Yes, it has been a while since I’ve updated, hasn’t it?  I don’t have anything to blog about in particular but figured it’s always good to at least check in.  Most recently, I’ve managed to get my desktop back up and running, so I’m rather happy about that although on the flipside, my laptop has a problem with a URL filter, which I didn’t install!  Additionally, I seem to have issues with my router crashing occasionally, which leads me to believe someone has been DOSing my router and has hacked my laptop somehow!  Additionally, I have hadmy WoW account hacked, and thus I’m locked out from it.  Granted, I’ve not touched it in ages, but it’s the principle of the thing!  Not only that, someone hacked one of my GMail accounts!  I feel quite violated actually and becuase of this, I’m tightening up my security across the board.  Seems like a good opportunity to install Windows 7 while I’m at it as well.  Other than that, I’ve built myself a new computer (for the first time ever I did it all by myself!), which I’m proud of.  This now means I can save myself a few quid by building my own PCs instead.

All that’s missing on this new PC is an internal speaker and a couple of hard drives; my system has always been to have a smaller drive for the OS, then at least one larger drive to install games, put downloads on, etc.  I have some spare drives for the job, but one which was connected to the board I’m using in the “new” system has a corrupted partition, which is a bugger.  I’m working on fixing it and downloaded a utility to help me recover the bad sectors, if possible.  The worst thing is that I might have to just give up on the drive and get a new one, which isn’t cheap, especially as it’s an IDE drive.  And when I went looking on the Maxtor site (it’s a Maxtor drive), I found out that Maxtor and Seagate have merged!  That one completely passed me by!  Anyway, another problem with my laptop, coincidentally is that the speaker wire’s become loosened while it was bieng fixed, so I no longer get sound from it, apart from the sub.  However, this issue is easily repaired by the tech, but I figured I should add it as it’s leading to something and related to PC issues.  My laptop also now has a fly lead in place of the DC jack (though the DC jack is a part of it), which makes it a lot more resiliant and robust (do they mean the same?).  I was told that not everyone likes it as it doesn’t look as good (costs the same price as a replacement, which are rare for Acers I might add!), but as I value function over looks, it was perfect for me.

Oddly enough, it seems that the DJ jack gets the most strain of laptops and I can see why!  I was told my DC jack was cracked and that luckily I nipped it in the bud… even though I had to be creative till I could afford to get the repair and even then the contacts were a bugger, I smelt burning and the unit heated up round the DC jack.  It sucks when you can just about afford to do it… fact is, it needed to be done, so I did it.  Anyway, I hope to get all my PCs up and running properly again soon, so I can finally start on my websites.  I have a new idea for the radio site I want to implement and my Gamed Up project now has a look, but I can’t afford it, and need sections to come up with.  I’ll mention some stuff I’ve done in a later blog entry and where possible, even without the layout, I’ll be adding in a games blog to write to, so as always watch this space.

And lastly, before I forget, I’m gonna be using Google AdSense on this site.  I’m hoping to make sure it doesn’t get in the way, but I’ll have to see.  I also plan on opening up 2 more Zazzle stores as well; one is for the Radio site(s) and another is most likely for the paranormal group I’m setting up.  I may actually set one up for Gamed Up as well, but we’ll see what happens.  I have somany ideas, I find it hard to focus on just one, lest I forget about the others.  I’ll get something sorted eventually, but I’ll take things slowly.  I hope to have things mostly run themselves eventually, which is why the DiggerCast is being moved back to the Radio site, as it cuts down on multiple logins.  One day soon though, I plan to sit myself down and dedicate a whole page to each site and domain so I know what is going where, as frankly I need it!

Anyway, I’m just rambling now, so I’ll stop.  I’ll try to have an update on my sites for the next post, though it depends on what else comes up between now and then.

