Boz's Bit o' Blog

BBB Cancelled 2012-01-11

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:21:00 -0800

Ello!

Sorry to say that this Wednesday's BBB is cancelled. Real Life stuff - we're renovating several rooms in the house so I will be either busy or tired after a few days' work!

All being well I will be back as normal next week.

Jolan Tru,

Boz.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

A little Q&A on BBB

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:54:00 -0800

Has there been a question that you've always wanted answered? Well now's your chance!

It can be a question about me, the BBB, SLAY Radio, or anything you can think of - any question you within reason! Questions will be answered on the next BBB and subsequent shows if there's enough of them.

Send your questions to:
bbb@bozretro.com

See ya soon!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

2011-09-28: No show this week

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:41:00 -0700

Ello!

Unfortunately there is now show this week, which is a shame because it's also my birthday week. I have picked up some sort of bug that feels like a cold or 'flu but without the massive runny nose - just no life, exploding sinuses and achy joints.

Hopefully I'll be back next week with a post-birthday special!

Boz.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

2011-07-17: Impromptu tonight at 20:00 CEST

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 08:03:00 -0700

Ello y'all!

Just a heads-up that there's an impromptu BBB in a few hours' time!

There's a couple of reasons for this. If you heard last Wednesday's show, you would know that, unfortunately, we had to abandon transmission after trying very hard to keep it going. The bandwidth that SlayHQ's providers had given wasn't up to the task that a live show demands. On a separate note, this had the interesting side-effect of allowing me to experiement with the UStream "BBB Video Show" that I have been toying with for a very long time but have never done anything with. Still, we know it could be good fun every now and then.

On top of that, it's the Hell Months for Sweden - almost everyone has a vacation around July and August. Although I'm "between jobs" and therefore had a vacation forced upon me (not that I was complaining), Mrs. BozRetro's vacation only starts next week. We would like to try and get away on a last-minute vacation, and we also have Parental Units visiting. The outcome of this is that it is highly unlikely that there'll be a BBB for the next two Wednesdays.

But, I wanted to do a show before it all kicks off. Because of the aforementioned vacation and, thankfully, SlayHQ's providers have upgraded the bandwith, so there should be enough for a live show.

Both myself and Slaygon will be closely monitoring the "Half Hour Rehearsal" to make sure all is OK, so I would like to invite to you finish off your Sunday with some BBB MMM (Merriment, Mayhem and Malarkey) tonight (July 17) at 20:00 CEST (19:00 BST; 18:00 UTC/GMT)!

Hope to see you there!

Boz.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

BBB Cancelled this week

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:56:00 -0700

Howdy folks,

Unfortunately this week, Real Life has taken priority and I'm going to have to cancel the show on short notice. But don't worry, I will be back as normal next week and maybe even try and fit in an impromptu!

Seeya soon!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

BBB Cancelled Due to Czech Beer

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Sat, 28 May 2011 10:01:00 -0700

Howdy y'all,

Just to remind you of what I said on the last show - the next BBB (2011-06-01) is cancelled due to the missus and I being in Prague. Neither of us have been before but we've only heard good things about the beautiful scenery and buildings and, of course, the Czech beer!

Remember you can keep up to date with shows by either going to this page on the SLAY Radio website, or by subscribing to the RSS feed at http://www.slayradio.org/rss.php/shows.xml.

Thanks and seeya soon!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Dear Atari: Stop Publishing Crap Remakes!

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Fri, 13 May 2011 02:24:00 -0700

After downloading the "reimagined" Yars' Revenge on XBLA last month and found that it had absolutely nothing to do with the classic Atari Console game that I remember, I was disappointed. The idea was very simple and I just hoped that they had made a game with a similar concept but using the technology they had at their fingers. Instead, it was turned into this 3D insect shmup that has been done so many times before.

But, there has been a buzz around Atari that they were coming out with a new version of Star Raiders, the very first game I played on a computer and what arguably helped define the 3D "space-'em-up" genre. I still fire up an emulator to play the original sometimes, for the sake of nostalgia.

