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[[shameless plug]]

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, i've just completed the London to Cambridge Ultra Challenge this weekend. I walked the 100km (62 miles) in 31hrs 53mins and 22 excruciating seconds

I was raising money for The Kaos Organisation: a small charity that runs the Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf & Hearing Children. They regularly hold workshops in schools and performed at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. You can read more about them on my fundraising page [shameless plug] which is still active at http://www.everyclick.com/thekaosorganisation [/shameless plug]

The walk itself was tough going, especially after 50km which was the night stages. A lot of it was off road across fields and through forests. It was beautiful countryside but the gullies, mud and tree routes were especially treacherous. I made it to the finish line eventually, finishing 413th out of 415 participants who finished the 100km walk (559 started overall). I had to phone my mum for a chat during the last 10km as I was literally falling asleep standing up

I completed it relatively unscathed, managing to keep my feet healthy, with only two blisters. The heels of my feet were in agony for the last 16km though and the Deep Heat cream only kept the pain in my legs and back at bay temporarily. Needless to say it was a relief to finally finish but i'm so glad that I did. This was my first time attempting anything like this so I was really pleased with how well I fared mentally and physically overall. I'll definitely do another - just as soon as my replacement legs arrive

I took some pictures as I went which are on Flickr here

Has anyone else attempted any challenges like this? Got any war stories to tell?

Hey everyone,

Some students from my old university are crowd-funding for an artist for a new project: a point and click adventure game made with Stencyl.

From the Crowdfunder page:

Star Catcher is a point and click exploration game with a fairy-tale feel set in a beautiful, Victorian-style fantasy world.

You have spent your entire life so far growing up at the People's Planetarium in Capital City. The world you know is filled with technological wonders all made possible with the potent energy of starlight which powers these modern machines.

You have a very special and important job of Star Catcher. Like all of the other children who live with you in the Planetarium, you were raised and provided for by the Planetarium's officials and in exchange for this happy and comfortable childhood you work for the city as a Star Catcher. Most Star Catchers are young children like you, chosen specifically for this job because starlight is naturally attracted to the happiness and innocence of childhood. However, you dream of seeing more than just the inside of the Planetarium and hope to explore the city and know it's secrets, and the stars whisper stories to you of faraway places and distant adventures.

I don't know these students personally but I like the idea enough to want to bring it to more people's attention

They are trying to raise £2,000 by 22nd December to fund another artist. There is already some beautiful concept art and a short video on the Crowdfunded website. On top of that, it's one of the projects in the Queen of Code campaign to promote female game developers, and that can only be a good thing.

They are aiming for a release next year and the game will be free, playable on the web. If it sounds of interest, please do take a look.

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/star-catcher-a-point-and-click-game/

Back again after another long hiatus but this time I have a genuine excuse!

On 1st February I married my partner of thirteen years. It was a wonderful day and still seems unreal even now. It was very much a DIY wedding and we went with a literary theme. We spent a lot of time crafting all the details, it was a real labour of love over the last year.

We've already put some images in a public gallery so I don't mind sharing the link here for anyone interested in that kind of thing. (All images copyright Laura Calderwood Photography):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/starsandrainbows/sets/72157641363378373/

Since I've been full of wedding talk all year, if anyone is planning their own wedding and would like a sounding board, feel free to drop me a PM (and good luck wih your plans!)

Happy New Year everyone!

So.. I spent a week in New York just before Christmas and had a wonderful time. I also got engaged

Thanks to the friendly, generous peoples of The Big Apple I was able to pull off a scavenger hunt for my partner with clues throughout the city and the proposal at the end over dinner. We are both very happy and very excited about the coming wedding.

As my first trip to the U.S. it was unforgettable

So I already have a PS3, but today I booted up the Wii that I got herself for Christmas (which she has never played - thank goodness that wasn't her only present* ) and I find myself quite disappointed with it!

We only have a couple of games - Mario Kart and a Zumba Fitness thing (hey, it looked like fun alright!) - and I have a few GameCube titles kicking around, so I thought I would see what downloadable games there were. It turns out there are no demos of boxed games, unlike the PS3, and only 2 WiiWare demos. The Virtual Console games are most appealing - in particular the Zelda and Donkey Kong games - but a lot require a Classic Controller it seems. I could use my GameCube controller but lounging on the couch with a wireless controller has become so satisfying

I know there are good boxed games on the Wii, and i'll pick up a Classic Controller next week simply so I can play A Link To The Past, but compared to the amount of free content on the PS3, I find myself thinking "is that it?!"

