Anyway, I managed to quickly plough through the first season in about 2 weeks and I’m pleased to say on the whole it has aged well. Production values still look good, the actors nailed the characters early on and the stories are a lot of fun. The downside to watching any tv show back to back is that the character and relationship developments at times feel like they are rushed, but that’s a trick of the mind. You have to remember that usually a 22 episode series will span nearly half a year!

The basic premise is astronaut John Chrichton gets slung through a wormhole to another part of the universe and lands on a prison ship in the middle of a breakout. This prison ship is a living ship and the prisoners on board are a priest called Zhaan, a warrior D’Argo and a dethroned monarch called Rygel. In addition to this is Pilot, an alien that’s plugged into the ship (Moya) and who as his name dictates is the pilot of the ship. They of course escape and spend the rest of the show on the run from the Peacekeepers who are not as nice as their name might suggest.

One of my favourite aspects of the show is the thing that put a lot of people off it, the wonderful creations of the Jim Henson Creature Company. I used to hate it when people said it was “Muppets in space”. To call these creations muppets is a bit of an insult, the design of the characters is brilliant and as the seasons go on they get even better. The Scarrens are a particular favourite of mine.

The highlight of season 1 for me is the introduction of Scorpius who to this day is my favourite SF villain. What I like about him is that he is so intelligent. Whilst a whole base of Peacekeepers are fooled by John, Scorpius calls him on it instantly. Sure he has certain special abilities, but I like how Scorp cuts out the BS and gets things done. He’s not a stereotypical villain who will go at great lengths to explain his plans to the enemy, he just gets in there and does things.

So then, any bad sides? Very little for me. There’s the occasional boring or low budget episode (“Jeremiah Chrichton”) and I found the rock music a bit intrusive early on in the season. Ben Browder’s acting is a bit OTT/hammy at times but Farscape doesn’t take itself too seriously so it’s all part of the fun.

Overall Farscape has aged well and is just as much fun watching a second time. I think it will be a while before I move onto Season 2 (mainly due to cost!) but I really look forward to it as I have fond memories especially once Chrichton has a Scorpius inside his head (way before BSG did it!).

I will add my own exceptions though:

• Huge releases I will buy regardless. Not just any old game, I mean stuff like Deus Ex: Human Revolution or Valve releases. Games that I’ve been waiting for for years.
• If a game is terrible or I find it a chore to play it gets taken off the list.
• MMOs and mainly multiplayer games are exempt due to the fact you cannot ‘complete’ these games.

So off the top of my head, here are some games that are on my Pile Of Shame:

• Mass Effect
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Sins of a Solar Empire
• Kings Bounty
• Sam & Max series 3
• Monkey Island 5
• Time Gentlemen, Please
• Braid
• The Dig
• Dawn of War 2

That’s plenty to get me going!

Speaking of credit cards, I really need to stop using them. They really are the devil. I’ve done a little debt tracker for them and it’s scary to look at. The good news is my main bank loan will be paid off in about 2 years which frees up a large chunk of money a month that should go towards paying off the cards, and I think a year after that it’s possible we’ll be getting a decent amount of money that could either go towards a new house or pay off any other debt.

Of course this is all in theory. I know what I’m like, and when unexpected things crop up the credit cards tend to come out. However it is worth trying for and so I’ve set up a second current account that I will transfer some monthly ‘me money’ to be used for luxuries for me, I will make sure some money goes into my savings account and the rest is for the bills!

My next post will be related to money saving, and it is an idea borrowed from ‘devious2k’, I’m starting a ‘Pile of Shame’, a list of games I own that I have not completed or in some cases never even installed. The idea is I’m not allowed to buy any new games until then old ones are completed.

I doubt my tutor will notice, names like Hank Pym and Steve Rogers aren’t as recognisable as Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne, but it’s just something to make me smile.

I think I will try to sneak more geek into everything I do. Anyone that ever notices will be a kindered spirit!

Well today I thought dammit, I spent a fortune on this thing and this is 2010, if I want to use new technology I bloody well will! I haven’t had too many comments from staff or students which is good. I actually felt a little uncomfortable when people asked me to ‘justify’ the device.

Bering the geek that I am, I’ve used the database app Bento to create forms for briefing and a checklist for form time. I am forgetful and having a list like that will help me. The fact that it’s not on paper means I won’t lose it either!

So I shall not care what others think, this thing is making me more efficient so all you luddites can think what you want!

It is the most lovely piece of technology I have ever had the pleasure of holding. It’s sleek, sexy and fast. I opted for the 32gb 3G version. I have a nice case for it on order, but the Amazon delivery slot for it is 1-3 months which I think is just code for they aren’t released in the UK yet and they’re just guessing a time frame.

Oh and of course this post was written on the iPad with the WordPress app. I can actually type just as fast on here as a regular keyboard. The downside is I am making more mistakes than usual and the keyboard doesn’t have an apostrophe key. The iPad does compensate somewhat for this with it’s auto correction but it’s a little hard to get used to. I suspect practice will make perfect.

My advice is if you have the money to burn, buy one. It’s the ultimate tech luxury item. If you consume a lot of information and media that is internet or electronic in nature, get one. If you’re not sure then see if you can try one out at an Apple store, but beware they are hard to resist!