I haven’t updated in over a month, but I have been pretty busy, that said!  First of all, I’ve been setting up Google Apps with my domains and working on a few backends for other sites.  Additionally, I’ll be starting a definitive layout for each of my sites; I plan to merge Stormkeeper dot Net into my personal domain and do it as a subdomain with the domain redirecting there.  Unfortunately, it means that the links to the post I’ve made in the past will probably be broken, but I’m willing to take that in exchange for less logins to remember!  That said though, if anyone knows how to slot a domain on top of a subdomain (i.e.: stormkeeper.net/post123 going to stormkeeper.domain.com/post123), I’d be very appriciative for any assistance.  Additionally, I plan to put AdSense on every one of my sites and blogs where possible now, as I frankly need to generate an income of sorts from the sites so I can achieve my ultimate aim of having the sites pay for themselves.  While I won’t indicate it in this post as I still have a few things I need to sort, I do plan on showing rough layouts of how the sites will be in the future, though I’m also doing some experimentation.

First of all, I’ll be trying to see if I can get subdomains working with WordPress MU and if that’s successful, I’d be deploying it out to a few other sites as well.  Secondly, I’ll also be experimenting with a simple(ish) multi-wiki setup.  I plan on using at least 3 wikis as well, but all this is just a bunch of incomplete ideas in my head at present.  As I said before, I’ll explain better in a future entry but for now this is just an update to say I’m stillabout, just that I’m busy and haven’t been focused enough to blog about anything.

I will soon though!

Oddly enough, I’m not actually sure what exactly to talk about for this entry as I haven’t thought about any specifics.  I expect it may not be till near enough to the New Year, or after that I get to keep some consistancy.  Either way, it won’t hurt to mention any stuff I’ve seen, done or are going to do.  I’m also thinking that I may end up keeping my random style of writing to a degree, as it wouldn’t be random randomness if I didn’t!  Anyhow, I went into Central London yesterday to pick up a lab coat (I’ll explain later) from Foyles bookshop and ended bup buying a few books too!  This is by no means a bad thing to be honest, as the books will have some benefit.  Two of the books are talking about games design or project management regarding games projects.  I figured that these would be good for me to get so I can brush up on this subject in preparation for university/college.  Granted, design is my strongest skill, but it never hurts to get help with improving techniques.  I also finally managed to get a book on wolves; this too was one of my medium-term aims along with the lab coat.  I had to aquire an extra large one because of my broad shoulders, although that said, I could do with a little toning round the stomach, so it’s a good thing I’m going to the gym!  As for why I wanted a lab coat… well, I’ve always wanted one and I think it completes the scientist look although there’s the practical purpose that it keeps my clothes clean!

I also paid Maplins a visit as well and got some books on robotics, soldering and electronics, as well as a book on oscilloscopes, which sparked my interest since I studied at Greenwich.  I also got another set of LED Safety Glasses (which are gonna be modded, leaving the first ones I bought intact) and also an Audiophile 2496 audio card, which I was hoping to use for helping me with music composition at a later date, although it would be more nice just to have something professional to use with MIDI.  The problem is however that it needs audio cables, and while I do have them, I don’t have the space for them, so I’m either going to have to locate an external version of the card or make the space.  It’s occurred to me that I have also lost my reciept so I need to goo looking for it, damn.  That aside, I may have to just accept that this may be the best card for my price range (I don’t want to pay a lot more to be honest) and get a Game Port to USB adaptor, which to be honest may not be a bad idea, seeing as they’re cheap enough at 8 quid each!  I really only wanted that expensive card for the built-in MIDI port, and considering I can have a decent audio card with a cheaper separate bit, it may be best off just going down this route.  I have too many game controllers that require Game Ports to just drop the idea; I didn’t realise till much later that I had no MIDI port on my soundcard!  Another bonus as well is that it has some composing software with it, as well as some loops, so that’ll help me some more.

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I need to consider having some consistancy with my blog-posting frequency. So, to this end, I’m gonna try post an entry once every two weeks, even if it’s only a short post. The idea is essentially to get me posting on a consistant basis. I might even try posting once a week down the line, but I think once every two weeks is a good way to start. On the next post, I’ll mention about my new projects in more detail, the first being the games blog and the second being yet another revamp of the DiggerCast, albeit with a new name. It’s also about this time that I’d be back from Ireland, so I should have something to talk about on that front. All the more because my friend Sean will eventually be coming aboard with the “DiggerCast 3″ (DC3) project, once I have it sorted. Despite the fact the proper launch will be in the first or second week of January, I’ll be announcing the details of the site proper sometime next month. I’m not 100% sure if I’ll have things ready for the next entry, but I will try.  I do think my games blog/site may need longer than I think, however.

