Goafer

One thing that always bothers me about subscription services is that games lose all value. Not immediately gripped on the game? Oh well, it was "free" so just move on to the many other games you have access to When you spend £50 upwards on a game (or less if you get it after a few months), you're more likely to give it a chance to get going. I wonder how many great games have been passed over or received less attention because they didn't immediately present their best content at the beginning of the game. Also, if people aren't paying for a game (apart from the fraction of the subscription price that goes to the developer), game developers will make their money elsewhere. Spoilers: more "pursuasive" microtransactions. I do like gamepass from a consumer point of view, but I do wonder what the future of gaming looks like when/if it becomes the norm.

Would have been pretty embarrassing if I'd failed, as I've been driving a car for 15 years and a lot of the questions applied to both cars and bikes.

Dug my old Game Boy Camera and Printer out. Turns out it still works. The printer paper has seen better days, hence the faded print, but the hardware works as it should, which is impressive given that the old batteries had leaked quite spectacularly.

They'd need to have analogue triggers before they can have adaptive ones.

Watched it all. I agree on pretty much all the points above. Utterly stunning animation. My main gripe with the show is that hardly any of the characters were particularly likable, and the ones that are likeable are either killed off or change into unlikable fairly quickly. Overall, it didn't bother me too much though and it's well worth a watch.

The show was always about making fun of celebrities who had no idea what they were doing. That was part of the fun!

For me it wasn't mentioning they were a couple, as COD was part of their relationship and they would have asked the same of any straight couple. It was the "What do you love about her?" that was just a bizzarre choice. That was the only bit where I thought they were a bit much. I'd feel awkward if they asked that of a straight couple too tbf. IIRC contestant 1 was a Sonic speedrunner, so they were probably fairly new to the game. There's no denying that they were almost certainly chosen for the diversity angle, but they were easily my favourite of the contestants and it never felt heavy handed or forced. Plus, pregnant or not, I'd have fought that co-host for the jacket if the contestant lost. Overall, a very positive start to the series though. Hope they keep it up and the initial awkwardness of new hosts goes away.

Whilst I agree that they were clearly going for diversity (hardly a bad thing tbf), at least it wasn't at the cost of getting actual gamers. Contestant 1 (arguably the most "inclusive"/divisive) was an actual speedrunner, Contestants 2 were hardcore COD players and the rest were white males. The only bit that stood out as trying a bit too hard was asking contestants 2 about their relationship. Other than that, every contestant was treated as a gamer and nothing else, which I actually found refreshing.

I've actually watched it now and it's not perfect, but it's way better than I ever expected it to be. Some notes: Trevor McDonald is perfect. The main host is no Dominic Diamond, but I quite like him. The cohosts are a bit weaker, but fine. It genuinely feels like the GamesMaster I remember, awkward guests and all. The golden joystick is still just a shit joystick painted gold and I've never wanted anything more.

The first episode is now on YouTube.

Have you ever driven a Lamborghini? To be fair, no, but I've also not driven a Ford Anglia. I meant more in the context of the game, but I think I mirror that opinion when it comes to real cars. I've owned/driven shiny cars, fast cars, big cars, small cars, old cars and new cars, and the ones that were the most fun were always the ones I didn't care about. It's much easier to enjoy a car when you're not constantly worrying about every stone chip and car park dent.

I wonder if that's supposed to look like a Geth or if it's just coincidence.

Not bad IMO. Been wanting to replay KoA/check out the remaster, so that saves me having to buy it. Plus, some extra PSVR games, so that's nice too. I mean, I won't be re-setting my PSVR up any time soon, but still nice to have.

You know what? I don't hate that. Patrick Moore was such a bizzarre choice at the time and this is in the same vein. I can totally imagine Trevor McDonald playing a similar character. I was ready to completely dismiss the new GamesMaster, show but this alone has got me interested. It seems they're approaching it with the same sense of humour.

That's pretty nuts, considering how hard it still is to get hold of one of the bloody things. Imagine how well it would have sold if they were easily available.

The podcast I'm in/edit hit 10k total listens. It's not huge, but it's something.

Do you have a dedicated work room/area? I find that helps with keeping things seperate. For me, I have a desk set up. When I'm sat there, I'm "at work". When I'm not, I'm "at home". I do sometimes use the desk for other things, but I'll never work from other areas of my house. Work gets left behind as soon as I step away from that desk. I also stick fairly rigidly to a routine and rarely work out of my contracted hours. A lot of people in my place work through lunches and into the evenings, because it's so convenient to. My job has always been working from home, even before the pandemic, so I made sure to ask what the expectations were regarding working out of hours during my interview. I clearly said up front that I didn't want work eating into my evenings, just because I was still physically "in the office".

Depends what style of photo you plan on taking really. I'd just play with the camera and try different things. Once you've got an idea of what genre of photography you prefer, you'll have a better idea of what you'll need. One thing I'd always recommend is a decent strap. I personally use a Sun Sniper strap, as it's far more comfortable than a neck strap (especially for heavier cameras/lenses), plus it has steel cable in it, preventing would-be theives from just cutting the strap and running off with your camera. It's a bit of a redundant recommendation, as it looks like you're covered for straps, but I'd still recommend it as an upgrade at a later point. Other than that, spare batteries and cards as already mentioned. I personally don't use my tripod, as it doesn't suit my style of photography, but again, it depends what you plan on doing. Landscapes, studio stuff or selfies? You'll want a tripod. Street/event photography (or anything where you need to keep moving)? I wouldn't bother. Monopods are a good compromise between stability and mobility, but I'd only recommend those for heavier cameras or long events where it can be tiring to hold a camera up to your face for long periods of time.

Who said they were putting all their eggs in one basket? Let's be generous and say they have a website, eBay account, phone number, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, that's still a third of their revenue stream gone. For a small businesses, that can be devastating. And that's assuming all those revenue streams are equal. If the majority of their customers came through either Facebook or Instagram, something they can't exactly control, the effect is even worse. And that's also assuming small businesses have the resources to pay for and manage lots of options. Many don't. Any way you look at it, Facebook and Instagram are huge for a lot of businesses, regardless of whether they have other options.

There are plenty of alternatives, but they don't get to pick where their customers are. If Facebook sees a higher rate of success than other options, of course they're going to prioritise it.

I went outside and pushed a hoop down a cobbled road with a stick, whilst some spitfires flew overhead. Just like the good ol' days.

I see what you did there, you big ol' pervert.

I think there is a market for it, especially if games like Goat Simulator or Deadly Premonition are anything to go by. I think they key is why they're so bad. I think you need to be able to laugh at it, rather than get frustrated by it. Or if it is frustrating, it needs to be chaotic/silly enough to still be funny.

One thing that bothers me about flats is leasehold and the fact that you presumably wouldn't own the land that the flat is on. Even if the lease is longer than you'll live, it could still effect the resale value of you ever decided to move again and the lease is significantly shorter than when you bought it. It almost feels like a ticking clock to me. My parents bought their flat and whilst it's a lovely flat (it's not in a block of flats, it's more of a maisonette), it does have a lease. As an only child, I'm set to inherit it, so whilst I'm not anticipating it happening anytime soon, I do worry if it'll end up being an extra thing to worry about when it comes to deciding what to do with it. That said, it's in such a nice area that I may end up moving back in if the area stays nice. Hopefully that's decades away though, so not really something I've thought about in depth.

For me, it depends on the type of game. I play 3 main types: Action/Adventure: About 8 hours RPG: anything up to 100 hours Racing: Doesn't really matter, as I can race the same tracks and collect cars until I get bored.