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Latest News and Blog Posts from Wayne “Pendragon” Owens.
The Original Suicide Squad
I have recently been watching the odd episode of Star Trek (TOS) and it has occurred to me that, we may all joke about “Red Shirts” and how as soon as you see an unnamed character that they are going to die, but think about it for a minute.
These “Red Shirts” are the Security Members, the military part of the crew. They had training in combat, weapons, survival, etc.. Had to pass fitness tests that would probably be equivalent to the military ones today. And yet these trained soldiers, whose only role is security & combat get beaten up or killed by the simplest of things. In a landing party consisting of
- The Captain (Ok, he is a hands on, fight them all kind of officer),
- The Scientist (OK, he is an alien whose race is stronger and tougher than humans),
- The Doctor (Who is older than the rest, spent years learning medical stuff so not much survival/combat),
- The Engineer (OK he is a Scottish brawler type)
Now those four occupations Officer, Scientist, Doctor & Engineer normally need a high level of specialised knowledge. And to be the Head of that area means even more skill, knowledge & experience. SO not really much time for super fitness, weapon & combat training, or survival. Especially when compared to Soldiers whose only role is soldiering.
But there is more, They often take a female officer with them, Such as a Nurse, Captains Secretary, Lab Assistant, And yet, when the bad stuff happens, these desk jockeys survive and the trained combat guys die.
Lets take 2 examples to look at this phenomenon.
Example 1: An armed security officer is escorting an old admiral (You know, takes a long time to get to that rank, and lots of sitting at desks) who has gone days without sleep, is hungry, tired, stressed to the medical station. The Admiral has other plans to decides to escape, and beats up the security guy who tries to stop him.
Example 2: (My Favourite so far) An away team beam down to a planet they describe as “Paradise” the team consists of, Captain, Scientist, Doctor, Secretary, Navigator (guy who plots course) and 3 Security guards. Now all three guards die, 1 gets shot by a flowers poison darts, 1 is struck by lightning, and the 3rd steps on an explosive rock and blows up. Bad luck right? but wait, the Scientist gets shot with more flower darts than security guy, gets hit by an identical lightning blast, and picks up a highly explosive rock, snaps it in two and throws it on ground, yet he lives.
So you have to ask yourselves, just why are the Security/Soldiers in the future so weak and pathetic?
Do they abhor violence so much, that to prevent any more wars they only let the weakest, most puny people join the military? and then give them no training at all?
Do they have strict moral rules on Suicide, so anyone who wishes to kill themselves is put in a red shirt? so those with incurable diseases sign up to be paper-clip fodder, and at least die in a none suicidal manner?
Did none of the writers ever ask these questions?
And why did Star Fleet not just fill its ships with old doctors & secretaries? That way they would not loose security personnel and basically be guaranteed to win every conflict they entered.
*Answers on a postcard please*
7 interesting/uninteresting facts you may or may not know about me
I got hit with one of those FaceBook meme’s (Thanks @MaguirePete) and as I was posting the status update, it occurred to me that it would be a great excuse for a blog post.
But wait! Not only am I copying what I posted on Facebook here, for a limited time only I am also giving small explanations to my answers, Yes Dear Constant Reader, its the New and Improved set of answers I gave on Facebook, for no extra cost.
7 interesting/uninteresting facts you may or may not know about me.
1) I am Mentioned or Acknowledged in several Education books around the world.
For example: I have been acknowledged for my assistance in a book on Information Technology in the e-learning environment of Library services, I am mentioned along with my “Insanity Test” in a few Psychology Textbooks, and books on using comedy in dealing with mental illness. And My RLF stuff has been in several children’s books on Christmas, and in a couple of Brazilian schoolbooks on learning English (cos I iz do writ gud!) Not to mention the Papers and Dissertations I get credited in, Not bad for a waster really.
2) I was asked to join Mensa when I was 15
Not much to say about this. I sat one of their tests out of curiosity. Then spent a year getting multiple letters from them asking me to join. I never did join because they seemed too needy.
