>
> Hmm let's see some of my Wikipedia hits - Berlaymont building, Conspiracy
> Theory, Craning, Cyniscism, Eisenstein, Horus, Rise of the Triad. Leading
> of course to others.

Interesting. Going to have to look several of those up. Let's see.
Recent Wiki hits: (related on same line)

Thermodynamics, Laws of thermodynamics
Great Pyramid, Giza
OODA_Loop
Arming Sword, Longsword, Viking swords
Knights Templar, Jerusalem, Crusades, Richard the Lionhearted, Kingdom of
Heaven (movie)
Great Hyperspace war
Swansea, Gower Peninsula, Three Cliffs bay

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>>> I demand a step-by-step account of you playing Half-Life2+Eps1 and 2 
>>> on your blog!
>>
>> Uh... why? It's not like anybody would read it...
> 
> Ditto Nicolas.

http://blog.orphi.me.uk/archives/140

Points of note:

1. This was posted several months ago.

2. Nobody read it.

> Wait one second you've seen this episode? *You've* watched Buffy the 
> Vampire Slayer?

Ooo, you're quick today. :-P

I have watched several, yes. I know somebody who is an utter Buffy 
nutter. Personally I don't find it all that entertaining...

I prefer Charmed.

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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And lo on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:39:59 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake, saying:

>>>> I demand a step-by-step account of you playing Half-Life2+Eps1 and 2  
>>>> on your blog!
>>>
>>> Uh... why? It's not like anybody would read it...
>>  Ditto Nicolas.
>
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/archives/140
>
> Points of note:
>
> 1. This was posted several months ago.
>
> 2. Nobody read it.

Odd I've read the entry before it, I've read the entry after it, and the  
contents of the one you've linked to is familiar to me... so um yes I read  
it.

>> Wait one second you've seen this episode? *You've* watched Buffy the  
>> Vampire Slayer?
>
> Ooo, you're quick today. :-P

Well I'd have been expected you to get confused, say WTF the lot, and then  
never watch another episode. :-)

> I have watched several, yes. I know somebody who is an utter Buffy  
> nutter. Personally I don't find it all that entertaining...

What you don't find Giles entertaining "I just think it's rather odd that  
a nation which prides itself on its virility should feel compelled to  
strap on forty pounds of protective gear in order to play rugby" or Willow  
"Excuse me - Jewish; not all of us worship Santa"

> I prefer Charmed.

Saw some of the first season and didn't gel with it, missed a load then  
caught something about Rose (daughter of a White Lighter) coming in, then  
Shannen disppeared, there was a marriage to that White Lighter, the birth  
of their son, and Phoebe working as an Agony Aunt and her relationship  
with some demon called Balthazar; I just enjoyed listening to "How Soon is  
Now?" at the beginning. It's not a show I watch.

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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> Odd I've read the entry before it, I've read the entry after it, and the 
> contents of the one you've linked to is familiar to me... so um yes I 
> read it.

OK... so why the demands? :-P

>>> Wait one second you've seen this episode? *You've* watched Buffy the 
>>> Vampire Slayer?
>>
>> Ooo, you're quick today. :-P
> 
> Well I'd have been expected you to get confused, say WTF the lot, and 
> then never watch another episode. :-)

I never watched the *film* BTW. But my sister did. Apparently it sucked 
greatly. Which isn't all that surprising...

>> I have watched several, yes. I know somebody who is an utter Buffy 
>> nutter. Personally I don't find it all that entertaining...
> 
> What you don't find Giles entertaining "I just think it's rather odd 
> that a nation which prides itself on its virility should feel compelled 
> to strap on forty pounds of protective gear in order to play rugby" or 
> Willow "Excuse me - Jewish; not all of us worship Santa"

There are some funny lines in there. Those aren't the ones I'd pick, but 
sure.

>> I prefer Charmed.
> 
> Saw some of the first season and didn't gel with it, missed a load then 
> caught something about Rose (daughter of a White Lighter) coming in, 
> then Shannen disppeared, there was a marriage to that White Lighter, the 
> birth of their son, and Phoebe working as an Agony Aunt and her 
> relationship with some demon called Balthazar; I just enjoyed listening 
> to "How Soon is Now?" at the beginning. It's not a show I watch.

