A Walk in the Snow

This was probably the last snowfall of the winter so thought you might like a walk out into the hills with me to enjoy it. 

Gold Panning

Last year I realised I was losing my motivation to keep myself fit. Climbing hills just for the sake of climbing hills didn’t do it for me any longer and I was spending more and more time at the PC and less and less time in the hills. It wasn’t long before health problems began to surface and I knew I had to address this issue.

After thinking about it I came to the conclusion I needed an active hobby which I would enjoy so much that fitness would be a by product. After looking around I eventually decided to try gold panning. It worked. The gold now drags me out into the hills and fitness is something that results from it.

Don’t think gold panning is romantic either, it’s hard work! Basically you’re moving heavy rocks around all day, like convicts used to do, only you’re working in cold rivers and streams.

Here you can see my working gear. The pump is a gravel pump (home made) which is used to pump gravel from the river bed into the garden sieve in the bucket. The sieve gets rid of most of the lumpy rock for you. From the bucket the light gravel is then fed with a trowel into the small sluice which you can see in the river. The water running through the sluice washes out the gravel and other rubbish while the gold gets caught in riffles built into the base along with black sand and other heavy material. From the sluice the concentrates go into the gold pan (to the left of the sluice) and then you pan out the rest of the concentrate until you have your gold.

And hopefully you’ll find some of this nice stuff!

One World and Fraps

Been meaning to buy the full version of Fraps for a while so I could start messing around with making videos. Yesterday Fraps joined my software collection (all my software is paid for) and I set to work. Windows Movie Maker is fairly simple to figure out. No doubt as my skills improve with experience I’ll be looking for something more powerful to play with but for now it’s fine. Here is my video of One World, my contribution to The Skribblerz Stonez 2 project.

Frog Love

Was out in the hills last week and discovered a couple of frogs enjoying an intimate moment. For some reason I always thought frogs did it one on top of the other, like tortoises, but I guess not. The guy has his arms around the female in a tight embrace and the female sure looks like she’s enjoying herself despite the nosy creature gawking at them in amazement from that strange world outside the pool.

Flashback

With the release of Paolone’s next generation Tomb Raider Level Editor, which opened up a whole new world for Tomb Raider Level Designers using The Last Revelation editor released by Core a few years back, I desperately wanted to remake my older levels to bring them up to a superb standard of atmosphere and gameplay. 

Flashback is a completely rebuilt version of 4 of my earlier games – Genesis, Exodus, The Loch and The Lake of Fire. A colossal amount of work, it was recently released to rave reviews and went straight to No 14 in the all time charts at a major International Tomb Raider site hosting nearly 2,000 custom levels.

Skribblerz Forums Close their Doors

After two years of running and moderating the Skribblerz Forums, two weeks ago I closed the doors. There were many reasons for this but the most important was that it was a time management decision. Four hours a day, every day, was what it took to moderate that place. That’s a lot of time.

Shortly afterwards, Agnes from the Levelbase Tribune, a Tomb Raider online ezine, approached me regarding a short interview regarding the closure of the forums. Here is the interview:

http://newtribune.laraslevelbase.org/english/?p=137

Recently the Skribblerz forum has closed and many Raiders are missing it. However, the forum didn’t close due to inactivity but rather because of the phenomenal success of the Skribblerz main site. In February Skribblerz.com smashed the 6000 visitors barrier while generating almost three quarters of a million hits. 10,000 visitors and a million hits every month is not that far away.

I asked George Maciver about the closing of the forums and about the future of Skribblerz.

Agnes: Hi, George, thank you for this opportunity to ask a few questions regarding the closing of the Skribblerz Forum, as many Raiders and Level Builders would like to know what happened. What was the reason for the closure after all these successful years? Most of us feel sorry about it.

GMac: Hi Agnes, thank you very much for this opportunity to explain things, it’s appreciated. The closing of the forums was simply a time management decision so we could channel all of our efforts into the main Skribblerz site which is growing at a phenomenal rate. This wasn’t a step backwards, it was a positive move forwards so we can take Skribblerz.com to the next stage of growth and development. As you’ve mentioned, Skribblerz.com is not far away from generating one million hits very month. This is serious internet traffic and it demands much more attention than it’s getting now. Level Reports, level hosting, tutorials and the new objects section require time to develop. The forum was taking up around 4 hours of my day, every day, to moderate and that was time I just did not have. However, we have opened a small private forum for those of us who work on Skribblerz.com.