3) As a teenager I took part in an European wide NATO WarGames
I spent several years in the Army Cadet Force (They let me play with guns) and one year our weekend camp coincided with a large NATO exercise covering most of Europe. And as a treat, some of us were allowed to join in, albeit in a small way. I therefore got to spend an evening manning the Guard Post at the main entrance to a Military Camp, a job I would like to say I fulfilled to the best of my ability. I would like to say that, but at one point 4 soldiers approached the gate slightly drunk. I requested their ID because “War Games = High Security” and the back 2 pointed at the others and said “Its OK they are with us”, so I asked for their IDs only to have the 1st 2 say “Its OK they are with us”. I should have refused them entry, called for an real soldier and followed orders. But come on, I was a young teenager, they were BIG drunk soldiers. I did the only thing a kid in my position could do, I allowed them to bribe me and my fellow cadet guard with beer in exchange for looking the other way. So I took part in NATO WarGames, but I was bribed into neglecting my duty and breaching security. GO ME!!!
4) I once failed a Computerised Personality Test at a Job Interview, it came back with “ERROR:”
I went for a job interview many years ago, and after the normal Greetings, Interview Questions, Q&A that you normally get at Job Interviews, I was asked did I mind sitting a Personality Test. I believe they were checking candidates had the right personality for the role. So I sat in a room, in front of a computer that asked me questions. I should point out there were no right or wrong answers, it was a how do you feel about X test. SO I sat it, said my goodbyes and left. I got a call from them later that day asking could I come back in later in the week (Which I figured was good, a second Interview). When I returned I was informed that they wanted me to resit the personality test because of reasons they would not tell me until after. I figured it must have said I was not fully suitable for role, but because I interviewed good they were giving me second go. SO I resat test. And as I was leaving I asked “so why the retest?” which is when I was informed that my first test failed and basically responded “Error:” Yup, in a test with no wrong answers my result was ERROR.
5) I am not 100% sure of which day I was born on.
I have explained this in the past in the post One More than the Queen of England. but because TLDR;
It turns out that it was a very long and painful labor, and I was a home birth (a uncommon occurrence at the time). Also the Midwife was not that good, and forgot to fill in the forms at the time. She also banged my head repeatedly against the bed, but that’s a different story. So basically everyone was tired, exhausted, and under belief that the midwife did her job. It was only later when it came time to register my birth they realised they were unsure of the date. My father, Mother & Nian (Grandmother) all believed different days.
6) I have won shooting competitions.
Does this need any further explanation? During my time in the Cadets I took part in, and won several shooting competitions.
7) I have been invited onto TV Shows & Documentaries as an “Expert Guest” (But I decline because I’m shy)
I get a fair bit of emails from TV or Film Companies saying they are filming a Show/Documentary on X and would I like to be on the panel of experts. I occasionally get similar ones from Radio or Magazine people as well. I can only assume my details are on some globally shared list? I mostly get them for things Geek, Goth or Vampire related. I keep all the requests in a folder, which I look at every now and then and think “oh the infamy I could have if I was not such a shy, retiring sort”.
I live in Narnia
Last night I was visiting a friends Lodge in the deepest, darkest wilderness that is Cheshire, England. It was an enjoyable evening, right up to the end of the meal when I happened to check my phone and spot the following text messages :-
“Snowing like hell and sticking, wouldn’t stay too long, weather warning on TV” 18:49
“Stopped snowing but still a good covering, sky looks like more to come.” 19:41
The time I read these messages, 22:01. YES. Several hours after receiving the warning of bad weather, so just how bad would it be now? Since I am a sensible person (Oi! shut it you!!!) I did not stay for any after meal drinks, or late night esoteric discussions, but left immediately after I finished the apple crumble & custard.
The car-park and surrounding area were snow free when I left, which was a good start to the trip home as I will admit I was feeling a little bit worried. The worry of “will I make it home” was added to by the closure of the main route back into Wales, and many other smaller road closures and diversions, meaning most of my trip would be on lesser roads. Roads that may not be gritted, or used as much.
SO the long journey began, along dark misty roads where I was often the only car travelling. All the time I was ready to start dealing with SNOWMAGEDDON!!
Oddly I made it all the way to Wales without seeing even a single snowflake. I decided this was understandable, It is often snowing in Wales and not in England. SO on we went, ever vigilant for the bad weather. 45 Minutes later, and I was almost home. And other than the mist, I had encountered no adverse weather, there was no snow on the ground, or trees, buildings, anywhere.
