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Current Not Playing: Black

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 4 Aug 2008 | 2:22 pm
I've given up on it. The complete inability to save during a level has been a dealbreaker for me. I wouldn't mind if I could save at a checkpoint, but no, the developers have decided that I can only save when I complete a level. Which means that I'm having to repeat tons of the bloody game because I don't always have the opportunity to replay from a checkpoint, which necessitates me turning the damn game off and restarting the level next time.

This Weekends Hiking - Ranskill and Area

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 4 Aug 2008 | 2:06 pm
We started out from Daneshill Nature Reserve, which offered a modest free car park, so that was a bonus. From there we walked out over some of the Millenium Pathway, which turned out to be less than impressive over most of the walk. Now I knew from the outset that the majority of the 7.5 mile walk was along country lanes, but I didn't expect them to lead past so many industrial estates fringed with razor wire, and the final entry to the back of the nature reserve - down an access road for a scrap yard - was uninspiring and poorly signed. Can't recommend the walk at all.

Currently Playing: Black

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 1 Aug 2008 | 8:16 am
I'm not normally a huge fan of the FPS genre, my twitch reflexes are no longer up to it, but this one plays really well. It follows the Halo inspired limit of 2 guns, which forces you to make weapon choices without prior knowledge of the level, although the AK47 is my favorite, combining the sniping ability for the distance stuff, and the full-auto mode for up-close and personal. The AI is a little dumb, enemy soldiers consistently walking the same path, even when you're trying to cap them with a headshot, but it's entertaining. Allies seem to work extremely well, whether providing sniper cover during an advance, or as part of a combat team. The only thing that I feel lets the game down is the lack of save ability during a level. It's not always convenient to complete the level to save, and in fact several times I've just had to switch off part way through.

Insulin Pump

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 19 Jun 2008 | 8:46 am
I picked up my insulin pump yesterday, and underwent the training session for it. The whole process was fantastic, the pump is a joy to use, although having it attached to me is a bit weird at the moment. I woke up this morning with Jane lying on it, which made getting out of bed a little difficult.

The pump is attached to me via a canular that I need to replace every 2-3 days. The process of fitting this canular looks incredibly vicious, but was totally pain-free (at least the first one was, we'll see about subsequent ones!) . Connecting up the tubing and filling the cartridge are pretty straightforward, as is the operation of the pump itself. I can now specify to the nearest gram how many carbs I've eaten with a given meal, input my current blood sugar reading, and it automatically calculates the dose of insulin I need to hit my current target (8 mmol/l). And I no longer need 4 injections per day

Diabetes and Blood Sugar Control

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 12 Jun 2008 | 1:20 pm
I've been struggling for some months now, trying to get my blood sugars under some kind of control. I had my latest review with the hospital today, and they've decided that I'm a candidate for an insulin pump. I don't know all the ins and outs of how it works yet, but it certainaly sounds like the ideal solution to my problem. I go for instruction on Weds.

This weekends hiking

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 9 Jun 2008 | 8:41 pm

We went hiking around Hardwick this weekend, following a route we took at the end of last year. It was nice to see the scenery in full bloom.
The weather was fantastic, and the walk took us about 2.5 hours to complete.

Photos available in the usual place

Camping around Harrogate

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 26 May 2008 | 4:31 pm

We went camping this weekend, instead of the usual hiking on a Sunday. I've been before, but this was the family's first time in a tent, and we did pretty well. We borrowed a tent from friends, who also went with us, although it's probably more correct to say that we went with them, as they picked the campsite.

We arrived about 17:30 on Friday evening, and we were pitched and enjoying coffee by about 19:00. Not bad considering it's only the second time we've pitched this tent.

On Saturday we went hiking around Grewelthorpe, and some fantastic scenery down in the gorge. The weather was a bit windy, but held fine, and we completed the walk in a little under 3 hours.
I struggled somewhat with my blood sugars this evening, due to the biting winds. Suffered a severe hypo during the night when my levels dropped to 2.3. Not good.

Sunday was a visit to Fountains Abbey (photos left). Stunning, but a bit windy again. Managed to trek all the way around the grounds, taking in all the recommended sights, and the Serpentine Tunnel from High Ride down to the water gardens.

We were supposed to spend a further night at the campsite, but we cut the trip short due to the prospect of bad weather. A bit of a wimps excuse, but I think we'd have stuck it out if we'd got a decent tent.

We're planning our next trip now, but first stop Yeoman's... for a decent tent

Hiking around Wellow

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 21 May 2008 | 8:29 am

We went hiking again this weekend, this time around Wellow. We've done this walk previously, about 6 weeks ago, but back then barely anything was growing. We're now at the middle of May, and the paths are nicely greening up, and the forest areas really dark and full of bird life It's fantastic.

The weird thing about hiking around Nottinghamshire is the lack of people that we see. I know that it doesn't have the views of the Peak District, but it's impressive non-the-less. Still, I think I prefer not seeing many people, it makes the walks seem even more personal.

BookRabbit

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 16 May 2008 | 10:13 am
I was trawling through my rss feeds this morning, and the Telegraph website had an interesting article on it about BookRabbit (link in the title above). Basically you can upload your bookshelves to it, and it will link to other people with similar tastes, and make recommendations based on your selections. I'm going to give it a go and see how it pans out

Latest Gaming Purchase - Philips G7000

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 13 May 2008 | 11:49 am
I've picked up a boxed G7000 with 7 games a little over a week ago. It all works beautifully, and whilst it doesn't have a massive library there are enough games to make it worthwhile picking up. I have in my usual style compiled a list of wants for it, so we'll have to see how hard it is to collect for it.