Agnes: Skribblerz has not really gone then, fortunately, so there’s still a place where Raiders and Level Designers can meet. Could you tell us something about this other forum?

GMac: The new forums are small, cosy and private. There is no need for moderating these new forums, it is simply a workplace where those who are involved in Skribblerz.com can prepare their Level Reports, tutorials and other bits and pieces in support of the main site. As far as news and information on current TR projects under construction, screenshots and information are available at the TRLD site which anyone can join > Tomb Raider Level Designers (TRLD)

Agnes: And for the future?

GMac: The future looks incredible. I had no idea that Skribblerz.com would grow into the site it is today. We’ve just opened the new Objects section where work by such accomplished Builders as Cowboy, Titak and EssGee are already hosted. We have other projects planned and, of course, we will continue to add to the library of top quality Custom Levels.

Agnes: I thank you for the great support you gave and have given to the Tomb Raider Community over the years, and I wish you and Skribblerz the best for the future!

GMac: Thank you very much Agnes, and thank you for your contributions to the TR Community as well.

 Some links:
Forum – Tomb Raider Level Designers (TRLD)
Skribblerz
GMac at MySpace
One World at Amazon (also available at Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.ca and Amazon.fr

Out of Debt

It’s lunch time. I’ve nipped out from work to pop down to the bank. There is a spring in my step. I can’t help smiling at the cashier as I hand her my debt card and a payin slip to make a payment.

‘It’s a lovely day,’ I say.
She smiles in return and checks the details.
‘Er,’ she says, ‘you’re paying in more than you owe.’
‘That’s right.’
She looks at me quizzically.
‘Don’t you want to just pay the amount outstanding on your card?’
I can’t keep the grin off my face.
‘No, I’d like to pay a little more.’

A few moments later I wandered out into the warm sunshine and headed off for some lunch. That was my last debt paid off. It’s taken me 8 years. I owe not a penny to anyone. I now have a credit card, not a debt card. The Bank owes ME money and that’s how it’s damn well going to stay from now on.

Enough is Enough

Out shopping . . .

It’s a lovely day. I’m strolling along the pavement, enjoying the weather, on the lookout for a shop or two. There is a woman pushing a pram coming towards me, her young daughter walking beside her. Sweet.

Then this guy tries to walk past them. He’s obviously in a hurry. Only problem is, he’s on one side of the pavement and the pram and the little girl take up the rest. I’m walking in the middle. They all keep coming. Er, do they expect me to disappear or something? I keep walking. At the last minute I stop walking. The guy brushes past one side of me and the woman pushing the pram veers round the other side of me. I carry on walking.

Somewhere in a supermarket . . .

There is a gentleman with a trolley checking tins and stuff on one side, there is an elderly woman on the right checking packets of some dried crap or other. And there is a woman coming towards me pushing her trolley with her husband tagging along. They push between the other 2 trolleys, effectively blocking the aisle.

Being the gentleman I am, I push my trolley to one side, park my trolley behind the woman checking the dried packets, and wait for the woman and her husband to pass.

The woman pushing the trolley suddenly stops to look at stuff on shelves. Huh? Can’t she see I’ve pushed my trolley to one side to allow her to pass? Geez. Take a deep sigh and wait patiently.

A few seconds later she starts pushing her trolley again. Oh goodie! But no. She pushes her trolley alongside mine and stops again. I’m effectively blocked in because the other woman’s trolley is directly in front of me.

Excuse me, says the woman, leaving her trolley and pushing in behind me, but you’re blocking the aisle and I can’t get at what I need.

Did I hear right? This woman is accusing me of blocking her from getting what she wants from the shelves? I dunno, what kind of gormless animals are these people? With a dumfounded shake of my head, I reverse my trolley and go round the other side of her trolley and leave them.

On the way home . . .

There are 4 of them. 3 guys and a girl. All teenagers. Walking towards me, walking abreast, effectively taking up the whole pavement. I clock them, move right over to the edge of the pavement to make room for them and carry on walking. Only a few yards between us now. They’ve not budged. Still walking towards me side by side, laughing and joking, blocking the pavement.