SO, Maybe there was a heavy rain earlier that had washed away all the snow? That must be it. So I continued on, not so vigilant and singing along to the cdplayer….
1 mile from home I had a decision to make. My normal route goes down a load of country roads which are best avoided in bad weather. The other option was to travel further on and then come back on myself via the local village where the roads can be safer to use in bad weather. Since there had been NO SIGN OF SNOW, not even the left over snow you get on the side of the road, I decided to risk the back country roads. 10 minutes later, I arrived at the turning to the road I live along, and started to turn.
HOLY FRELLING GORRAM FRAK
The road in front of me was white, the trees, hedges white, everything was under an inch of snow. And it was snowing, and snowing heavy. I skidded to a stop and looked behind me, No snow. In front Snow.
There was actually a line level with the end of the road. one side was a complete covering of snow, the other normal black road. One side it was snowing heavy, the other not even rain.
It was then that I realised. I actually live in Narnia!!!
P.S. For those curious, This morning I left for work and went the other way along my road, and at the other end of the road. Yup. another white line where the snow just stops.
The Year That Was – 2014
Its that time of year again.
Where I look back over the previous year and answer the same 40 questions.
1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?
OK, New things :-
- Became one of the Principles in Chapter.
- Resigned from my Mother Lodge. 🙁
- Visited in an order other than Craft. (Oddly I have never visited any side order).
- Visited a SRIA Collage.
- Visited a RA Chapter.
- Became a founding member of an official Group (North Wales Chapter of the Widows Sons MBA).
- Missed Rehearsals for the 1st (and 2nd) time.
- Took a None-Ladder Office for the first time.
- Took an Administrative Office for the first time.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I Have stopped setting Resolutions for myself as I have discovered that I am really crap at sticking to them. But I have discovered over the last few years I am better at completing challenges, so that is what I do instead.
2014 was the “Challenge Pursuits“. And in 2015 I am taking part in a Triple Creative Challenge with Pete Maguire.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes. My Eldest Nephews Girlfriend gave birth to a little girl who apparently does not look like every other baby on the planet but is beautiful and special.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. I do not believe anyone close to me died this year. I do not recall going to any funerals.
5. What countries did you visit?
The usual suspects of England/Wales. I did go through Bala which should really be classed as it’s own country, if not it’s own planet!
6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
A Presented Paper, Enthusiasm, an Intern/PA. OK. I would actually settle for Enthusiasm to get on and work on the many unfinished projects and ideas I have, instead of wasting so much time. Oh, I should add “less unfinished Projects” to the want list. Darn I really need a PA/Intern.
7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
- 13th October – The day I resigned from my Mother Lodge.
- 3rd December – The Day I got my first None-Ladder Office.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being asked to be “Director of Studies” in SRIA, since that is a responsible role, generally given to experienced and knowledgeable members. And it felt even more of an achievement because 3 separate members who I admire suggested me for the job at different times.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Leaving my mother lodge. YES I know it was not really a personal failure, since I left for the right reasons, but it still feels like a failure, like maybe I should have done more to stop it heading in the direction it did. Ah the Voice of Self Doubt, why don’t you go back to Wil where you belong.
Note: “The voice of Self Doubt” & “Prove to everyone” are supposed to live in the mind of Wil Wheaton!
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes. Inflamed Rotator Cuff, which let me tell you is not fun. Especially when it’s your dominant arm that you loose the use of.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Well up until December, my answer was going to be a USB Memory stick with a USB connector one side, and a miniUSB connector on the other, so it could plug into computers, tablets, & phones!
BUT in December I upgraded my phone to a Samsung Galaxy S5, and I got myself a new tablet as a joint Birthday & Christmas gift to myself. So I would now answer Samsung Phone & Samsung Tablet.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My Niece for doing so well in her exams, getting into the collage course she wanted, and getting herself a part time job.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
A certain group of people, that I will not name since I still have to deal with them.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Diesel for communing, New Toys, & Books. Normal money drains really.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Becoming one of the Principles in Chapter.
16. What song will always remind you of 2014?
Escape (The Pina Colada Song).
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
- a) happier or sadder? Happier.
- b) thinner or fatter? Thinner.
