Library update: Rolling in his grave

This is a very sad and personal post for any and all D&D players, at the ripe age of 69 Gary "father of modern fantasy role play" Gygax failed his saving throw for the last time.

The creator of D&D and its various expansions and extended editions has been hailed as not only the father of modern dice based role play but by some as the grandfather of most modern MMORPG's. As we say goodbye however i would just like to say a solemn and heartfelt goodbye to a man who has provided both inspiration and decades of enjoyable gaming to us all.

Now as a celebration of his life and his most inspired creation (D&D) im throwing a 1st edition party at my place this weekend, minmaxing and LARPing will be frowned upon but understandable under the circumstances.

Bring some beer and a pointy hat, its going to be a long weekend.

System Restore Update: #1

Y'know im not normally one to got over the top with upgrades but under the circumstances and given access to all the old tech that the office is throwing out (so they can claim new stuff on the insurance) i think "twisting" the letter of the law in order to get my fridge box back could be counted as more than within the levels of karma's wrath.

The unit your looking at is NOT my system but it is the same cooling system as mine and will look almost identical to how mine will look externally but with a few tweaks. the only problem it could take up to two weeks (maby more) to get everything set up due primarily because i refuse point blank to to EVER use windows vista.

none the less all should be well sometime in the very very near future.

Library Update: Wuved up day for all!

So tomorrow is the 14th and that means Valentines Day. One more day of wuved up wackiness where the couples of the world turn into teenagers and the singles of the world try there very best to ether forget the insanity or get laid.

But as for me im going to say a very special thank you to all my readers who have continued to support this little site of mine despite the erratic updates and fluctuating content. I would like to say a very special thank you to all the readers who have taken the time to leave comments and offer help over this time.

Happy Valentines day to all of you and your chosen beau.

Crash Update: Insurance is paying out!

At last some good news, it turns out that although im out of warnte im entitled to claim back on one of the nice company's that have given me work over the past years insurance. The company (that will remain nameless due to the fact that i do want to work for them again eventually) has had one of there tech guys inform me that the origin of my little bug was on one of the Data Discs that they sent me with there format information on it.

Apparently instead of sending me a nice shiny new freelancer format disc they decided to burn a pirate copy and keep the original. In order for me to keep my big fat mouth shut they have informed me that for all intents they are classing me as staff long enough for me to get my equipment replaced.

But is it fraud? do i care? all i know is it will take about another two or three weeks to go through , so sporadic and random updates until then, sorry folks.

UPDATE: Updating form Library

Hold on folks i'll be back as soon as possable, i've had a massive network failure and been forced to wipe everything off my entire network due to some nasty bugger deciding he didnt like what i was saying and i got the mother of all virus's.

At this time i am reduced to updating here at the local library and attempting to keep my lovely little blogg alive while i "decontaminate" my laptop and desktops and attempt to salvage something from my hardrives.

But fear ye not! i will return to form as soon as I can, keep your eyes open for future updates and news on whats happening.

How To: Ultimate (almost) Free 200" TV

Do Not Throw Out The Old LCD-monitor! - Click here for more free videos

This is the ultimate super hacked monitor, You have no idea how cool it is to have your very own personal cinema in the comfort of your own home and for a few bucks (trust me a 2nd hand school overhead projector isn't that expensive) you too can have a MASSIVE screen.

Now this project took me about four hours to set up properly (and hook up the LCD to the projector) and i have to admit i got the projection screen free but i have been able to project a 20 inch monitor screen up to 200 inches comfortably without too much fuzzing.

For a hell of a time combine this project with DVB-T player (for free Digital TV) , a decent sound system and get an old fish tank (properly cleaned) mix in with last weeks project and a few beers and get yourself a bucket of popcorn and you have a night in to remember. And don't forget this is a PC monitor so feel free to give it a shot with MMORPG's and enjoy gameplay on a whole new level.

NOTE:
#1.This project may be stupidly easy but don't forget to get yourself a dust cover for your LCD as dust can damage it.

#2.The projector glass will get exceptionally warm (especially in older projectors) to try to raise the LCD off the glass itself with a layer of reasonably thick clear plastic (about 1cm) or on a ventilated wooden or plastic frame with an access port for cooling or your LCD screen can and will melt Note in the film the metal interior of the monitor and a cooling fan (left on while the projector is active) were used to stop this happening.

#3.One more thing play all TV and DVD's in as high a definition as you can as the projection process does expand the pixel size and can blur some icons and images at low definition to almost unrecognisable degree.

TOTAL COST FOR BUILD: $53.50 (US) or £22.40 (UK)

Broken AS-IS 20" LCD HD monitor: $25 (including shipping from ebay)

Quill Type 7-20511 overhead Projector: $16 (including shipping from ebay)

1x cooling fan: $5 (new from PCworld)

1x Tin of Matt white paint for Projection wall: $6 (local DIY store)

1x paint brush: $1.50 (local DIY store)

Time and effort for a stupidly cheap 200" TV : Priceless (about 4 hours in the real world)


not too bad considering it costs $2500+ for a standard RGB projector of this size.

Additional:
With a little work and a little effort an XBOX 360 can be hooked up to this thing without too much loss of definition, and believe me there is NOTHING quite like playing Halo3 or CoD4 or even Assassins Creed on a screen this big but dont forget to hook it into a thumping sound system to get the full effect.

WARNING:
One last piece of advice the LCD must NOT touch the glass of the projector as it can and will melt leaving you with a useless pile of melted plastic and a useless project and yourself a little out of pocket.

Daily Blogg: oh boy, a whole new week...

There isn't anything quite like a bloody Monday to ruin your week, Yes i know apathy for the dawn of a new week is nothing new for me but today has been a goddamn killer.

As you know i "fixed" my laptop last week and was unfortunately forced to send it into my local PCworld for extensive reconditioning.

Now fortunately for me i know the guys up there quite well and they are attempting to get my baby back up and working as soon as possible, but having to wait for parts is putting something of a cramp on my social life.

Y'see i normally sit in the Pub or the Library or the local coffee shop or even at work and surf quietly while i do most of my normal writing, reviews & work on the available desktop and transfer data to a 2gig memory stick to my little lappy. Not being able to work on the go is killing me I'm a very social person and i can safely say that being stuck behind a desk is not for me.

Seriously i feel like im missing an arm, i miss the reassuring weight of my laptop in its bag on my shoulder, i miss being able to just work anywhere but most of all i miss being able to play Warcrack at work!

oh well, only a little longer to wait...

...i hope...