Okay, it’s decision time. Do I step into the gutter to allow 4 assholes to walk past me? Nah, I’ve had enough. My shoulder smacks the nearest guy and he staggers across the pavement. I walk on. He shouts something after me, but I walk on and ignore him.

Do you want to know what’s scary? Try to fathom what’s going on in their heads that people could be so stupid? 20 channels of soap operas and the Daily Mail, that’s about it. Now, that’s scary.

This Thing called Writing

 

Monday The weather is lousy. Lashing rain outside and my in tray is overflowing again. Damn, how come paperwork piles up like that? Where does it all come from? Why do so many people demand so much of my time? It’s going to take all day. Okay, after much deliberation, I’ll take the day off from writing and wade through it. Can’t write anyway with all this junk in my head. Got to clear the mess, tidy the cupboards, wash the dishes, and wipe off the grimy rings round the bath. How come my head gets into such a mess? When was the last time I missed a days’ writing? Guilt mixes with frustration. But I plough through the paperwork and get it sorted. I’ve just time for something to eat before rushing off to jujitsu. Tuesday Found a second hand washing machine in an ad and went off to look at it in a village forty odd miles away. Horrendous weather, but I made the journey. Life’s no fun when your laundry basket is full and you’ve no clean underwear. The washing machine looks okay, but time is racing on eh. I should be writing. The screen is on, Word is open, I can see the page. I put my fingers to the keyboard, but my arms slump to my side. My brain is not happy. The pressure is intense. My head’s swimming. Pressure. It’s hard to keep my eyes open. Okay, I’ll lie down just for a minute. Two hours pass before I wake up. Oh no, I’ve not done any writing yet. It’s early evening, time to make dinner. Maybe I’ll just let it slip for today. ‘No you won’t dickhead, have something to eat and get your writing done.’ ‘It’s not my fault I fell asleep.’ ‘You set your goals, you MUST keep them.’ ‘What’s missing one day?’ ‘It’s two days now.’ ‘So?’ ‘Five hundred words, that’s the minimum daily target you’ve set yourself. You have to do it.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Do you want to be a writer or not?’ That ended the argument. After dinner I switched on the computer and started typing. Somehow my mind fell into the story and I got there. What a relief. Let’s hope tomorrow is better eh. Wednesday Why can’t I write? What’s the matter with me? What am I doing? Sitting here, day after day, week after week, year after year – for what? Six years now and still no publishing deal. Why do I bother? Maybe I’ll never be published. Maybe I’m just some loser with his head up his butt, dreaming about the impossible. Look at me, I can’t even afford a new washing machine; I’m out scrounging cheap second hand rubbish. I can see the words on the screen but I’m not in there. I’m not in the story. I don’t even want to be. How can I write under this kind of pressure? Everywhere I go life is fighting me. Why can’t it just let up for once? Okay, you’ve got fifty words down, get the next fifty out. Job and knock, once you reach 500 words, you’re out of here. But it’s all garbage! Just write, idiot! I check the word counter for the twentieth time. I’ve done 502 words. The computer gets switched off and I breathe deeply to try to clear the pressure. Thursday It’s two in the afternoon. I should be writing, but I’m not. I’m playing Tomb Raider. I don’t give a damn either. I don’t have to write every day if I don’t want to. But the guilt is pressing me down. The pressure is clouding my mind. I blaze away at some baddie and Lara smokes the dude. ‘Okay! Okay!’ I shout out loud, not caring what the neighbours think. I get up and stomp around the room. ‘I’ll do it! I’ll do it!’ The screen is on, Word is open, the chapter is before me. But I can’t jump inside the story. I just can’t do it. ‘You can! You can!‘ The words come from somewhere, but I’m damned if I know where. Okay, you’ve managed a sentence, try another. Friday Like a bedraggled survivor of a storm, I punch my calculator and tot up my weeks work. I’ve done 2014 words of first draft. It was a fight, but I didn’t quit. In my heart, that’s how I know I’m going to be a writer. Monday Sailed through over a thousand words and it was brilliant. Enjoyed every minute of it. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. Hey, this writing is a lark eh? Piece of cake. Damn this is great! Who would want to do anything else?