- c) richer or poorer? Richer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing, Visiting & playing games.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? .
Worrying, Procrastinating, & wasting time.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Well since it is now past Christmas, I can answer this with 100% accuracy. I got up and went to my parents house to open presents in the morning, along with my Sister & niece. Then for Christmas Dinner we all went to my Sisters for the first time. And since her fiancé did the cooking, the meal was excellent and no one got food poisoning 😉.
Then in the evening I watched (as tradition demands) the Doctor Who special, which was a bit disappointing.
21. What was your favourite month of 2014?
December. Because I got my new phone, New Tablet, and the DofS job in S.R.I.A. all in December.
22. Did you fall in love in 2014?
Alas No. I am still a high functioning Sociopath.
23. How many one-night stands?
I do not believe in one-night stands. How can you tell if you really like something unless you try it at least a couple of times?
24. What was your favourite TV programme?
Sheesh. Here we go:-
- Arrow.
- Flash.
- NCIS*.
- Castle.
- Sleepy Hollow.
- Agents of Shield.
- Haven.
- Blacklist.
- Person of Interest.
- etc. etc.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
“Hate leads to suffering” and I do not make myself suffer!
Or to put it another way. No. There are no new people on “The List” this year.
26. What was the best book you read?
Hard to choose, But I can short list it to :-
- Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow.
- Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.
- Cold Days by Jim Butcher.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I made NO new musical discoveries this year.
The office has become a music free zone, so there has not been much music in 2014.
28. What did you want and get?
New Phone, New Tablet!
29. What did you want and not get?
Enthusiasm, Love, Slaves A PA/Intern, A new House (Not easy finding one I like, I may be fussy?)
30. What was your favourite film of this year?
This is an easy choice this year. “Guardians of the Galaxy” I loved that film, just the right amounts of Comedy, Action, SciFi and they managed to cram in, Car chase, Bar fight, War, Love story, Betrayal, A dance off? and… and… and… a talking tree!
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I spent the day as I would any other day.
After a time birthdays become meaningless. I believe its as soon as you no longer get toys as gifts 😉.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
The Zombie Apocalypse. Seriously, How cool would that have been!
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
It has been the coldest year on Record (My Own Records) So mostly Cargo Pants (I like the extra pockets) Jumpers, and in work Coats.
Oh and suits, because suits are awesome – True story.
34. What kept you sane?
Sane? Sane? “You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means”.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
The character Felicity Smoak from Arrow/Flash. Looks & Brains, a perfect combination.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
None, I don’t do politics.
37. Who did you miss?
No one. “ high functioning Sociopath” Remember? Remember? from Question 22?.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I’ve met a few interesting people from S.R.I.A. and some great new friends on Twitter. But No one person stands out as the “best new person”.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014?.
Some people are just Dicks, and it is often better for your soul and life to just walk away than to try and deal with them.
Remember “The rat race is mainly for rats, so make sure you are the guy in the white coat it’s a lot less stressful”
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
This conversation just keeps going
Want to get through this without you knowing
You can see it in my eyes
My calculating bullshit lies
You look at me so appalled
’cause I don’t recognize you at all
Now am I an asshole
Or are you just boring?
‘Cause one of these two things must be true
Am I self absorbed, preoccupied, and shockingly cunty
Or is there just nothing memorable about you?
Well even if I’m arrogant and totally suck
I’m still betting on the latter ’cause you’re bland as fuck.
100 Years – Least We Forget
Each year, on 11 November, the country falls silent to commemorate our war dead. This ritual, and the ceremonies and symbols that accompany it, have become part of national life.
Remembrance started long before the guns of the Western Front fell silent with people marking the loss or absence of loved ones away at war. 100 years later, the personal and political resonances of remembrance still stir strong emotions.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae (1872 – 1918)
XBox Time Machine
There was a time, many moons ago (That’s 2010/2011 for those of you who are on decimal digital time) when PlanetPete, CampyPhil, MIAdave and myself along with the occasional extra would often play as a group on various XBox multiplayer games. Over time the group dwindled in size, the times we played grew less and less, due to new Kids, Job changes, work commitments, getting addicted to triathlons, etc. basically life itself got in the way.