Diabetes and Me

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 13 May 2008 | 11:40 am
I've been for my 6 monthly check up today, and as I expected my diabetes control is not what it should be. This is not for a lack of effort on my part, simply that my body doesn't currently tolerate the regime I'm on. I've been given a routine to try, but I'm under instruction to come back in 2 months because it looks like I need to be fitted out with an insulin pump. And I've also got to be tested for coeliac disease, which is a gluten intolerance, managed by diet.

Hiking with Dad

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 12 May 2008 | 3:33 pm

Dad underwent a hip replacement before Christmas, and he's been working really hard on getting fit again. We'd planned on doing a bit of hiking around Barlborough and Spinkhill when he got fitter, and with the bluebells in full flower this weekend seemed the perfect opportunity to go. Jane and 2 of the kids went with us, and a hike of just over 6 miles took us 2.75 hours. Mum thoughtfully provided lunch after we got back.

Gaming Related Goodness

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 2 May 2008 | 3:57 pm
In the spirit of getting something on the blog, and because I've not updated in a while this is going to be a bit of a consolidated post of gaming related purchases and what-not.

I've finished 100%, with all skill points, Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction.
Another great installment in the series. Nothing ground-breaking, but it was the usual ton of fun to play.

We've bought Mario Kart Wii, and an extra wheel. It's bloody fantastic, and I've completed 50cc and 100cc modes. As usual 150cc mode is hard, and incredibly frustrating. The thing that really irritates me about this is that we bought it for the multi-player aspect, but you can't have all the multiplayer goodies unless you complete single player mode. Nintendo, that really sucks.

I had the buddies from university round a couple of weeks ago. It's the first visit they've had here since we did the garage to games room conversion. They were more than happy to spend most of the weekend working through the games collection, and we bust out the Vectrex for a bit of fun too. We also did some boardgaming, Carcasonne Hunter and Gatherers, and something about rivers in Egypt whose name escapes me at the moment. Both good fun. Oh yeah, and we drank some beer and ate Chinese.

Regular blogging is hard to do

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 2 May 2008 | 3:49 pm
I think it stems from having so much else to do, like my hobbies if I don't plan them in advance then they rarely happen. I never thought in my 20s that I'd have to schedule fun activities, they'd always just sort of happened. As I approach the end of my 30s I now find that if I'm going to do something, be it diy, socialising, gaming, reading, in fact just about anything then it needs to be planned, sometimes with military precision. Blogging is one of those instant activities that can always be put off until it convenient, and then you find it's 3 weeks later and you've still not made a single entry. Bugger.

Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 11 Apr 2008 | 2:28 pm
I've finished my first play through, and I'm working on the second. I've bought all omega weapons, and I'm just working my way through all the upgrades.

Car

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 11 Apr 2008 | 2:27 pm
Different garage, car now fixed. Lets hope it stays that way this time.

Car

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 8 Apr 2008 | 1:49 pm
My car, a Nissan Primera, has experienced an engine management failure again. This is the 3rd time now in less than 3 years. Unfortunately the dealer that has done the previous repairs is now out of business, although taking it to a different place hopefully will mean that it gets fixed correctly this time.

Playstation 3 and DNLA

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 4 Apr 2008 | 3:32 pm
I've just discovered the DNLA feature of my PS3, installed TVersity on my Win2k box, and I can now stream all my videos over my network. This whole thing is bloody marvellous. It even works, via the internet, to my PSP. Astounding!

Edit: but not mp3. bummer.

Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 4 Apr 2008 | 10:54 am
I'm nearing the end of my first playthrough of this game, and as to be expected it's both gorgeous to look at and fantastic to play. I have one minor gripe - I don't like the inclusion of devices that are actually weapons. The weapons and the upgrades make the game even more fun, so to intentionally limit the upgrade potential of some 'weapons' smacks a little of laziness. That aside, it's still a top game, one of the must haves for the system

Sega CD

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 2 Apr 2008 | 5:24 pm
The Sega CD still hasn't turned up, but PayPal have recovered all of my money. Yay! Now to find another to spend it on

Hardwick Park and more

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 1 Apr 2008 | 10:33 am
We went hiking again this weekend, about 6 miles, starting (and ending) at Hardwick Park, taking in Ault Hucknell, and Norwood. Fantastic day, good weather, and some time out and about with the family

Latest Gaming Purchase - Vectrex

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 1 Apr 2008 | 10:28 am
I've just picked up a Vectrex console, with 4 games for under 40 quid. Bargain! There's a small burn to the controller, but nothing that stops it working, and the screen still displays beautifully. Time to add some more games to the collection...

Lastest Gaming Hardware - Playstation 3

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 31 Mar 2008 | 5:09 pm
And the integration between it and the psp is bloody marvellous. And it runs Ubuntu, not quite out of the box, but with a little fiddling. Time to get another usb keyboard and mouse I think.

Stranger's Wrath

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 26 Mar 2008 | 5:50 pm
I've lost the interest I had in the game, it's become far too repetitive. I think I'll retire this one to the 'come back to later' pile.

In-laws PC

Source : Ga5ket's Blog | Date : 24 Mar 2008 | 10:47 am
My in-laws' pc has suffered a hdd failure. So I've sourced one from an old pc I had, and I've got that to install and the whole pc to set up. It seems to be the month for pc failures, hopefully this will be the end of them for a while.