If you can get over the fact that it's blatently shallow and silly, it's 
quite comic. Not something you can take too seriously, I feel.

Much like Xena...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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And lo on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:21:06 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake, saying:

>> Odd I've read the entry before it, I've read the entry after it, and  
>> the contents of the one you've linked to is familiar to me... so um yes  
>> I read it.
>
> OK... so why the demands? :-P

'I liked the Antlion tunnels, the lift took me two hours to get through, I  
hate hunters..." So how about Ravenholm, what about the water/driving  
segments, which weapon did/do you favour etc.

>>>> Wait one second you've seen this episode? *You've* watched Buffy the  
>>>> Vampire Slayer?
>>>
>>> Ooo, you're quick today. :-P
>>  Well I'd have been expected you to get confused, say WTF the lot, and  
>> then never watch another episode. :-)
>
> I never watched the *film* BTW. But my sister did. Apparently it sucked  
> greatly. Which isn't all that surprising...

It wasn't great.

>>> I have watched several, yes. I know somebody who is an utter Buffy  
>>> nutter. Personally I don't find it all that entertaining...
>>  What you don't find Giles entertaining "I just think it's rather odd  
>> that a nation which prides itself on its virility should feel compelled  
>> to strap on forty pounds of protective gear in order to play rugby" or  
>> Willow "Excuse me - Jewish; not all of us worship Santa"
>
> There are some funny lines in there. Those aren't the ones I'd pick, but  
> sure.

Not to mention the fighting, the lengthy storylines, the character  
development ...

>>> I prefer Charmed.
>>  Saw some of the first season and didn't gel with it, missed a load  
>> then caught something about Rose (daughter of a White Lighter) coming  
>> in, then Shannen disppeared, there was a marriage to that White  
>> Lighter, the birth of their son, and Phoebe working as an Agony Aunt  
>> and her relationship with some demon called Balthazar; I just enjoyed  
>> listening to "How Soon is Now?" at the beginning. It's not a show I  
>> watch.
>
> If you can get over the fact that it's blatently shallow and silly,

Which I wouldn't have minded if that was the way it was shown, but it  
seems they take every shallow storyline as if it was of some great portent  
and play it totally straight; at least of the episodes I've seen.

> it's quite comic. Not something you can take too seriously, I feel.

Except as I say you don't get the feeling that the actors are having fun,  
they're taking it seriously.

> Much like Xena...

You're comparing Charmed to Xena... you are so dead :-P

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

Post a reply to this message

Phil Cook wrote:

>> OK... so why the demands? :-P
> 
> 'I liked the Antlion tunnels, the lift took me two hours to get through, 
> I hate hunters..." So how about Ravenholm, what about the water/driving 
> segments, which weapon did/do you favour etc.

I played HL2 once, and didn't enjoy it very much. The scenary is far too 
drab and boring. The enemies are all humanoids of some kind. There's 
little or no variation in the game. They took out all of the most 
interesting weapons. Yawn.

Obviously, all the vehicles are almost completely uncontrolable. Digital 
steering is like that.

Obviously the best weapon is the magnum. Unfortunately it fires slower 
than milk float, has only 6 shots and an insane reload time. But it has 
an extremely long range, and if you actually hit something with it, it 
WILL die. I can't stress how important that last part is. What's the 
point of shooting something if it doesn't die when you hit it?

The best weapon in HL1 was the neato orange cannon - but unfortunately 
they removed that because it was too useful and interesting.

Ravenholm gave me nightmares for weeks. And weeks is how long it took to 
complete because there's...just...no...ammo...anywhere. Killing those 
fast zombies with a crowbar isn't even funny. And there's no healthpacks 
anywhere either. So I just had to replay every tiny segment endlessly 
again and again until I got lucky enough to stumble out with 2% health 
left instead of 0%. It was like something out of a low-budget horror 
film, and it wasn't very nice.

Ditto for Low Life in HL2:EP1. Mercifully, HL2:EP2 doesn't really 
contain anything comparable. I really hate zombies...

>> There are some funny lines in there. Those aren't the ones I'd pick, 
>> but sure.
> 
> Not to mention the fighting, the lengthy storylines, the character 
> development ...