Time went by, The four worlds formed again and yet again, As endless aeons wheeled and passed. Time and the pure essences of Heaven, The moistures of the Earth, And the powers of the Sun and the Moon. All worked upon a certain rock – old as Creation, And it magically became fertile. That first egg was named Thought, Tathagata Buddha, the Father Buddha, Said, ‘With our thoughts we make the world.’... But that’s a different story.
Time did pass.
We now arrive at yesterday, (Let’s sit and rest for a while. It has been a long journey of years to get from the start of this post to this point).
Yesterday during a Skype IM chat with PlanetPete about the TV shows, Dominion & Constantine he asked that immortal question “Games night?” Which you have to admit is a good suggestion for winding down after a Monday in the office.
9:30PM We were both online, in a XBox party chat and ready to re-live old times.
Game 1: Batman Arkham Origins
Well, this did not go so well. We both started the game, created a private match, joined and spent a fair while trying to work out how to start the match. We tried a couple of game modes, still no luck! It was about this time the small print of “Multiplayer 3-8 players” was spotted. We were 1 person short.
Game 2: Tombraider
This had a slight bumpy start.
*XBox Chat*
GGN: “There are two discs”
PP: “Which one is it?”
GGN: “I’m putting in disc 1” *DISCONNECT*
*SMS*
GGN: “updates!!!!“
PP: “It’s disc 2”
GGN: “typical”
Once we (and by we I mean me) got online and running off the correct disc, things got better. We were soon running about lost on maps we had never seen, trying to remember how to play tombraider and do those useful things like climb, jump, not fall to your death. Eventually we got the hang of it, and started killing each other in a myriad of ways. After a lot of fun it was decided PlanetPete won after he managed to kill the whole level by pressing something inside a sub and the whole place starting to fall down around us.
Game 3: COD Modern Warfare 2
We ended the night on the game that used to get played the most back in the day, since it was the one game we all owned. Due to the countless times we’ve played this there were no issues in starting a match, or needing to remember how to play. Within seconds of the game starting we were madly running about stabbing each other, just using grenade launchers instead of guns, and general madness.
Half an hour into the game and we were back in 2011, we had lost the years in-between, nothing had changed PlanetPete still had his love of BIG BOOMS and explosions, and I was up high with scoped weapon.
I thought it was just nostalgia that made me travel back in time while running around trying to stab PlanetPete (At least it was only a virtual knife not a training knife). But this morning I received the IM.
PlanetPete: Last night i went back in time!!””!”!!!
Remember, Games with old friends can travel you back through time! But oddly you can not use that time travel to get the winning roll-over lottery ticket! Paradox’s People! PARADOX’S!
Until Next time, and in the Voice & words of Wil “Play more Games!”
One More than the Queen of England – Revisited
Last week I was annoying my mother while visiting my parents, and she threatened me :-
Mother: “Just remember your birthday is coming up!”
Me: “Yup, next Saturday!”
Mother: “Yes, Sunday”
Me: “Sat-ur-day!”
Mother: “No, Sunday, Saturday is the 1st”
Me: “Yes, the 1st, Saturday, my birthday”
Mother: “But your birthday is the 2nd”
Me: “1st!!“
Mother: “Are you sure? I’m positive it’s the 2nd”
Me: “It’s the 1st as it has always been”
Mother: “Really?. what does it say on your birth certificate?”
Me: “the 1st!!!”
Mother: “that does not sound right, Why do I think it’s the 2nd??”
The conversation then went into the area of, “When was I actually born” which reminded me of an old post where I explained my theory I should get a 3 day birthday.
From the vault “One More than the Queen of England“
Weird post title right? What I am referring to is birthdays, The Queen of England has two birthdays a year, Myself I have Three. So if you will sit down comfortably dear Reader, I’ll explain, mostly because its become a FAQ.
A few years ago a friend offered to do one of those astronomical charts for me, One of the larger complicated ones that show your personality, and long term fortune, etc. So I gave my friend the details I had, Date of Birth, and Location of Birth. Both of which are required for accuracy. I was then informed that if i wished a more accurate chart then they would need my time of birth, because when it comes to stars that take a millennium for the light to reach us, knowing what minute you were born makes all the difference. So I asked my parents for the time of my birth.