At the very least, I’ll have some updates regarding both projects, even if there’s no link to either site.  I want to get DC3 up and running ASAP for the reasons listed above.  Without giving too much away, this one is going to be more active than the past two versions.  Additionally, I’m moving all the older content to the new site and closing down the blogs on the Stormhaven Radio blog site.  I’ll also be posting up 2 rough drafts of Version 2 of the DiggerCast, so you can see the sort of stuff we were working on.  Call it a possible taster of what is to come, as well as a gift to the loyal fans… oh, and an apology for having to wait so long!  I would post something else up, but at the moment I’m not 100% with it so it would be a bit pointless, especially as it’s so late!    I may actually consider writing something this coming Saturday, as I do have a few things to write about, especially given how crazy things have been recently.

After that, the next post will be on the 14th of November, then there will be one every two weeks, on a Saturday, eventually expanding to once a week when I can keep that pace.  Additionally, I haven’t set the clock back, so this is actually being posted at 5-ish as opposed to what the time says now.  I’ll be fixing that after the post as I only just realised it now, whoops!  At least I did notice it though, that said.  Last time I noticed the clocks went back was at my graduation ceremony, when the bar stopped serving alcohol!  That’s a story for another time though.  What I will do in the following entry though is start to talk about stuff I’ve heard about and read over the past couple of weeks.  When I get into the swing of things, it’ll be a bit more consistant as I’m still experimenting with things.  When you consider I’m also gonna have a separate gaming blog and a couple of podcasts, I’m gonna have to be more consistant with posting.  It’s likely that there will be crossover between the two blogs and podcasts, which wouldn’t be surprising, especially if the topics being covered interest me and are within the scope of this blog and the games one.  As for the DSi review, that will be taking a little longer to publish, as I have been unable to aquire a DS Lite, in the interests of proper reviewing and comparing of all the features of 3 consoles.  I wish I were doing this professionally, then I’d get free games and consoles!  Well, one can dream…

While I’ll try to stick most of the games content on my games blog, I may actually post a few choice articles here too.  It makes sense to, as I get the impression that not everyne who reads this blog will be a gamer; that’s the main reason why I’m having a separate games blog, as I don’t want this to focus on gaming and the games industry.  Yes, there’s stuff related to it now, but that’s because my games blog isn’t up yet.  Like I said as well, I do intend to have some games stuff on here too, but I want this mainly to focus on stuff apart from gaming.. stuff like science and technology, stuff relating to Autistic Spectrum Disorders and similar conditions (I’ve got Asperger Syndrome), politics (the odd time), posts about things that interest me, as well as the odd rant (well, it is my personal blog – trust me, eventually you’ll have a rant about something that really annoys you on your blog, it’s inevitable).  I also eventually want to use this blog to show off my projects and experiments… something tells me that I should really consider WPMU, on the basis that eventually WP will become something like WPMU anyway.  Certainly having a projects and experiments blog would mean that I can take a completely different direction with that blog… admittedly though, what I may do is just do that for my portfolio website instead… it makes more sense.  It’ll save me having to reshuffle the setup of this site, as to be honest I really can’t be bothered with the changes required to make a single blog into a multi one.