I haven't watched nearly enough of it to notice that. But part way 
through, it seems the writers noticed that the more unhappy Buffy is, 
the better the ratings are. That's when I really, really stopped 
watching. I don't *want* Buffy to be unhappy...

>> it's quite comic. Not something you can take too seriously, I feel.
> 
> Except as I say you don't get the feeling that the actors are having 
> fun, they're taking it seriously.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

>> Much like Xena...
> 
> You're comparing Charmed to Xena... you are so dead :-P

I'm just trying to freak you out now. ;-)

Is it working? :-D

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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And lo on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:57:54 -0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> did  
spake, saying:

> Phil Cook wrote:
>
>>> OK... so why the demands? :-P
>>  'I liked the Antlion tunnels, the lift took me two hours to get  
>> through, I hate hunters..." So how about Ravenholm, what about the  
>> water/driving segments, which weapon did/do you favour etc.
>
> I played HL2 once, and didn't enjoy it very much. The scenary is far too  
> drab and boring. The enemies are all humanoids of some kind.

Except the headcrabs, and the antlions, and the stalkers, and the  
heliships; but yeah I know what you mean

> There's little or no variation in the game. They took out all of the  
> most interesting weapons. Yawn.
>
> Obviously, all the vehicles are almost completely uncontrolable. Digital  
> steering is like that.

Pffh I'm using an analogue controller on the console and it's terrible.  
Anyway I'm in the middle of tidying up my review so I won't go into details

> Obviously the best weapon is the magnum. Unfortunately it fires slower  
> than milk float, has only 6 shots and an insane reload time. But it has  
> an extremely long range, and if you actually hit something with it, it  
> WILL die. I can't stress how important that last part is. What's the  
> point of shooting something if it doesn't die when you hit it?

I like the crossbow for the long range stuff, magnum for those headcrab  
carriers

> The best weapon in HL1 was the neato orange cannon - but unfortunately  
> they removed that because it was too useful and interesting.

Orange cannon? Hold on....the Tau cannon, meh I never really used it that  
much.

> Ravenholm gave me nightmares for weeks. And weeks is how long it took to  
> complete because there's...just...no...ammo...anywhere. Killing those  
> fast zombies with a crowbar isn't even funny.

Shotgun to the head for them, grav-gun for the headcrabs, and grav-gun  
buzzsaw blade for slow zombies. If you're talking about that village  
square then the slow zombies respawn, the fast ones are script triggered,  
and there are two headcrab carriers around which I always try to take out  
first. Allow for one death just to work out what you're supposed to be  
doing.

> And there's no healthpacks anywhere either.

I do recall a dearth of such in Ravenholm

> So I just had to replay every tiny segment endlessly again and again  
> until I got lucky enough to stumble out with 2% health left instead of  
> 0%. It was like something out of a low-budget horror film, and it wasn't  
> very nice.
>
> Ditto for Low Life in HL2:EP1. Mercifully, HL2:EP2 doesn't really  
> contain anything comparable. I really hate zombies...

As I've said it's the Mr Benn approach that irks me.

>>> There are some funny lines in there. Those aren't the ones I'd pick,  
>>> but sure.
>>  Not to mention the fighting, the lengthy storylines, the character  
>> development ...
>
> I haven't watched nearly enough of it to notice that. But part way  
> through, it seems the writers noticed that the more unhappy Buffy is,  
> the better the ratings are. That's when I really, really stopped  
> watching. I don't *want* Buffy to be unhappy...

It goes up and down, you know a bit like real life. How far did you get,  
can you recall?

>>> it's quite comic. Not something you can take too seriously, I feel.
>>  Except as I say you don't get the feeling that the actors are having  
>> fun, they're taking it seriously.
>
> Yeah, I know what you mean.

'This is art goddamnit and you will appreciate it'

>>> Much like Xena...
>>  You're comparing Charmed to Xena... you are so dead :-P
>
> I'm just trying to freak you out now. ;-)
>
> Is it working? :-D

So how many shows of Xena have you caught?

