Oh 'Appy Day

I recently acquired a iPad 4th Gen from my boyfriends brother, thank you!, mostly because I know of a ton of apps which just are not available on the Android platform and I've been wanting a decent sized tablet for a while, one thing Apple does well is the large tablet, so getting one is a blessing, here are a couple of apps which I've been playing.

Ticket To Ride (Available on App Store and Play Store)

A app version of the wonderfully simple but hard to master boardgame, I've sunk already a ton of time into this, you get routes to complete on a map and you have to place trains down to complete routes, sounds simple and it plays simple but its ruthless and a ton of fun!

Surgeon Simulator 'Touch' (Available on the App Store)

A app version of the crazy insane PC game hit from last year, this brings it to the iPad with all new touch controls and a few new mechanics to keep veterans of the PC game on their toes, such as your patient being able to have a heart attack, you just try to get that heart started in time, its not easy!
Infamous for it's dodgy slightly intentionally broken controls, this game is fantastic for a quick laugh and is certainly not for the squeamish!

If I mention something which was a little disappointing it's 'Sherlock The Network', it's only on the App Store and it's billed almost as a addition to the hit tv series, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock and Watson respectively, you're one of the latest members of the homeless network and you help solve cases and the like, sadly other than the wonderful videos and voices of Benedict and Martin the game lacks any other real substance and for a game which cost nearly €5, is a real shame, one for die hard Sherlock fans, as I am, but if you're not, best steer clear.

The Whole World And You

This world is full of amazing events, even the strangest things can happen from a cat saving a boy from a dog to a 'baby' t-rex throwing a pitch at a baseball game.

So yes strange and sometimes wonderful things can happen in this wacky ol' world of ours but it also goes to stand that alot that is out there is complete and total bunk, out to mislead or even potentially take money away from you or damage your computer, as a user of the book of face I see all too often these stories which I call 'clickbait', stories which read like "first I was saddened but then I was shocked!", who the frig has that as a headline or link title, oh wait, people who just want other people to go to their website, people get money from people visiting websites, it's a easy enough thing to set up. there was one particular instance which i've seen in which a man falls down and asks for help, someone walks by (saddened) then someone helps him (shocked!), what more concerns me that what about the person FILMING the entire thing, they saw it why don't they help?, because it's a set up.

Not to say that genuine acts of kindness don't happen or that selfishness doesn't exist, but you have to take a lot of these supposed articles at face value, yes it was filmed but you have to think, who shot the video, why did they keep recording, I mean who records a video at a distance of a man in distress?

I'm a avid reader of this lovely site called snopes.com they look into a lot of hoaxes and 'clickbait' articles, as well as covering urban legends, 99% of the time you can find something that someone has shared on facebook of dubious intent on there already busted, whats that? Flight MH370 was found in the Bermuda triangle? busted, that is just -one- thing I can bust instantly, there is a story about a 'cancer killing fruit' which they are looking into.

Don't believe everything you click, use your brains people and if you seriously believe some of the more 'out there' stories, "They're spraying chemicals in the air after airplanes, it's geogengineering, it's poisioning us!!!!1", I have a couple rolls of lovely tin-foil you can make a hat out of!

(also, those 'trails' are caused by hot exhaust from the engines being put out in a -cold- sky, it's colder the higher you go!)

I'll always find strength...

There comes a day where you find a way to escape
A blank page, now I'm writing out my own fate
I've grown tired of running away from a thing called reality

And I will scream from the top of my lungs
I'm living to fulfill my hopes
(Can you hear me?)
I'm no longer taking the safer way out of anything
(We'll never go back home)
I'll always find strength from those who will help me
They'll always be there by my side
(I'm on my way)
The hope for tomorrow
Will help me ease all my pain today

Today I had a bit of a run in with some rather unpleasant comments via my twitter, I'm not going into details but when random strangers are judging you for who you are and what you on a public space, it's not nice, each and every comment was filed and reported for abuse on Twitter, I don't stand for it, I'm alright but I'm shaken and only a little upset.

I have to thank my coworkers and my boyfriend who where there when I needed someone to talk to, I was more rattled than anything, you guys make my life awesome, I try not to let idiots upset me, I can be thick skinned but sometimes things can pass through and hurt, everyone I know is supportive of who I am and what I do, it's just a shame that there are idiots in this world that the rest of us have to put up with.

Thank you all.

The Next Generation?

So I finally snagged myself a PS4 and I'm very happy with it, it's early days for the system and I think it's got great potential, recently it gained a update in which you can edit videos which the system records automatically, it's a really useful feature for me so I've tried it out with a bit of footage that I've got already, I'm looking at doing longer more proper videos in the future, this was edited entirely on the PS4 with all in game footage. And yes that is a Lego Smaug roasting a sausage.

All footage is PG rated, no swearing, few moments where those who have a fear of heights might not like so much. Taken from Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes, Infamous Second Son and Lego The Hobbit.

I think I may just use the editor to trim down videos to export to my PC for proper editing, the transitions it does make it look a little professional to a point but it's missing 'character', it's just cookie cutter templates, but it's a step forward.

My only gripe with the PS4 is the choice of titles is small but it's early days yet, there are some fantastic games on the horizon and I'm looking forward to playing them!

