Nic’s blog
I write about building businesses, failing and building a life, not a legacy.
Suggestions - What can I do?
I am going to be at home, housebound with no other options until at least Monday. I bought myself a new Xbox360 game, I can't really eat, I can't smoke, I can't really sit up or lie down, I can't go out and get a DVD, I can't blog excessively cause firstly that's boring and secondly that involves sitting up for an extended period of time.My question is then what can a person with mumps do for 10 days?
Tony Hawk Project 8 and edreams
So I stuck to my word and used one of the sites that I reviewed a short while ago.Edreams was the first choice to experiment with. I decided to buy myself Tony Hawk Project 8. Firstly let me say, WHAT A GAME. I think that this is one of the best games I've played in a while. It's creative, different, interesting, cutting edge and very user-controlled.Then on to the Edreams issue. There was none. Not a single issue. It makes life easy when shopping online if you have access to a credit card (preferably your own).Simply enter your street address for delivery and pay via credit card and your set. The most impressive thing about this site is that I received my game in under 24hours. Brilliant.I also received a call from a nice guy called Dillon at 9am yesterday to confirm that I would be home to receive the game, or someone else could receive it for me if I wasn't home. About an hour after the call I happily received my game, popped it in and played Project 8.
New takes on old games
The film and video world has come a long way since Sallie Gardner was saddled up for what we know today as the precursor to motion pictures. But just as Muybridge's little experiment involved a devised technique, we are still trying techniques today to find new horizons in filmmaking, videography, animation and post-production. Animation alone is an area that continues to expand its limits. Since computers have made the scene, the digital world of animation has delved into both 2D and 3D forms that save time and allow artists to manipulate images with relative ease.
Gaming provides good examples of the strides animators have taken in digital creation, and you need go no further than online casino gaming to discover the rich world of gaming animation. Online casino designing may not have been a labor of love for artists; the industry is driven by sheer popularity. But animators have made the most of this competitive endeavor and broken through practicality to come up with some creative productions. The designers have overcome the practicality of doing things such as stuffing an 8-foot roulette table into a 4-inch smartphone screen and making it easy for the user. But they have found an artistic sense, too. This is again driven by popularity and competition. Slot games are very competitive because they demand little strategy from the player. So if you go to most any online casino, you can find an array of interesting and alluring games chock full of thematic renderings that offer entirely new takes on traditional slots.
Filling down time
Online casino designers have gone to the trouble of combining this art and algorithm to gain the competitive edge simply because the online casino phenomenon has taken such a huge piece of the internet-commerce pie. And since the surge in sales of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the popularity has increased even more. This type of encompassing access has allowed people to fill their down time with fun time most anywhere they can get to the internet. Millions of people are using their spare time in waiting rooms, airline terminals and even meeting rooms to get in a quick game of blackjack. Online casinos have worked hard to make their sites simple to navigate and games easy to use. The have gone to great lengths to match software to accommodate most any type of PC or mobile device. And they have mastered the high-tech demands of making a variety of deposit and withdrawal systems completely safe and air-tight secure.
Lucrative lure
Then there are bonuses. The bonus is a big part of the competition in the online casino world, so points and cash bonuses have become very lucrative. Players can receive bonuses for signing up, depositing and recruiting others to play at a site. They also offer loyalty bonuses - for playing at a site for a long time. Because there is such a variety of bonus systems and a wide range of sites, the online casino industry has made shopping relatively simple too. Sites such as Reviewscasino.com specialize in helping players wade through the maze of sites. Players can start here to get an idea of the advantages bonuses. And for many players, the search for the best online casinos begins here.
With such alluring features, it is easy to see why so many people are finding online casinos a good way to find good entertainment in their spare time.
Mumps day four - getting bigger
I am getting much, much bigger as the days go by.Today's update post features a pic of me today and a caricature I had done last year in October in France. That artist had it spot on if he was looking in to the future!
MyLiveSearch beta a flops for mac/firefox users
I registered a while back to test out mylivesearch's new site and claims that they can whip Google's ass.At the first hurdle they have failed, they have dropped the ball and come up with no results...without me even having searched anything.I received the email this morning and followed the link to register on the site. I entered my email, username, password and all the other data they requested and then this happened:
Are you kidding me? mylivesearch doesn't support Mac or Firefox? I am currently using both and was when I registered. If this is the case then I truly believe that mylivesearch has somewhat missed the boat.After all the hype and reading all the previews and talk from the big tech blogs I am really disappointed. Maybe the beta version is closed to Windows users but I can't think why or maybe developers just haven't finished their compatibility checks and improvements. Whatever it is I think they need to sort it out soon.And after all of this they now they have my data and I am sure will be bugging me in the very near future and for a very long time.
A new theme
Apparently with mumps comes time to redesign your blog! So as of this evening you will see a new look and feel for nicharalambous.com.Something smoother, cleaner, more generic and simple. Colour is sporadic and I have chosen to move things back to a very basic feel.Did a bit of customisation here and there, tweaked the style.css and the images that build the theme. And what do you know, I have a new theme. I think I'll be tweaking it more and more as things progress. But I like what it has turned in to and hope that it has become easier to read, understand and subscribe.Let me know what you think.Oh, one of the main reasons for the redesign is that I realised that I have only been working with Wordpress since January of this year. It's really incredible what one can learn in eight months. I have done a boat load of template designs, redesigns and tweaks since I put the old nicharalambous.com theme. So I thought it necessary to work on my own blog since my skills are somewhat improved from the last time I did this!!Hope you enjoy the theme, I do.
