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Not quite a Geordie
2008-03-09 16:26:00
Originally I come from Teesdale, which could be described as the place where the Geordie becomes the Tyke, although perhaps you shouldn't say that to anyone living there! In case you don't know the difference, a Geordie is from Newcastle (and the immediately surrounding areas). A Tyke, however, is from Yorkshire.Teesdale was part of Yorkshire up until 1974 when it became part of County Durham, so I can say that I was born in Yorkshire (more or less) but raised in County Durham.My home town is a small market town called Barnard Castle, which was originally right on the border between Yorkshire and Durham. The border between the two areas was marked by the River Tees.Barnard Castle was on the Durham side of the border, directly opposite on the other side of the river is the town of Startforth. Although this is now seen as part of Barnard Castle it was originally an entirely separate town.The two towns were divided by the river, and the fact that one town was in Yorkshire and th...

Blogger / Blog*Spot Blues
2008-03-08 21:16:00
I'm guessing that you probably heard the wailing and gnashing of teeth that accompanied todays unscheduled Blog ger meltdown.If you check out the Blogger help forum it was full of very annoyed bloggers who were unable to access their blogs or administration areas.Now, things like this can (and do) happen on any system, and shouting at the people trying to fix it does not help resolve things. One thing that I feel would have helped would have been an official announcement made sooner and in a visible place, such as on the front page of the Blogger dashboard. This would have prevented the firestorm of complaints that followed.Blogger is a free service (and a good one too) so let's not blow a couple of hours of downtime out of proportion, and give the good folks at Google a chance to resolve things properly.
More About: Blues , Spot

Template Changing Time
2008-03-08 10:32:00
The more observant of you will no doubt have noticed that the look of this site has been changing over the past couple of days.I've been experimenting with the templates feature of Blogger to try and get something more to my liking. Hopefully I'm pretty much there now, but will be tweaking the current three-column view to try and make it adjust to whatever resolution you are using.Once I've finished I'll post the template so you can use it as the basis for your own template.Before I finish, a quick word of warning: some of the more unscrupulous bloggers out there provide templates with their own code embedded into it (so you end up hosting their web links / sign up code). So just be careful, OK?
More About: Time , Changing , Template

Blogger Tip #1: Hiding pages from the archive
2008-03-07 21:06:00
Sometimes it can be useful to have a page on the blog but not necessarily listed amongst your blog archives.A good example of this would be a links page. If you look to the left of our site, under the picture of yours truly you'll see a link titled "Blogs of Interest". This links through to this page: http://half-a-page.blogspot.com/1970/01/l inks.htmlAs you can see from the date part of the page it claims to have been written in 1970. But if you look at the sidebar you'll see no posts older than September 2007, which was when this blog was started.So how do you achieve this? Simple. Whilst creating the post, click on "Post Options" and set the "Post date and time" to some time in 1970. Presumably blogger recognises that posts this early are impossible and so doesn't show them in the archive list, but does allow you to view the pages if you link directly to them.
More About: Blogger , Archive , Pages

The Blogs that weren't
2008-03-07 12:05:00
I don't know about you, but in the time I've been running this blog (and the ones before this) I've built up a selection of blog entries that for one reason or another remain unpublished.Sometimes this is down to the post not going anywhere. Othertimes it is just too poor (even by my standards) to inflict on the general public. Occasionally it is one that just missed its time and now would be pretty pointless to post.So here is a question for you:Do you have unfinished posts? What do you do with them, keep or delete? Do you ever return to them?Answer in the comments folks!
More About: Blogging , Blogs , Unfinished

After a traffic increase? Some genuine things to try
2008-03-06 20:16:00
After the previous two posts you may be asking yourself if it is possible to increase your readership and how should you go about it?Well, here are some things that are worth trying.BlogRush. You host adverts of other people blogs, they host adverts of yours. This has brought a slow but steady trickle of readers onto my blog. The good thing about this is because it ties in to your RSS feed to generate the links, the readers you get are genuine ones.BlogCatalog. A social links site, and a pretty good one too. Join up and join in the discussions and before you know it you'll be hooked. This is bringing in an increasing number of readers and is certainly worth investing some time in.Feedburner. Strictly speaking this may not boost your regular traffic but it certainly helps with your RSS feeds. If you are curious about how many RSS subscribers you have this will also allow you to track that. As this has been bought out by Google it may well end up integrated into Blogger.
More About: Traffic , Blogging , Genuine , Things