I know the Wii is more kid/family oriented (still I think the interface leaves a lot to be desired), but there's not much there to occupy my little nephew, for example, compared to the PS3. It seems like a bit of con for parents considering they'd have to reach for their wallets almost immediately.

Am I missing the obvious? Does anyone else have a Wii and how do you find it? Game recomendations would be most welcome

* I don't know if i've mentioned it round these parts but this by our very own SookieSock was her main present and has pride of place in our room

In case you missed it

http://www.thedreammachine.se/

For those of you that missed it first time around, the first chapter is free!

[Adult:]

I recently took my 6 year old nephew to see this, so I thought it might be useful to post a review of sorts incase anyone else is considering going.

Tickets

The following includes a £1.50 booking fee:

Adult: £17
Child (5-16 yrs): £13.50
Child (under 5 yrs): FREE
Family Ticket (buy in 4s): £12.50*

*at least one adult, and no more than 2, must attend to qualify for the Family Ticket

The following basically get you souvenir tickets, brochures and gifts.

Adult Silver Ticket: £30
Child Silver Ticket (5 - 16 yrs): £26.50
Adult Gold Ticket: £40
Child Gold Ticket (5-16 yrs): £36.50
Enhanced Family Ticket (buy in 4s): £21.75

Link to the info page and ticket bookings here.

Getting there

The exhibition is based at Olympia 2 and the nearest tube station is Kensington (Olympia) on the London Overground line. We found it very difficult to actually get to as only a limited service runs between Earls Court on the Piccadilly Line and Olympia 2.

In the end, the station staff were a bit doubtful about whether the service was running at all (?!) so we took the bus. A very helpful bus driver didn't call out our stop despite several requests so we ended up at Shepherd's Bush where I had to run back to Olympia station and find the, rather small, signs to the exhibition. I naively expected it to be better sign-posted and would recommend anyone else going check out the streets on Google street-view to familiarise yourself with the area before going. Running about like a headless chicken was not fun. Entry is timed so the organisers stipulate you must be on time. We were 15 minutes late but actually found they didn't mind (this could vary if it's very busy).

The Experience

The event is divided into two parts: The Experience and an Exhibition (ie. museum-style space). First the Experience, and i'll try not to give too much away.

The whole Experience revolves around the Doctor being trapped in the Pandorica a second time (You did watch the last two episodes of last season right?). After a brief wait in a room with some props - a WW2 style Dalek for one - it starts with a video intro with a voiceover by the current Doctor, Matt Smith, and an obvious but child-pleasing crack-in-the-wall effect. Passing through the wall, you enter a museum where one of those creepy talking head things shows you some exhibits before the Doctor - on a big screen - interrupts and asks for your help.

The TARDIS then materialises - I think it was a glass screen effect, quite impressive though - and you head inside where the young 'uns get to have a go at flying the TARDIS. They don't actually get to touch the central console, rather there are key positions set back from the centre with controls labelled Navigation, Engineering etc. Safety railings kind of spoil the setting and if there's a lot of kids, your little one might not get near a control. Matt Smith gives more directions from some tv screens and the TARDIS shakes at key points as the kids press the controls.

After that the Daleks are coming and you have to evacuate the TARDIS. (The whole Experience is meant to take about 30 minutes so the staff have to make a quick turn-around with the groups). You then find yourself on a Dalek ship where three Daleks surround you and it's all flashy lights and "Exterminate!". I'm sure there were strobe effects here so check before booking if you have epilepsy etc. As an adult, I found it disappointing that the Daleks were cordoned off behind the necessary safety rails but the kids loved it.

I won't spoil it but you escape from there to move through a forest where there's a handful of those scary Weeping Angels. I thought more could have been done with this part - it really is a swift transition - but it's frightening for the little kids. I swear I blinked and an Angel disappeared..

I think then it was back in the TARDIS briefly before finding yourselves in front of the Pandorica. I didn't actually realise that's what it was as the room was dominated by a large screen and by putting on 3D glasses you see the classic wormhole with all different enemies flying out at you. I only got half the effect as one of my eyes is practically useless (no, I don't wear a patch;-) ) but it was pretty good. My little nephew had his Sonic Screwdriver with him so he had fun waving it at the Cybermen. I would have liked to have seen 'real' Cybermen stomping about in the experience though.

I can't remember the transition to the Exhibition so it probably wasn't anything special. I think the Doctor basically thanks you for helping out. It's worth mentioning that none of the videos are subtitled which meant that my partner missed out. I did see a sign on the way in that suggested you could access subtitles using the free wifi hotspot, but that seems a bit of a hassle and obviously only available to people with smart-phones. I would expect the welcome desk should have some foreign-language briefs or something if English isn't your first language though.