I was awake at 4am on Monday 24th May 2010. Any other date and this would be a depressing time to be awake. But today was special. The end of Lost. Was it worth getting up for? Yes. A million times yes.
It goes without saying that I am of course a huge Lost fan. You can call me a fanboy or apologist or whatever you like, I love this show flaws and all and what you are about to read comes from the heart. The reason I’ve not said this is a review is because it probably wont be all that critical.  Of course the rest of this article contains major spoilers, read ahead at your own risk.

I’m not sure where to start to be honest. To stick with the less controversial I’ll go with the on-island events. When all’s been said and done, the on island events are almost trivial. That’s not to say they weren’t entertaining, they were. The Jack and Locke faceoff was satisfying, the danger of the island sinking gave everything a sense of urgency and there was still the uncertainty as to how it would all end. I’m not surprised that it was Hurley who would end up protector of the island, he had been my prediction for a long while. It was a touching moment too when he asked Ben to be his number 2. Mythology wise we got to learn a little more about the light at the centre of the island. Not enough to satisfy everyone as there are people that want to know why or how this ‘magic plug’ works, who built that, how did they know about it etc, the questions could go on forever. I think those people are missing the point of the show. Call it a plot device or a McGuffin, whatever you like. Just accept that this thing does what we’ve been shown it does and take it at face value. The island events end fittingly with Jack in the same place he woke up on the island, bringing things full circle. It wasn’t Jack’s death that turned on the waterworks (which to be honest were on and off all the way through), it was Vincent laying beside him. He didn’t die alone.
<div>

The ‘sideways’ universe is where the heart of the episode was. We finally learn what it is, and it’s something that I think will anger a lot of fans. I’ve already seen the scathing review in io9 and in various comments threads. It’s the same reaction to the end of Battlestar Galactica. The arguments seem to boil down to this: because the endings had religious/spiritual themes and things were left unexplained, that the entire show was a waste of their time. Even if people had been in love with the show, the final 15 minutes ruined it all. Going back to what I said earlier, these people are missing the point. The show has always been about the journey, not the destination. This show has always had mysteries, it’s part of what kept people watching. As each one was solved, a dozen more were created. The important ones were solved though, at least for me. To think everything would be solved in a show like this was to be naive. But apart from the mysteries it was of course the characters and their relationships that defined the show. The stories, the setting, the sci-fi elements are just decoration. Exciting, interesting decoration, but still just things to frame the meat of the show that is the characters.

The final mystery of the sideways universe was explained as some form of existence for those who have died and have yet to move on. Now let’s not confuse this (as some people already have) by saying that they were all dead all along. They weren’t, they died as and when we saw it on the show. The final season showed us where the characters went when they died. They lived out their lives in a world where they didn’t crash on the island. But to move on they needed to resolve their issues, which for most of them was to be with the ones they loved. Christian Shepard managed to explain where they all were with very few words. Like he said, some died before Jack, some died after. This is pretty much confirmed when Hurley and Ben acknowledge their time as guardians of the island.

Was this ‘limbo’ universe a satisfactory way of tying everything up? I think so. Considering what has happened on the show you can’t dismiss it for being unrealistic. Yes the producers made a mistake by early on saying everything would be explained scientifically. I think if they could time travel they’d stop themselves from ever saying that. You could poke holes at the logic of it, even by Lost standards. For example, are we to assume those that escaped on the plane led unfulfilled lives? Did they not go on to fall in love again? I’d have thought at the very least Sawyer and Kate may have got together. My point is the episode was no less enjoyable because of this.

Ok so far I’ve managed not to gush about The End. but gush I have done. Emotionally, The End is perfect. On all but the John Locke flashback/remembering moments I was in tears. Part of this was the choice of flashbacks, most of them being the most emotional and important moments of their lives but also the brilliant, heart stirring music by Michael Giacchino. Each of these scenes brought closure to those characters and to me as a viewer. They all got their happy ending, even if it was in the afterlife.

The End was quite simply brilliant. I could not think of a more perfect ending to the show. In a way I was in that church with them. I’d got the closure I needed, I’d seen all I needed to see, I had my happy ending and I can move on. I honestly don’t feel the need to debate things for all eternity, to pick apart the show for it’s inconsistencies, to list every mystery that wasn’t explained and come up with my own answers for them. I have been taken on the most magnificent journey, one that I can’t imagine being matched or surpassed for a long time.

Although I plan on writing a big ‘thankyou’ article to further praise those that made Lost over the years, I would like to say now a huge thankyou to Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and Michael Giacchino. You guys for me are the heart and soul of Lost.

A perfect ending to a brilliant show:  The End.

</div>

“Our growth and resilience is truly inspiring. The BNP has arrived and will be knocking on the doors of power sooner than some ever imagined!”

Let’s see, they had a 1.8% increase. Assuming their money hasn’t run out and they don’t destroy themselves through in-fighting, and an election every 4 years, why yes you’ll be in power in a few hundred years!

The answer of course is yes. Yes it is sad.

It didn’t take long to realise that she obviously understands much more that we think. So I got her a ‘My first words’ book. It must have over 100 things in it, pictures of animals, people and objects with the words underneath. She’s had it about a week and she can identify probably 20 of those consistently. That’s with probably less than 10 mins per day reading through it. Although she has started forming some words, on the whole she’s not speaking but I do love that for most of the animals she recognises she can do the noises for them if I ask her (again, bright enough to know when I’m asking her to point and when I’m asking her to make the noise).

I’ve no idea where this puts her on average compared to other kids her age, but even if it’s not true I think she’s a little genius. Added to that she’s gorgeous, funny, active and affectionate, I really do count myself the luckiest Dad in the world.