Warning: May Contain Nuts

As a fussy eater, I'm used to going through labels constantly to make sure that whatever I'm getting doesn't have something I don't like in, I jokingly refer to myself as a 'Meatatarian' (note, not a proper word) because I don't like seeing those poor innocent vegetables getting needlessly slaughtered just for food. (note, this is only in jest, I eat some veg but I DO avoid alot of it, most times I end up being quite ill, this may be psychosomatic though, but i'm not talking about that here)

My quirks aside, I'm very lucky to not have any seriously life threatening food allergies, I'm still sensitive to food colouring for the most part and try to avoid most of it, I don't normally eat any nuts, but I've had some in my years, just not the biggest fan of them.

Recently UK supermarket chain Tesco has introduced a whole swarm of new labels to help consumers avoid any potential allergens, as most allergies can be life threatening, Tesco said they were listing products with May Contain Nuts if there was a possible risk of cross contamination, this could be seen as sensible.

(Source Twitter )

This is a picture of a bottle of 'Pure Apple Juice', note that it says May Contain Nuts, how the frig can Apple Juice even potentially contain nuts, this isn't the only example, Orange Squash, Cream Soda and Sliced Ham are just the tip of the iceberg, other people have noted seeing it on bags of potatoes, pizza and butternut squash.

There's being careful and then there is just being darned lazy!

I'm probably not the best person to speak of this but surely Tesco of all companies could examine their product suppliers (or get a outside agency to do so) and check out the factories to say it may or may not potentially contain nuts, I'm sure for mums this is a nightmare but when they speak up about this they just get shot down saying that they just want a excuse to sue Tesco or are just overreacting to nothing.

When your child could die from a nut allergy, shopping for them is hard and trying on the most steadfast and bravest of mums, they need clear concise labeling to make sure they can provide the food to feed their family and keep them safe, they're not overreacting, they're protecting their children.

I know one such mum, my twin sister Rachelle, she has a blog, her daughter has a severe allergy to Walnuts and Pecans, I'm pretty sure she would have a thing or two to say when someone says to her that shes 'overreacting', if we want the best for our children, listen to those who have children and take heed of the struggles many families face every day.

As for Tesco, I really hope they turnabout on this, they're a quite decent store chain, they should know better than this.

There's a petition going which asks Tesco's to stop using blanket allergen labelling. Go sign it.

This is clandestine, this is arcane, this is...

Broken Sword.

Good gracious I love this game series.

Cast your minds back all the way to 1996, we got a shiny Playstation for christmas, included with it is a disc called 'Demo 1' amongst demos for things like Wipeout 2097 it had a video for a game I'd never heard of 'Broken Sword - The Shadow Of The Templars'

I must've watched that trailer more than a few times, I remember much later playing a demo of it, played that to death too, I remember being able to play it properly and fully enjoying it, the cast, the story... the friggin' goat puzzle and I've enjoyed the series ever since.

Broken Sword 2 was also fantastic, I've played both Broken Sword 1 and 2 countless times, alas the later sequels 3 and 4 are not as good, so imagine my surprise to hear that they're Kickstarting a 5th game, naturally I was hyped, it was going back to it's older style, with the original (for the most part) voicecast, I hadn't backed it since I didn't have the means to at the time, it remains one of two kickstarters I wished I could've backed.

So it got released last winter, I've finally picked it up on a half price offer and I've just finished it after about 4 hours and at the end of the first episode I can safely say it's a great addition to the series,.

The puzzles are not too challenging if a little long winded but that was and still is the nature of Point And Click adventure games, I'll talk more at length about Broken Sword V when episode two is out and I've finished it.

I do like point and click adventure games, I've throughly enjoyed series like The Secret Of Monkey Island, even more recent titles like the brilliantly dark 'The Wolf Among Us' or the enjoyable 'Back To The Future' game, I always enjoy good storytelling!.

Got reminded of this, 'Yahtzee' talking about point and click adventure games and their decline in recent years, it's safe to watch if you don't mind one use of the word 'Bollocks'.

Drinking and me.

Warning, what follows is only my own views and opinions, nothing is aimed at anyone, if the shoe fits then by all means wear it but I'm as much entitled to voicing my opinion as you are enforcing your own.

So I'm 'Non Social', I sit in my room, playing on my computer and being a lazy fat shut in.

I'd like to say the otherwise.

In reality I'm still working my own life, I'm conversing with my boyfriend, my friends and family, I'm managing over many things, planning stuff, editing videos, working on personal projects, occasionally playing a game or just singing to music, so I don't draw myself out and drink myself into a stupor every weekend, I'm a fan of a drink now and again but I'm one who feels there has to be a time and a place for it, pushing myself into a crowded room, with music so loud you can't talk, does not appeal to me.

I like conversation, I like sharing a drink with friends, when you make it every now and again it makes the time so much more interesting and fun.

This is a picture which involves a incident which happened when I was out being 'social', I'll provide a tiny bit of context, I was heading to the bar with my friend (pictured right) and we where talking about this drink called 'Kalte Muschi' it's a red wine and cola mix, it's pretty nice, the joke being that in german 'Kalte Muschi' means 'Cold Pussy', us both being english had a good chuckle over that, so we get to the bar and another of our friends is there (pictured left), my friend walks to the bar and to the nice lady bartender asks for "two cold pussies", I burst out with laughter and thus a unforgettable moment was born.

The point I'm trying to make is that, I appreciate drinking but when it's not every week, it makes things much more memorable and for me a lot more enjoyable.

So don't label me as 'Anti Social' or 'Non Social' because I prefer having quiet nights in compared to every weekend out on the razz, I appreciate all the friends I have, doesn't mean I have to drink all the time to appreciate it all the same.