Anatomy of a Traffic Boosting Scheme
2008-03-06 09:03:00
"Why post about things like T-2000?" I've been asked."Aren't you just boosting their popularity - and your own by signing up for them?"These are good questions. To get the answer lets have a look at how these schemes work once you have signed up.Step 1: The BaitThis step is important. If you want the traffic you must make people think that this has already worked for you and brought in millions of hits. You have to lie to get people to sign up via your referral link. If you tell the truth (as I have) you are unlikely to get any extra hits at all.Step 2: The WaitAt this point you can let the "magic" happen. Providing your sales pitch is persuasive enough and you can get enough people sign up via your referrals link you should see a small boost in traffic. Maybe a dozen or so over a couple of months. If your referrals do the same your traffic will get another, slightly larger boost.Step 3: The DisappointmentMathematically the traffic boost should increase with each passing ...
More About: Information , Anatomy , Traffic , Scam

Dramatically increase your visitors - yeah right!
2008-03-05 18:39:00
This year I've decided to try and boost my blog audience. Now, I've got to admit that my stats are slowly increasing, but I'd kind of like my daily viewing figures to be in the triple digits or higher.So I've started looking at ways of boosting my readers. Some of them like BlogRush I've already said about as much as I need to (they don't really do much). Others (like BlogCatalog) actually do seem to help bring some visitors in, providing you actually take part in the various discussions.Well, here is another way to boost your earnings beyond your wildest dreams: T-2000 Ultra!Let's take a look at some of the claims, and as it is a free service let's also see how it works.Explode Your Income!Boost Your Sales by upto 4000%And Drive 1 million Visitors to YourSite Every Month!All Totally FREE!Any alarm bells ringing yet? Apart from abuses against capital letters, punctuation marks, spelling and grammar, does any of this sound too good to be true?Damn right!So how does this w...
More About: Yeah

R.I.P. Gary Gygax
2008-03-05 17:09:00
E. Gary Gygax, the father of Dungeons and Dragons , died on Tuesday aged 69.Its hard to know what to say about someone who has had such a monumental impact on our geek culture, and was instrumental in the birth of Fantasy Role Playing Games.Without him my early teenage years would certainly have been a lot less fun.Gary, we salute you.

I have always thought in the back of my mind
2008-03-03 23:06:00
Cheese and onions!
More About: Mind , Thought , Back

The Case for Adverts on Sites
2008-03-03 09:27:00
There is a small but vocal (i.e. loudmouthed) section of the internet community that is dead set against adverts on any site. Apparently the thought of getting any money from your hobby is distasteful, greedy and shows a lack of pride and integrity.Bullshit.Now, there are some sites out there, a large number of them in fact, that are there purely to make money. I've written about them before, they are a plague on our digital landscape on a par with email chain-letters (send $1 to each of the people on the list, as seen on Oprah!) and there is nothing that can justify their continued existence.How about for regular sites though. Why do I have adverts on my sites? Simple. It gives people a chance to show support in a meaningful way. It is the equivalent of a tips jar on the counter of your local cafe. If you like the site, click on a link, but you don't have to if you don't want to.I've experimented with using a PayPal tips jar, which in the time it has been on my main site...
More About: Make Money Online , Sites , Case , Adverts

A difficult subject
2008-03-01 23:44:00
I'm going to do something a little different from my usual posts here, so if you are looking for something lighthearted, or about gaming, blogging, or any of my usual stuff then have a look through the archives because. . . . . .Well. . . . . .This is going to be difficult for me to write, and probably more difficult for you to read, so consider yourself warned.. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .Still with me?Ok.Deep breath.. . . . .The year was 1999. At that point my wife and I had not long moved into our new mortgate commitment and were trying to start a family. When I say trying, it is more accurate to say that we'd been trying for a couple of years without any success, so when she finally became pregnant it was the biggest thrill of our lives.We couldn't wait to tell everyone the news, and spent the time leading up to the twelve week scan on cloud nine. We chose names, started looking at baby clothes, and were looking at a future with a new child, maybe even twins. Who knows?Life...
More About: Subject