Am I lazy?  Perhaps I am, but I don’t see the point in complicating something that is essentially just meant for my writings.  I do think my portfolio site is the perfect place for my projects and experiments anyway, seeing as I’m trying to market myself with it.  This is essentially the site where I discuss my thoughts; the other site was really only going to be a sort of CV, or rather it wasn’t gonna change a lot.  Seeing as my projects and experiments are likely to be ongoing, with no idea as to when the next post is, it makes sense to put them on that site, with me mentioning here when I’ve updated.  It’s the perfect setup really.  The site isn’t set up yet, so it’ll cause me no grief whatsoever to actually implement the idea, plus it also shows the site is active.  The main blog (the root one) is essentially just a place for me to mention news updates regarding my professional life.  I will also be linking my Twitter to the main blog on there, so there will be some overlap; the idea is to get the two sites to compliment each other.  I’ll need to work on a category system and tags for my projects though.  I might actually put my Warhammer 40k army up as a project, seeing as it is a big one!  Another one I want to look into is AIML, some more photography, and playing with the robotics kits I have.  I would also like to convert a camera to infrared at some point as well.

All my videos would be linked into the same YouTube account, as there’s not a lot of point in having a separate account, seeing as it’s all me.  I will, of course tag everything relevent to each site.  My Flickr account will be the same, including the plugin that displays some of my pictures, although I’d increase the amount of pictures shown to 6 or 8.  I would also be making use of embedding in the project blog, as well as the post cut feature, as make no mistake, the blogs are going to be larger on average than what I post here, seeing as I’ll have to make some notes… well, I don’t necessarily mean larger as in written content, it’s more related to the fact there’d be a lot of pictures and videos within the post.  I do hope to eventually post a few vids here, be they of me or something that interests me.  Once in a blue moon podcasts may also be on the cards, but don’t expect anything on that front for a while.  What I may actually do is do a podcast accompaniment with each entry.  It wouldn’t be exactly the same content as each post, but I would at least cover the subjects I covered in the entries I wrote.  More than likely, I’d do them once a month, solo, though that’s not to say I wouldn’t have guests, but it’s not really a podcast per say, it’s more a verbal transcription and summary of my blog entries for the month The only problem though is that I’m not sure when I’d actually do it… I’m thinking the week after the last blog post, again on a Saturday.

This way, I can collect any comments I recieve for the month and talk about them.  I’d most likely allocate 30 minutes to talk about the month’s posts; anything longer and I’ll most likely bore people.  It doesn’t help that I write out stuff, then I get inspired to continue the blog more.  Inherently, this is by no means a bad thing, but it does mean that I’ll have to stick to the main points in my blog as I can’t cover everything at the end of the day.  One thing I am thinking of for a future blog post is regarding games that can elicit emotions from the player; I thought about this due to a reaction I had in Bioshock regarding the Little Sisters.  Yes, I know Bioshock’s been out a while, but the game made me think about things… I could never harvest (kill) them; in fact, it upset me the way they reacted when you rescued them, and even before you decide what to do.  It’s a harrowing thing watching them cower as you step towards them in order to rescue (or harvest) them.  I don’t think I could harvest them, as it would upset me.  I consider this an amazing thing for a game, to be honest.  Granted, it’s controversial, but at the same time, it’s well-done.

I’m not going to discuss this further here, but I felt it needed to be mentioned as it affected me so deeply, and was the inspiration for a future article on my games blog/site, as well as here.  Anyway, I’m gonna stop it here for now, as I want to keep this as short as possible.

I’ll post some more on Saturday.

Okay, I’ve decided to start to make a proper entry to dive right into stuff I plan to work on.  Anyway, yesterday I managed to find some rather interesting stuff in my local pharmacy while picking up my pills… firstly a 3-in-1 camera which can be used as a camcorder, camera or webcam, and also a robotic bubble nblower and robotic shark.  I’ve always had an interest in AI & Robotics, so I figured as they were going cheap, I’d pick them up.  I have another robot thingy I picked up in the charity shop, along with a 10-in-1 Electronics thingy.  And yes, I know they’re for kids, but when you think about it, they’re all a great way to get started with electronics as they have all the bits you need, and also instructions as well!  Anyway, my plans are to essentially build all these robots, then show pictures of them when complete, although I may actually use the video camera to record them.  Granted it’s a somewhat cheapish camera, but it’s a good thing to get started with till I can afford a larger camera.  What does worry me though is that the “High Res” (480×368)  and Low Res” (320×240) have little between them, yet the picture taking maximum is 640×480!

Anyway, expect videos from my assembling the stuff when I get an SD Card.