in a few months.
There are hundreds of possible ways to go about this, and I'd like to hear your theories on what you think I should do (or if you think I should stfu and appreciate what we already have).
Some things I've been considering:
- Absolutely guaranteed weekly media updates. They won't be as high quality as the stuff we've been putting out (purely due to volume of work) and would be more like little sneak peaks at progress like the cliffs I posted in the WIP thread recently. Quality vs Frequency of updates.
- Objectives such as 600 watchers and we release all the RMFs upon release. 700 watchers and we release our textures under creative commons for anyone to use and modify, including high res originals etc etc.
- Regular dev videos - maybe fortnightly. Hints and tricks and sneak peaks at the maps.
The Core on ModDB
A weekend extravaganza of spending cash on upgrades! 
Behold to all who giveth a single fuck, my ghetto-fabulous setup:
Now when i check my email, i feel like i'm piloting the nebencanezer
"The best thing about my new
setup isn't piloting the matrix,
it's showing everyone online
that i did!" =P
Components
p-7811fx gateway laptop
acer s230hl 23' display from walmart($169)
old sony xp machine(p4 2.66, 512mb RAM, 80gb HDD)
3TB WD ibook from walmart($139)
Logitech k800 illuminated/wireless keyboard(beast buy)
Logitech m510 mouse(office max)
Combo chiclet keyboard/mouse ($29 target(for the sony machine))
Aperture coffee cup
Targus folding laptop cooling pad(underneath gateway masheen)
generic slimline foam mouse pad
Random hdmi cable (unused prop)
4-bangar targus usb hub($12 wal*mart)
Belkin Easy Transfer cable($29 OfficeMax(for linking gateway to sony vaio))
Descripticons
Also unseen, for the primary gateway machine, i got rid of my 200gb primary drive and shifted over my 300gb as primary, plus added a 1TB hitachi travelstar($99 Beast Buy) to the second bay.(I CAN HAZ FREE SPACE AGAIN!)
I used a program called EaseUS To-Do Backup to image my drives before performing the hdd replacement surgery, and den EaseUS Partition Master to perform the tasks Windows 7 Disk management couldn't handle.
I'm using UltraMon to manage my dual-screen setup and it works great, but my vote is still out whether this is going to improve my mapping workflow or not. It would probably work better if i was using two monitors of the same size/ratio, but meh idk.
I DO however really like the dual screen setup for most everything else, as i find it very easy to use and highly functional. Everything is working great, and the only thing that seems incompatible to move to the second screen so far are my SevenDeskBar toolbars ='(
I keep the old sony around as a backup machine(if the gateway fails, gets stolen, becomes compromised by mudkips, etc), and it doubles as a dedicated mp3/movie player. The sony laptop is connected to the big screen with the vga connector, so a quick input change(one button press on the monitor) and i can view the sony on the big screen
Behold to all who giveth a single fuck, my ghetto-fabulous setup:
Now when i check my email, i feel like i'm piloting the nebencanezer
"The best thing about my new
setup isn't piloting the matrix,
it's showing everyone online
that i did!" =P
Components
p-7811fx gateway laptop
acer s230hl 23' display from walmart($169)
old sony xp machine(p4 2.66, 512mb RAM, 80gb HDD)
3TB WD ibook from walmart($139)
Logitech k800 illuminated/wireless keyboard(beast buy)
Logitech m510 mouse(office max)
Combo chiclet keyboard/mouse ($29 target(for the sony machine))
Aperture coffee cup
Targus folding laptop cooling pad(underneath gateway masheen)
generic slimline foam mouse pad
Random hdmi cable (unused prop)
4-bangar targus usb hub($12 wal*mart)
Belkin Easy Transfer cable($29 OfficeMax(for linking gateway to sony vaio))
Descripticons
Also unseen, for the primary gateway machine, i got rid of my 200gb primary drive and shifted over my 300gb as primary, plus added a 1TB hitachi travelstar($99 Beast Buy) to the second bay.(I CAN HAZ FREE SPACE AGAIN!)
I used a program called EaseUS To-Do Backup to image my drives before performing the hdd replacement surgery, and den EaseUS Partition Master to perform the tasks Windows 7 Disk management couldn't handle.
I'm using UltraMon to manage my dual-screen setup and it works great, but my vote is still out whether this is going to improve my mapping workflow or not. It would probably work better if i was using two monitors of the same size/ratio, but meh idk.
I DO however really like the dual screen setup for most everything else, as i find it very easy to use and highly functional. Everything is working great, and the only thing that seems incompatible to move to the second screen so far are my SevenDeskBar toolbars ='(
I keep the old sony around as a backup machine(if the gateway fails, gets stolen, becomes compromised by mudkips, etc), and it doubles as a dedicated mp3/movie player. The sony laptop is connected to the big screen with the vga connector, so a quick input change(one button press on the monitor) and i can view the sony on the big screen
Well, looks like it's confirmed my chicken hat wont get into TF2 
I made it last year and I knew Valve wouldn't add it. In fact they've got shit tons of top quality weapons and hats made by the community but they hardly accept them.
The reason they wont add it? Well here's mine
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3685
and here's why:
http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/a/a5/Robot_Chicken_Hat_Mail.jpg
Oh well
I made it last year and I knew Valve wouldn't add it. In fact they've got shit tons of top quality weapons and hats made by the community but they hardly accept them. The reason they wont add it? Well here's mine
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3685
and here's why:
http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/a/a5/Robot_Chicken_Hat_Mail.jpg
Oh well
Hallow TWHL! Check out my gameplay of vanilla HL. There's no commentary or anything, but it's slightly different from your average playthru, and you might be bored enough to watch all the episodes.
http://www.youtube.com/user/bigbaby2TV (the first episode is tree_c2a4, then tree_c2a4d, then surface tension... fairly obvious if you played vanilla HL.)
http://www.youtube.com/user/bigbaby2TV (the first episode is tree_c2a4, then tree_c2a4d, then surface tension... fairly obvious if you played vanilla HL.)
I got a pet! A parakeet. They are awesome! They are super social and highly intelligent, can learn to talk and sing with you, and aren't meant to be caged for long periods of time. Soon this little dude will be chillin' on my shoulder watching me game. Only problem is that I haven't named him yet!
Gender is unsure, since it's nearly impossible to tell in birds, particularly when they're as young as this guy. So, gender neutral names would be best but male or female names are fine too!
He is white, with a baby blue belly and tail and little spots of black. Let's decide an appropriately geeky name for him!
Nothing too silly, because they've got lifespans of 10-15 years, I don't want a joke name that will get old fast.
TWHL brainstorming session GO!
Gender is unsure, since it's nearly impossible to tell in birds, particularly when they're as young as this guy. So, gender neutral names would be best but male or female names are fine too!
He is white, with a baby blue belly and tail and little spots of black. Let's decide an appropriately geeky name for him!
Nothing too silly, because they've got lifespans of 10-15 years, I don't want a joke name that will get old fast.
TWHL brainstorming session GO!
Who here likes theme parks? I hate them, but I went to one nevertheless, pretty much the first big theme park I've been to. I was going to try the big crazy rides, but I was shitting brix on the medium ones so I decided not to.
Here's me in Thorpe Park:
So yeah, had a fun time. Got soaked wet on the water rides. What kind of experiences have you guys had?
Here's me in Thorpe Park: