Binky's Groove

So I was in the Apple store…

I had to pop to the apple store today. Had to had to, rather than my “oh i just have to pop in here…” line. Yup my iPhone has developed a fault with it’s headphone socket and because I don’t have insurance and because it’s (typically) out of warranty by a few months it’s going to cost £130.

Nice

I wouldn’t mind if I’d been abusing the headphone jack, but truth be told I use it less than I use the stocks and shares app! So for that money I think I’ll just have to wait a month for my contract to expire and move to a 3gs or hang around for the next space future model.

Back to the store though, and the place was teaming with people getting their grubby little fingers on the new iPad. I’m being quite literal here. One of the genii was on hand with a squirty cleaner and an apple anti static screen cloth (only $39.95).

I have to say I still don’t get the buzz around the iPad. Perhaps it’s the fact I have a mini version already? Perhaps it’s because any additional functionality I get from my MacBook? I really don’t see who it’s aimed at! Certainly not the loyal apple following if I’m anything to go by.

It’s the final countdown

Antenatal classes, check.

Nursery, check.

Carseat, check.

Pram, check.

Talking to the bump, and feeling the wiggling around and kicks, check, check, check.

Counting down the days until our little squirt becomes a real person now. The days seem to be getting a bit longer, and weeks stretch on a bit more than they used to that’s for sure. 

Every “ooff” and “ouch” from @fragilecat makes me think that our little dude or dudette is getting stronger, getting more impatient and wanting to meet mummy and daddy already. S/he has to wait though. 8 more weeks. A bit more cooking to be done. A few more socks to be bought, and calendar days to be ticked off.

I heard a story this week of a guy on the forum who although was due the same time as us, is now proudly wearing his “Who’s the daddy?” Tshirt. 7 weeks early. I want to meet squirt, but I think I’d rather wait until things are ready. It must be heartbreaking to see their little guy boxed off from the world in Intensive Care. It sounds like the docs are doing everything they can though, and baby Max is doing really well. I guess he’d had enough of being cramped up inside and decided he just wanted out!

We’ll just happily wait, watching the little feet and hands and headbutts bulge away at mum’s tummy until our time comes. 

See you at the end of the World Cup, Squirt.

Pain relief?

Back from our first antenatal class. Lots of pregnant people make it an odd environment to be in. A strange world where everyone is going through the same pains, worries, excitement and bladder control issues as yourself. Well, her.

These classes are your run of the mill, NHS affair. None of this paid for, cushions and hob nobs NCT business for us. This is why I guess we expected to be shouted at and surrounded by tracksuit wearing yoofs. With big hoop earrings and a box of benson and hedges hanging out of their fake Adidas pockets.

Thankfully people like that don’t tend to like learning, so taking a class outside of school hours would be like asking them to stop drinking AND smoking whilst they carried their poor unfortunate offspring.The NHS community midwife was nice though and talked reassuringly to the group.

Content wise I thought it was a little light, especially as half hour was taken up by an american DVD about the 3 stages of labour. Sorry. Labor. This is the kind of stuff we’ve read about already, and to be honest, seeing a 3d representation of a baby turn over in a see-through stomach creeped me out more than it did teach. I mean, I’ve seen Avatar in 3D ffs, I need better graphics than that. It reminded me more of that scene in Trainspotting with the baby crawling the wall.

Tonight’s class was specific to what types of pain relief is available (a cushion for the plastic seat would have been a cracking start) and whilst everyone knows what there is, not everyone knows the full ins and outs. So a few things cleared up there.

So what did I learn? Basically, that us men really should respect any woman going through this, and even more so if they choose to do it without the aid of modern medicine. I also decided that anyone trying to do this without an epidural is an absolute nutcase. I tell you now, if it was us chaps that were having to do this there would be no messing.

From what I can gather the choice is thus:

A - Do you want something that will help numb the pain a bit, but ultimately still hurt in the long run?
B - Do you want something that will pretty much get you (and the baby) stoned, numb you a bit, but ultimately not take away the pain?Or 
C - Do you want something that means you can put your feet up and feel no real pain, relax, watch a DVD and wait for the babe to pop out feeling fresh and ready to face the world.All guys would choose C, stick Soccer Saturday on, and wait till we heard some crying.

Overall well worth going for extra info and perhaps I’ll take a few more notes next time!

Do I miss EA?

So I finally left the great big, slightly insular, world of EA and with it, the videogames industry. Do I want to return? Sure, I still love games, do I want to kill myself with a ridiculous commute to do so? Nah-ah.

I mentioned last time that it all felt bittersweet. It still does. That’s not to say I have regrets about leaving. Not yet anyway. There are things I miss dearly, but the more I think about those things, the more I realise they were already gone. Washed away in waves of redundancies and office moves.

The wonderful people (my remaining few chums aside, obviously), the fantastic campus we lived in with it’s constantly in-use football pitch, and our frankly rather good canteen. I miss my morning latte served violently with a slice of carrot cake by Grace. I miss her constant question, “Where is Johnny boy, still in bed?” And I miss drinking said coffee sitting on the sofas looking out at the lake. I still think Grace might think Johnny and I live together. 

Working late for a reason (mostly the reason being too much table football or FIFA matches) with close friends for nothing more than wanting to get the job done. The feeling that you were part of something, a family of people from different backgrounds all proud to be working for this mega-company that gamers worldwide loved to hate.

I miss the marketing goodies and free games, shit, I think I almost miss marketing. I miss the ad-hoc breaks, the banter and the laughs. So many laughs. I miss the smiles of people arriving at the office and the wide eyes of those that were visiting for the first time. Yup. I work HERE!

I miss Mido and Ghali: the Egyptian geese. Heronboy, Ram-man, Wiggly and the Gwen-o-scope. I miss Sad-Sac, the corporate pastels, the accidental racial slurs in company meetings. I miss the cleaning out of the hutches, the crazy amounts spent on a magic piano and popcorn machine. The good Xmas parties, the bad puns, and the ugly testers.

And I miss, Mo. The one person who would never frown at you and never forget your name.

So do I miss EA? The answer is an unhesitating yes. Unfortunately though, I’ve been missing it for about 3 years.

Final, Final Fantasy.

I think this goes someway to explaining why Final Fantasy isn’t for me. I don’t know what is being said here, nor do I particularly care to find out.

There’s 3 stages of each weapon / items (can be less).

First, pick a weapon/item with an inherent bonus that you like (eg Quick Stagger).

Lvl this ‘basic’ lvl weapon to Star ability (lots of upgrading from the save menu - watch for 3xmultipliers)

Once that weapon/item is maxed you can use the rarer transmutes that you will have picked up (eg Scarletite) - that upgrades your maxed out lvl 1 weapon to the next lvl (sometimes Ultima). Rinse and repeat with this new weapon and get yourself a Omega Weapon.