The Exhbition

This part is basically a museum space where you can see lots of static props. There's the costumes of all the doctors, past and present with a description of the different Doctors, a TARDIS police box, K-9, an older-style interior of the TARDIS, the Doctor's gadgets, and lots of Daleks and monsters. It's a fairly decent size that will take you a good half an hour to get round if you read all the info signs and do the fun things like recording your voice to sound like a Dalek and learning to walk like a Cyberman. There's also a photoshoot area where you can pose against a bluescreen and get some impressive composited images. We got one of my parents and my nephew clinging onto the TARDIS for dear life as it hurtles through a wormhole, and another of my nephew strapped into the Pandorica.

There's also a making-of video showing how the exhibit was constructed. It was interesting, and my nephew, bless him, watched the whole thing, but I felt it took away the illusion of what we had just been through. After you leave the area - and you can't go back - it's straight into the obligatory gift shop where the prices are astronomical. You can buy boxsets of the different series and films, but they're ridiculously expensive compared to what you'd find in a high-street store or even online.

Summary

Overall, I felt that the whole thing was better than some things i've been to. It's definitely best enjoyed with kids, and seems geared towards them. I know Doctor who is for all ages - i'm quite a fan myself, both of the old films and the new series - but there's little in the Experience part to wow adults. The Exhibition part is good, and real Doctor Who enthusiasts will enjoy seeing all the different Sonic Screwdrivers and other props, but I don't think it's enough to deserve repeat visits as some other reviewers have said.

It's a fun family day out and it's whetted my appetite for the new series that starts here in the UK on BBC One tomorrow night at 6pm!=D

I absolutely love anime but, beyond the major titles that get released here in the UK, i'm still very much a newcomer to all the stuff out there. Not being able to speak Japanese, it's not often I come across something new that I like and I have very specific likes which don't help: I don't go for all the cutesy art style stuff with the big eyes and the whiny voices , I prefer the more (realistic?) style of Cowboy Bebop, GITS, Samurai Champloo and so on..

I can't quite remember how, but today I discovered crunchyroll, a site providing free, legal videos of various anime shows, where I discovered Time of Eve (only 2 years too late!) which was fantastic, albeit frustratingly short. Since many of the other titles on Crunchyroll don't really appeal to me - although i'll watch a few on the off chance i might like them, and may buy a premium account if they add new titles regularly - i'm wondering if anyone who knows more about the anime scene can point me in the direction of similar (legal) services? I'm more than willing to part with my cash once I find stuff I like (I just picked up the dvd set of Time of Eve) but where to start? I've exhausted all the mainstream store shelves really.

Failing that, any recommendations? Films or series? Ideally stuff with English subtitles, rather than dubbed as I prefer to hear the original Japanese voices. I need a good series to really get stuck into=D

Cheers folks

First Sughly's awesome Sprite Jam entry and now I find this, thanks to you lovely Twitter peoples:



http://blog.manmademovies.co.uk/2011/03/21/moon-fan-art-sam-bell-meets-lucasarts/

http://massibum.blogspot.com/2011/03/sci-fi-scummin.html

I don't do fancy dress, but I'm reluctantly being dragged along to a fancy dress party next weekend. The geek in me wants to go as something game-y and I have an idea in mind that I'll post in this thread if it comes to fruition.

I'm more interested in hearing about, and seeing embarrassing pictures of, other folks fancy dress costumes. Any takers? Doesn't have to be fancy dress, maybe you just like to dress up..I won't tell anyone;-)

Considering my email account was recently hacked i've become super paranoid lately and am finally using security software on my Mac now=S

Anyway today when I visit the most recent page of the Minecraft thread (page 18) I get a web threat warning relating to something called searchportal.information.com. The prognosis from Google isn't good and it only seems to be on that one page so i'm wondering if someone has a dodgy sig or something? I blocked it anyway but in my log I see it's still trying to connect to it every time I visit that page. Course could be at my end, and i'll be running some scans, or it might be harmless but it seems a bit odd to me. Can anyone shed any light on this?

EDIT: Have tracked it down to Voh's profile since it only occurs on the page with his posts and only on his profile. If it's legit then no worries, otherwise it may be something he needs to fix.

Anyone else having problems? I keep getting "your session timed out" as soon as I hit the post button. Had to switch to another browser to get this one through so maybe it's a Safari issue, but it's never happened before.