Read i.ytimg.com
2008-03-01 01:40:00
I'm not sure how often this must have been showing in the Firefox status bar, but today I noticed the message "Read i.ytimg.com". That is certainly an unusual message to get.Visiting i.ytimg.com redirects you to a secure https:// version of the url before giving you an unable to connect error.Being a typical geek, rather than letting the matter lie I decided to find out what the message relates to. As it turns out the ytimg.com domain is owned by YouTube and I was playing a YouTube video at the time.Apparently this server is used to serve thumbnail images into the YouTube player (YouTube IMaGe server).Damn.Another mystery solved.Maybe I can make a conspiracy theory out of it? How about this: YouTube is sending subliminal messages via our browsers? Or this one: YouTube is run by aliens who are tracking our browsing habits to learn more about humanity before taking over the planet?Can you come up with something more outlandish?

Changes to Adsense - Part 2
2008-02-29 08:36:00
This morning I received an email from Google regarding the Adsense changes. So here it is, in their own words (with some highlighting from me on some of the important points):Hello,We have recently sent you a Personal Identification Number (PIN) via standard mail. You should expect to receive it within about 2-4 weeks. Once you receive your PIN, you will need to enter it into your account in order to become eligible to receive AdSense payments. To enter your PIN, simply follow the instructions included with your PIN mailer.Please note that publishers have 6 months from the original issue date to enter their PIN. If you have not entered your PIN within 4 months, we will start displaying Public Service Ads (PSAs) on your web pages. If you have not entered your PIN within 6 months, your account will be disabled and any unpaid earnings will be refunded to the appropriate advertisers. You can learn more about our PIN policy at http://www.google.com/adsense_pin_info .For additional quest...
More About: Part

Like Monday, but on a Thursday
2008-02-28 10:22:00
Some days I really think I'd have been better off staying in bed. Today is a prime example of that.Apart from having to get up early (6.30am sucks) it didn't start off too bad. The reason for our early rise was that my wife has an early start today and so I have the dubious pleasure of escorting our eldest to school. We'd already arranged for one of our relations to pick up our youngest and look after him till nursery starts after lunch. This also means that I have to start work a little late, and finish a little late too.So far, so good. Right?After my wife left for work things started to go downhill. Our daughter was already dressed and ready to be taken to school which just left our son, who doesn't like getting ready at the best of times, and today was no exception. After explaining that yes, he was going to get dressed whether he liked it or not he went to play in the front room.Checking the clock it was nearly time to take our eldest off to school, but no sign of ou...
More About: Thursday , Monday

Max Payne: Hero
2008-02-27 21:36:00
This is one fan film that really manages to capture the spirit of the Max Payne games, in the form of a short music video. I know, this has been kicking around for a while now but who knows, you may have missed it. If so, then enjoy.
More About: Hero

Changes to Adsense
2008-02-25 09:03:00
Like most of us I'll check my Adsense stats every day or so to see if a miracle has happened and someone has clicked on an advert (hey, stranger things have happened!). Today, however, I received this message when I logged on: IMPORTANT: Your payments are currently on hold. Action is required to release payment.There were two things that need to be done to "resolve" the issue. One is to verify my pin number (more on that later), the other is to verify my phone number. Yes, that's right, they want to be sure that your phone number is genuine. No phone number - no payments.The verification process for this is pretty straight forward. A six digit pin number is generated and displayed on screen, then they phone you. Enter the pin on your phone keypad and thats it. All done.The other issue is that they also want to verify your home address. This time, however, they put a pin number in the post to you. Once you receive it you'll need to enter it to unlock payments.Fo...
More About: Security , Changes