I think I’ll jump ahead here to the conversation with my friend later, for pure comedy affect.
F=Friend, M=Me
F: “So, you got the time of your birth?“
M: “Yes, Nov 1st“
F: “no the TIME? if you don’t know the exact time you can narrow it down to morning, afternoon, evening, night. it will still help with accuracy“
M: “Nov 1st“
F: “No, can they narrow it down a bit?“
M: “They did, they narrowed it down to Nov 1st. Apparently no one made a note of when i was born, and they latter could not work out if it was Oct 31st, Nov 1st, Nov 2nd. so the narrowed it down to the middle one, Nov 1st“
F: “You just can’t do anything normal can you? you even managed to mess up and complicate getting born!“
It turns out that it was a very long and painful labor, and I was a home birth (a uncommon occurrence at the time). Also the Midwife was not that good, and forgot to fill in the forms at the time. She also banged my head repeatedly against the bed, but that’s a different story. So basically everyone was tired, exhausted, and under belief that the midwife did her job. It was only later when it came time to register my birth they realised they were unsure of the date. My father, Mother & Nian (Grandmother) all believed different days.
They settled on the middle day of the range, since it was central and my mothers vote (well she did have the pain so its only fair). Since then a few people have stated I’m more suited to a Halloween birth than a All Saints Day birth. The upshot is that since I was born on one of three possible days, I think to play safe I should celebrate my birthday over the full three day period. Its the only way I can be sure I have got the right day.
o2 Sales Call
I just had a nice entertaining sales call from o2.
O2: “Hi, we’re calling from o2 to thank you for being a loyal customer and to let you know about some great offers we have for you to thank you for being loyal. Are you free to talk?”
Me: *watches code compile* “Sure why not!”
O2: “How do you find your O2 experience.”
Me: “Fine apart from having no signal anywhere.”
O2: “Oh.. right, are you happy with the amount of free minutes and texts you have? could we offer you more?”
Me: “I never use the ones I have, due to never having a signal.”
O2: “right, I see you have a data plan. Using the internet on your phone is good, do you need a bigger allowance so you can use it more?”
Me: “Never use the data, There are no places around here with an Internet signal.”
O2: “we are slowly upgrading our masts from 3G to 4G so you will soon have super fast internet to your phone. Does your phone handle 4G?”
Me: “4G? I’d be happy with 3G, No, I’d be happy with 1G or even just a phone signal…”
O2: “errr.. is there anyone else in your household with mobile phones?”
Me: “Yes.”
O2: “Ahhh.. are they on O2??”
Me: “Yes, yes they are….. currently”
O2: “And what’s their view of O2 and their accounts?”
Me: “They are happy, apart from not having a signal anywhere!!”
O2: “err, since you use a lot of Data would you consider or be interested in getting a contract with us with a tablet computer, we have a nice deal on iPads…..”
Me: “Didn’t we cover I don’t use the Phones data use because there is no signal anywhere.”
O2: “right.. errr.. ok.. hummm.. well Thank you, have a nice day….”
O2: *Hangs Up*
Phoning to talk about increasing use of phone and 4G. When there is NO phone signal where I live for even calls/texts. There is no signal during my commute to work, and barely a phone signal in the area I work (Phone only no data). I believe the local Town has a 13 foot circle where you can get 3G, if the wind is blowing in the right direction.
This is a shame, I have been with O2 since before they were O2, My sim still says “BT Genie” on it. And apart from the last several years I never had any signal issues, I had voice/sms everywhere. And now, nowhere.
Isn’t progress great.
Answers via carrier pigeon please.
Katawa Shoujo – UPDATE
You may recall a previous post where I was playing “Katawa Shoujo” after watching along with Metadating, which was one of the original Geek & Sundry shows.
If you don’t remember it, or did not read it, or maybe suffer from long term memory issues due to a alleged incident with a baseball bat (Sorry Dave) then you can remind yourself about it by re-reading the original Katawa Shoujo post
TL;DR
Basically it’s a visual novel style game where your choices and options dictate which of five girls you end up with. And where the game taught me that sometimes the best match for you is not necessarily the first person to catch your eye?
The Replay:
I was still a little bit annoyed about not getting the girl I wanted, So I replayed the game and made different choices with my life to get a different story. And I may have done a little bit of research to make sure I got the outcome I wanted.