Mumps day three - it's not fun
When I went to the doctor yesterday he very swiftly mentioned that I will only feel worse as the days go by and then I'll get better.Boy was he right. Couldn't sleep last night, went to bed at 2 am. Woke up consecutively at 05:30, 06:00, 06:30 and the woke up properly at 7am. That's no fun. When you are sick you are meant to be able to sleep late and long hours. Not so much.How does one actually sleep when it's both sides of your jaw that are sore and in contact with the pillow? I'll tell you; you don't.The best part of all of this is that I really just want to get to work so I can get the next edition of FM Campus out. But I can't cause I'll infect the whole office. That's bad. So I am working from home.Oh, and I realised at some point yesterday that if I am not careful mumps could make me sterile. NICE.
I have mumps... and now I'm fat
So I have just been diagnosed with mumps. Why is it that I always seem to come down with an illness on a Saturday, and the go to the doctor on a Sunday when it costs an arm and a leg. And murphy's law it's something serious.No work, no leaving the house, no nothing until the swelling goes down. Incase you don't believe that I am swollen... have a look:Here's a picture of me before the mumps:
And this is me as of 20 minutes ago:
The importance of weekend blogging
I have noticed that over the last 4 or 5 months over the weekends my blogs drop significantly in visits.This is definitely due to the lack of blogging that I do over the weekend, but I think it is also due to the fact that many people like to leave their computers and the internet alone over the weekend. They don't check their RSS and they don't visit the blog aggregators. This means they don't necessarily read your (or my) blog.Is there value in blogging over the weekend? Is it actually important. I even find that the international blogs that I subscribe to calm their blogging down over the weekend. Will people even read what you post, or simply wait until Monday when they get to work and read their RSS readers?I am not convinced about the value of blogging. I think that I would much much rather post a good blog post on a Monday when I know that people will read and comment than post it over the weekend with little response.What do you think?
Mainstream media and democracy dead by 2014
I am surprised that I have never seen this video before. It is interesting and a true while being a load of codswallop at the same time.The video is titled: Epic 2014It talks of Google and Amazon forming Googlezon while Mircrosoft tries to compete. New York Times competes with Googlezon's new media algorithsms in the supreme court and lose, they subsequently go offline in protest to a hegemony that is dominating media and democracy where everyone has access to everything all the time.I wonder how real this is, will be or can be?Have a look here and here
Customizing your wordpress theme
I love Wordpress. I really do. I love designing themes and customizing ones that I have implemented.My favourite part about the themes that I have created for myself and others is the tiny little changes in detail that one can make. Attention to detail is imperative if you ask me.Let me explain. When I write a comment on someones post and then continue reading the thread, I like to know who the author is of the post and read their comments specifically. This can be done but often isn't be designers.When submitting comments I really am bored with pressing the "Submit" button. It's really not very hard to change something like that. SA Rocks features a "Rock It Hard" button in place of the standard "Submit". This makes me slightly more keen to ROCK IT HARD when I submit a post.Doing this is easy: Simply go in to your comment.php file and search for the word "Submit" (or whatever your submit button says.Then in that string of code: [input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" tabindex="5" value="Submit"] <-- that part of the code is what you want to change.For SA Rocks I changed it to: [input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" tabindex="5" value="Rock It Hard!"]There you have it. Obviously changing the actual image behind the text is a bit more complicated (not too much more). But the text is a good place to start I fell.There are many other little changed you can make to a theme to make it more interesting for the viewer. One of my personal favourites is changing the Login/Register Wordpress default look to one that matches your theme. If you want an EG of that visit SA Rocks. If you want me to explain how to do that, let me know in the comment section below.PS: I haven't changed the "submit" button on this blog yet. Tsk Tsk.
Morning rituals
I have developed a very solid morning ritual now before work. I wake up at about 6:45am-ish. Wake up, make breakfast and get to the TV just in time for the first of two episodes of Mad About You.Remember Mad About You? Jaymie and Paul? Little Mabel and the incredibly talented dog, Murray. I loved this show when I was a kid and I swear every episode is funnier and funnier.If you are awake watch Channel 10 (GO) on DsTV in the mornings for some great shows!
Ibiza and the no-Axe-jet
Jason is in Ibiza. Bastard.Looks like he's having a blast even though there was NO AXE-JET!!
Brought to you by: The Times Multimedia
Manto is a convicted criminal. Fire her now
If Manto is not fired very soon then we know that there is something fishy going on.I call for her to be fired and swiftly. Take a stand Mbeki, for crying in a blood soaked bucket take a goddammed stand.
Name and shame Muti spammers
I have been harping on about this topic recently. But the debate isn't closed in my mind at all.I concede that there is definite value in self promotion when the post is relevant, well written and valuable. Let me just say that NO ONE has ever written 100% of their posts to be 100% relevant to everyone at all times. So if you are submitting ALL of your post ALL of the time ONLY then you are spamming. Simple.You might disagree and that is your prerogative. You might even think that no one does that, let me prove that there are users on muti who are doing that:anjamerret:
newscribe:
iz4u:
guymclaren:
guymclaren is a bit of a tricky situation, there is a lot of self promotion that borders on spam but not only from his one blog, from various blogs he owns and others. In my mind, this counts to a degree.And just for good measure, some of my own muti submissions:
I have submitted the occasional SA Rocks post but none that I personally wrote and they are few and far between one another.What I am basically saying is that there is spam around and it is very present and people are not voting it down because not many people actually take not of who has previously submitted posts from which blogs and how often. This is why I think spammers should be made known.Do you know of any others?