Star Trek: Phase II
2008-02-23 09:42:00
Regular readers will know that I'm a bit of a Star Trek fan, and that includes the thriving "fan film" scene, headed by Starship Exeter, Star Trek - Of Gods And Men, and of course Star Trek - New Voyages.I've got to admit that New Voyages is a personal favorite of mine, and in my opinion has been improving from episode to episode. I've long been of the opinion that New Voyages has moved beyond merely being a fan film, especially in the light of them shooting genuine Star Trek scripts, including those that would have been destined for Star Trek: Phase II had it ever been produced.It looks like they are also of a similar mind, as they have just announced that they are changing their name to Star Trek: Phase II.From the press release:On Saturday, February 16th, Executive Producer James Cawley announced to fans during an appearance at the 2008 Farpoint Science Fiction Media Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, that Star Trek: New Voyages would shed the ?New Voyages? moniker and become...

This Week I Have Mostly Been Playing: Hover Bovver 2
2008-02-21 20:41:00
Most games easily fit into one or more categories. Shoot-em-ups, platformers, RPGs, there is a category for pretty much every game. Then there are games like this. Mow-em-up perhaps? Third person lawner? I'll have to think about this.It's a lot less bovver. . . . .So what is the game about eh? Well, in a nutshell, you need to mow your lawn. Sounds simple? Not in this garden it isn't. You see, you've had to borrow your neighbor's lawnmower and he wants it back. Not only that, but if you mow the flowers you'll have an angry gardener to deal with.Luckily your dog is on hand to chase off your pursuers, but watch out, the more he chases them, the less happy with you he'll be. As if that wasn't enough you also have to make sure your mower doesn't overheat, so don't mow too much grass in one go. Mow enough of the lawn and sheep will come out to help eat the grassNot to mention the mole hills, dog mess and other obstacles that you'll encounter as the game progresses.W...
More About: Linux , Week , Remakes

Zen and the Art of Blogging
2008-02-21 17:07:00
Every so often I'll blog about stats, adwords, get rich quick schemes and so on. To be honest I try and keep the number of these to a minimum, partly because they are dull, but mainly because, well, that's not why I'm here.Let me explain. If I wanted a "get rich quick" type scheme then blogging wouldn't be top of my list of things to try. I enjoy keeping a blog, but to get a blog that brings in the revenue would mean destroying the overall feel of my site. That is important to me. You may (or may not) like my site, but at least it is honest. I post about what I think and feel (and about my games too of course!) and it is up to you whether you agree, disagree, comment or whatever.I'm not out to follow any "golden rules for success". I don't want to "make a fortune from blogging", although if anyone has a spare fortune that they aren't using and need a home for then feel free to get in touch!No, I'm here because I want to write, and this gives me a good excuse to do so....
More About: Blogging , Stats

Dan's Remakes February update.
2008-02-17 12:01:00
The latest from Dan's Remakes .First things first, RetroRoids has been updated to 1.20. This will probably be the final release of the game. It was partly a bugfix release, adding things like a joypad deadzone to allow XBox 360 controllers to work with the game, and partly a release to add the final "polish" to the game.Following on from RetroRoids there will be another new game, based around an updated version of the game engine.Gravity has been added into the mix and a new original game will be coming soon. Yes, that's right, original. Well, fairly original. It won't be directly based on any existing game, although it obviously bears some resemblance to Gravitar, Thrust, Space Taxi, Lander and probably others too.Now onto Batty Junior. Although this game has been "on holiday" for a bit, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and finish off the single player game. In all honesty there isn't a lot left to do, so once I'll have to look towards finishing that bit off before ...
More About: Update , February

Back Online
2008-02-13 20:35:00
We are back online.I arrived home today to find a note from the postman that a parcel had been returned to the sorting office. Luckily for me it's only a twenty minute walk there, so I was able to go straight back out and collect what turned out to be my replacement modem.So back home, unplug the old one, plug in the new one, and make a call to Virgin Media 's tech support to enable the new modem.Pretty painless when alls said and done, and considering it was Monday evening when I placed the support call, I think they've managed to sort things out pretty quickly.
More About: Broadband , Online , Back