-- 
Phil Cook

--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com

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>> I played HL2 once, and didn't enjoy it very much. The scenary is far 
>> too drab and boring. The enemies are all humanoids of some kind.
> 
> Except the headcrabs, and the antlions, and the stalkers, and the 
> heliships; but yeah I know what you mean

Stalkers are humanoid. I presume you mean Striders? :-P

>> Obviously, all the vehicles are almost completely uncontrolable. 
>> Digital steering is like that.
> 
> Pffh I'm using an analogue controller on the console and it's terrible. 

Really? That's odd.

Still, I guess you still have digital accelerator control. Not that that 
stopped me in my Perguet 205 says. >:-D

> I like the crossbow for the long range stuff, magnum for those headcrab 
> carriers

I like the magnum for... everything, really. Except that you fire a 
couple of shots and you are now *out* of ammo. Completely. I mean, you 
get 2-dozen bullets before you can't carry any more?

The SMG *was* a damn good weapon in HL1. But in HL2 it doesn't seem to 
cause much damage any more...

>> The best weapon in HL1 was the neato orange cannon - but unfortunately 
>> they removed that because it was too useful and interesting.
> 
> Orange cannon? Hold on....the Tau cannon, meh I never really used it 
> that much.

I used it for absolutely everything. It shoots round corners, it has 
amazing range, it takes down helicopters faster than a rocket launcher 
(!!), and it also glows. Oh yeah - and there's no ammo around...

> Shotgun to the head for them

This requires you to actually *have* some shotgun shells. Or even 
bullets for the pistol. I mean *damn*... After playing Ravenholm for 
about 4 minutes, I was *out* of ammo. Of any kind. Even grenades (which, 
obviously, I never use). Good thing there's so many leathal traps around...

> grav-gun for the headcrabs, and grav-gun 
> buzzsaw blade for slow zombies.

You can't *kill* things with a gravity gun! (At least, except under lab 
conditions anyway...)

>> And there's no healthpacks anywhere either.
> 
> I do recall a dearth of such in Ravenholm

Slightly...

> As I've said it's the Mr Benn approach that irks me.

The what?

>> I haven't watched nearly enough of it to notice that. But part way 
>> through, it seems the writers noticed that the more unhappy Buffy is, 
>> the better the ratings are. That's when I really, really stopped 
>> watching. I don't *want* Buffy to be unhappy...
> 
> It goes up and down, you know a bit like real life. How far did you get, 
> can you recall?

Well, ya know, first Spike was evil, then Spike couldn't actually be 
evil any more but wanted to help out other evil guys, the Spike was 
good, then Spike became bad again... [Said Buffy fanatic was *obsessed* 
with Spike... wanted to marry him and stuff. Yes, she was a teenager.]

I do recall Spike had a rebot made that looks exactly like Buffy. And 
one time Buffy was invisible and decided to start... uh... having fun 
with Spike. ("No, this is a bad idea. Hey!... What are you doing down 
there?... That's not fair...")

> So how many shows of Xena have you caught?

Not many. (Not even enough to work out the various characters' names.)

I do recall an episode where Xena's nemesis stole her unborn child's 
soul and wanted Xena's to bring her back to the living world before she 
would relinquish it. So Xena had a bunch of people hold hands and 
meditate to create a non-real world to "rescue" her to... or... 
something. I do remember there was lots of fighting...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> I played HL2 once, and didn't enjoy it very much. The scenary is far too 
> drab and boring.

  You must have played a different HL2 than I did.

  Compare the scenery of HL2 to, for example, the scenery of Doom3 or
Quake4. There just isn't comparison. We are talking about this:

http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/54/150018_full.jpg
http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/54/149822_full.jpg
http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/54/150429_full.jpg

  vs. this:

http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/36/1264_full.jpg
http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/36/1249_full.jpg

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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Warp wrote:
> Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>> I played HL2 once, and didn't enjoy it very much. The scenary is far too 
>> drab and boring.
> 
>   You must have played a different HL2 than I did.
> 
>   Compare the scenery of HL2 to, for example, the scenery of Doom3 or
> Quake4. There just isn't comparison. We are talking about this:


<Derelict trackway overlooked by deserted block of flats>
<Deserted waterway>
<Derelict dockyard overlooking deserted waterway>

>   vs. this:
> 
> http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/36/1264_full.jpg
> http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/36/1249_full.jpg

I'm sorry. On my lame monitor at work, both of these come out jet black.

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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