Domino Dancing

Our Spring Bank Holiday excursion to Colchester has been jam-packed!

From purchasing and successfully installing a new Freeview box without the expense of an aerial upgrade. This now enables my Grandfather to watch BBC News 24 and participate in the 'press red for interactive' conversation during the upcoming FIFA World Cup. To eating beer baked battered plaice at our Essex family's local, The Whalebone (where I went last week). Followed by KFC in the evening. Yummy!

We managed to cram in a late night movie too! The twisted bounty hunter biopic Domino starring Keira Knightley. Whilst the movie was somewhat flawed, there's no denying Keira's ability to 'do dark' with plummy aplomb and Tony Scott's visuals are tirelessly arresting!

G'day

Welcome Australians to iTunes Music Store sans Sony BMG (only a matter of time). My family, down under, can now subscribe to my podcast with even greater ease!

Went to Rydon Retail Park after having coffee with one of my relatives (on my Mother's side of the family) in Sainsbury's! Made the obligatory trip to the KFC drive-thru. The sales person gave us extra pieces of chicken, portion of chips and large Pepsi at no extra cost! That deserves a BIG SHOUT OUT to the Colonel.

I'm selling a Sony widescreen television on eBay, which segues into this cautionary tale. The Exeter Sony Centre closed a few months ago. In late 1999 I was in dispute with the store manager regarding a highly publicized RGB SCART fault with a model that I'd purchased 6 months earlier. After myriad callouts (at no charge) they replaced it with another model (KV32-FX60U FD Trinitron). However, it was £600 cheaper and the store manager never refunded the difference or gave me a credit note. If he'd pulled that same stunt now, solicitors would have been hired to resolve the matter! Taking closure to its literal conclusion. You reap what you sow.

Flock is based on beta 2 of Firefox 1.5 and performance is pretty slick for an alpha application. No crashes to date.

Chez Fred

Dad missed my birthday this year. So, he treated me to KFC tonight. Brought back memories of eating like a 'barbarian' with longtime friend and fellow Bournemouth alumni Sunil Chamund. In 1996 Sunil arranged an unforgettable - and genuine - surprise party. And Nick Smith, Natasha Gann et al went to Chez Fred. That evening Bournemouth's award-winning Chez Fred restaurant was closed to the public. I don't drink alcohol, but the proprietor very generously donated a bottle of wine. A cherished birthday memory and a reminder of far less complicated times.

Tonight Amazon UK started accepting pre-orders for Nintendo DS (£99.99 or €149). Maestro Shigeru Miyamoto oversaw the development of the successor to the Game Boy brand. The dual screen concept will doubtlessly shape the future of gaming. The DS hardware package will come bundled with Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, as it did in the USA.

Goodies

On my Birthday I went with friends to Pizza Hut (a personal favourite) and dined on BBQ Chicken Wings, Garlic Bread, Potato Wedges, Chicken Feast Pan Pizza, New York Style Baked Cheesecake and Pepsi. We usually opt for commercial cousin KFC.

A fabulous day was rounded-off with a Neo-Geo 2.5D fighting fix.



SNK's Advanced Entertainment System (AES, 1990), promoted by its hugely successful arcade incarnation Multi-Video System (MVS, 1989), failed to set the home gaming arena ablaze. This was due to the forbiddingly expensive hardware (£100+ cartridges) and the Nintendo/Sega duopoly. However, Neo-Geo plays attractive host to Fatal Fury, Metal Slug and The King of Fighters franchises. Memory card interoperability allowed gamers to save progress between AES and MVS, a feature that has never been duplicated. Neo-Geo is the longest officially supported games platform eclipsing Nintendo's original Game Boy.

This March Nintendo DS and Sony PSP are expected to launch in Europe.