To GPL or not to GPL
2008-01-25 09:20:00
To GPL or not to GPL, that is the question that has been posed on the Linux Games Tome comments page for RetroRoids.The request started off with a single comment posted a couple of hours after the game was first listed:It’s proprietary — guess that’s why there are no comments.Well, I decided to respond with a brief explanation of why I hadn't released the code.If by proprietary you mean there isn't any source code released with it then yes. Mainly because it has been written with Blitz Max (which makes it easy for me to support Windows and MacOS as well as Linux), so most people couldn't recompile it anyway, at least not without buying a copy of the language first. If there is a call for it then I'm more than happy to release the source under the GPL - I'm just not sure that there would be much benefit to anyone. Hopefully you won't let this put you off trying the game.That, I thought, would probably be the last I would hear on the subject, but one week later. . . . .You...

Released: RetroRoids v1.00
2008-01-19 12:51:00
RetroRoids, the second in the series of "Retro" games from Dan's Remakes is now available for download from http://dans-remakes.sytes.net.Featuring asteroids, animated backdrop, power-ups and more. As with RetroVaders the look of the game can be tweaked from the options menu.Currently available for Windows and Linux, with the MacOS X version following soon.
More About: Released

RetroRoids: Update 1
2008-01-18 11:37:00
As promised, here are some more details on RetroRoids.The game itself is pretty much the same as the original arcade game Asteroids. Shoot the large 'roids which split into medium ones, the medium into small. Clear all the 'roids from each stage to go onto the next. Each level has more asteroids than the previous one.A bonus life is awarded at 10,000 points.Every so often a bonus UFO will appear, shoot it for extra point and a bonus item. Collect the bonuses for shields (5 seconds worth), triple shots. (100 shots worth) or an extra life.I may add in extra bonuses later.
More About: Update

Announcing: RetroRoids
2008-01-17 00:32:00
Announcing: RetroRoids.In case you can't tell from the title, this is my take on the old classic Asteroids. Available soon for Linux, Windows and MacOS X from http://dans-remakes.sytes.netMore details soon. . . .

Dan's Remakes - Moving on up
2008-01-02 21:02:00
For the past year or so I've been using my "free" webspace that was provided by my service provider - a rip-roaring 55meg of space. Unfortunately now that I'm releasing software for Windows, Linux and Mac my games now take up three times as much space as they used to.The upshot of this is that the site and downloads is now pushing 40meg which means that sometime this year I'll be out of space.I'd had a look last year at an alternative host, but had the problem of some very restrictive bandwidth limits.I'd also had a bit of a look at Google Pages when it was first in beta. The 100meg of space is certainly attractive, but the built-in web editor didn't really do it for me and the thought of redesigning the entire site to fit in with Google didn't appeal.Well, I've had another look at Google Pages and have discovered that I'd missed something. That something is the "upload file" facility. Now if the worst came to the worst I could always upload the binaries and still use m...
More About: Moving , Remakes

Batty Junior - Demo 1
2007-12-31 11:23:00
Now that Christmas is over and the new year is nearly upon us, 'tis time to release a non-seasonal demo of Batty Junior ."What is different from the last version?" I hear you ask. Quite a bit. Most of the power-ups are now in place, in fact only two things are missing from the single-player game - the gun power-up and the gravity distort.I should be uploading this later on today (once I get home in fact). The Windows (DirectX and OpenGL) and MacOSX versions are ready to go, so I'll just have to get the Linux one ready.
More About: Demo

Last shopping day before. . . .
2007-12-27 10:17:00
Well, today is the last shopping day before the most important event of the year:MY BIRTHDAY!Yes, I'm hitting the big 34 tomorrow, and am going to have to adjust my "that's still young" counter up another notch. This is something that most of us seem to do. Young is what you are, old is your parents, children is everyone more than five years younger than you.Anyway, I digress. Back to the subject in hand (buy stuff, buy stuff, buy stuff, buy EXPENSIVE stuff). Sorry, don't know where that came from (PayPay accepted). Aaaargh!
More About: Shopping

Merry Christmas!
2007-12-25 10:17:00
Merry Christmas to one and all.With a "ho, ho, ho" and a "jingle all the way" into the bargain!
More About: Merry Christmas , Merry