It’s not cheating. It’s putting in the effort to get to know the girl? Oh who am I trying to kid, I cheated at the beginning to make sure Act 2 was on the path I wanted.
Anyway, Play-through #2 got me the Girl I wanted based off first impressions instead of personalities (Take that Game mechanics).
And I am man enough to admit…
Gods the Girl I picked from first impressions was an annoying, annoying thing. By half way through Act #2 I did not just realise how much a mistake this was, but I actually hated the character. I longed for the parts of the narrative she was not in. I missed the girl form Play-through #1. Hell I missed any of the characters that were not the girl I picked.
I have to admit I am impressed, It is really looking like this simple free game knows which type of woman I am better suited to than I do myself.
It is an eye-opener.
Also it’s possible that I have really bad taste in women!
You can download the game Legally & For free from :- http://www.katawa-shoujo.com/download.php
Katawa Shoujo
I have been slowly trying to catch up on a backlog of Films, TV Programs & YouTube shows. To demonstrate just how bad the backlog is. I’m currently catching up on Metadating, which was one of the shows on the 1st year of Geek & Sundry back in 2012?. (I know right.) So Metadating did a 2 part show on “Katawa Shoujo”
Katawa Shoujo is a bishōjo-style visual novel by Four Leaf Studios that tells a story of a young man and five young women living with varying disabilities. The game uses a traditional text and sprite-based visual novel model with an ADV-style text box running on the Ren’Py visual novel engine. The game is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND.
They had split it into two 2 hour episodes so that they could show the game and discuss it while playing part of the 1st act, then give everyone a chance to play the game themselves (Its a Free Cross-Platform Game) and then they could play some more and discuss it in the second episode. I started playing while watching the second episode, where I discovered if you really messed up your choices YOU CAN DIE!
Luckily, unlike one of Metadating’s Presenters I survived without dying.
Katawa Shoujo
So the game starts with a quick back-story to explain what is going on and why you are now in a new special school. After this you are introduced to your new school and get to meet each of the main girls. You have to meet them all to make an informed choice right?
The Game/Story then progresses with you learning about the school, the people, etc.. Every so often you are given options, and what you pick influences the story, like those old “Make your own Adventure” books.
The Game is in 4 Acts.
- Act 1: Meet the Girls and get interested in one (If you fail you die)
- Act 2: Get to know your Chosen Girl and move from friendship onto Romance
- Act 3: Troubles and if you do not do well, A BAD ENDING
- Act 4: If you get to Act 4 you get a Good Ending.
- Also you can die at any time you totally mess up.
Playing Act 1,
I had picked out the girl I wanted and was playing to get her. She was a shy little thing, and at one point I thought I had won. She had stayed behind after class because I was finishing up some homework (I did mention it was set in a school). Her best friend came looking for her, and after a whispered conversation left leaving the girl in the class. She kept looking at me, and seemed to be waiting for me to notice her and talk to her.
Real Life me went “YES. I got the path I wanted, come on notice what’s going on”
Character me did his homework, nodded at the girl and left!
This annoyed me as being male I generally need to be hit with a baseball bat with the words “I like you” written on it to notice these things, and yet character me was more oblivious than real life me. I calmed myself down with a beer, and in spite I refused to share with character me.
It turns out, that making the choices I had, which in turn influenced the personality of the Character I was playing made me better suited for the personality of a different girl, rather the the one I had picked after quick first impressions. And the game had realised this. Who knew that the best match for you is not necessarily the first person to catch your eye?
This was too deep for both real life me and character me, and we had another beer.
Without any Spoilers. Act 2 went along fine, and I started thinking “Humm, OK my character could get along with this girl”. Act 3 was a bit touch and go, and I strongly suspect I almost ended up heading towards the BAD ending where we split up. But my overall brilliance let me slip into Act 4 and the Happy Ending…
Overall the story was interesting, and I have since seen the flowchart of the various ways the story can change based on your choices and am even more impressed with the writing. I am tempted to play the game again, with different answers to see just how much the path/story changes based on a single moments decision. (It’s the Multiverse people!)
You can download the game Legally & For free from :- http://www.katawa-shoujo.com/download.php