Maybe it's just me, but I was looking forward to going to the Galaxy map, choosing a sector, switching to forward-looking view and pressing Hyperspace, watching some sort of wormhole effect as we warped to the new sector.

Instead, Atari came along and kicked me squarely in the balls. The Star Raiders redux, developed by Incinerator Studios and published by Atari Inc., is shit.

OK, that could be too harsh a summary - it could be that the game, to people who don't remember the original, is actually quite a good space-'em-up with a storyline and shootings and explodings and all the other formulaic crap they've put into it. But it just isn't Star Raiders. That is, it doesn't have any of the spirit of the original, where you were confronted with wave after wave of Zylons, hyperspacing between sectors and flying to your allied space stations to get a supply drone to dock with you.

I was bitterly disappointed when the redux downloaded on my Xbox last night, right from where it started with some throwaway storyline about four anime-style space marines who are Loyal To Star League or Something™ and Good At Their Jobs™ to the first tutorial mission. You're not even INSIDE the ship for Chrissakes. Sure the graphics are lovely to look at - and that's what most developers think we want nowadays. Nope - we want our games back, thank you very much, and this game is just as boring as the umpteen other games I could have downloaded instead.

Have a look at it if you're into this kind of thing and don't remember the original. Me, I've deleted it already and want to punch Atari squarely in the face for this insult.

The original game, just after shooting a Zylon and getting ready to splash another.

The remade version. (Note: may not be entirely accurate and possibly biased by a jaded blogger.)

Permalink | Leave a comment »

The New DorkDen Setup

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:49:00 -0700

It's been something like 9 months, but the new floor has finally been put down in the DorkDen! The BBB show itself hasn't suffered too much from the upheaval - I managed to have a minimized setup when the last parts of the old floor were ripped up - but I've always been very much aware that the DorkDen hasn't been like it should.

Thankfully it's now starting to look how I want it to; the last corner to be set up was the Commodore 64, done on Sunday evening. To give you an idea of the room used every Wednesday when I do a show, I thought I would make a little video explaining what it looks like!

The_New_Dork_Den.m4v Watch on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Golvgubben är klar!

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:09:00 -0700

The floor guy's finished! So I'm setting up the studio ready for tonight's show. Seeya there :)

Show Details

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Happy Easter Everyone!

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:24:00 -0700

MOV00212.3gp Watch on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Gatherings and Changing Wheels

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:05:00 -0700

So the SLAY Radio Gathering has been announced for the first weekend in August, which is Friday August 5 through Sunday August 7. This will be the seventh year that we've done it which is pretty good going. It's always good to catch up with some of the regulars and to see some new faces, something that happens every year.

More information on this year's Gathering can be found on this link.

Sweden, like some other Scandinavian countries, has a law stating that you should swap to Winter tyres if the weather calls for it and I think it's fair to say that the passing winter qualified with snow and ice for something like 5 months. But it was time to change back to normal tyres, a job that I'm starting to get used to. It helps to have a decent jack and, thankfully, Linda's dad bought us a pneumatic jack a few years back (you know, you pump it up with a handle and then turn a valve to lower again).

The trouble is, with so much snow this year, there was a lot of grit and, more importantly, salt on the roads. This causes a rusted bonding to occur between the wheel and the hub. Boy did I find that out this time around! To change four wheels usually takes me about an hour at a relaxed speed. This time it took me about four hours because of the damned rear wheels. I thought I'd write about how I finally got the wheels off in the vain attempt at helping anyone else that has this problem next time they swap over.

In the end I resorted to loosening the nuts slightly - one or two turns - and then driving around the block a couple of times. If you like, you can unroll a window and listen for a little 'clang' when the wheel has loosened.

This worked for the rear-right wheel, but for the rear-left, I had to resort to raw unadulterated violence! I jacked the wheel up (and made sure it was on a sturdy surface), laid on my back and then alternatively kicked the shit out of the left and right sides of the wheel! Eventually the wheel started moving a bit, at which time I could rock it with my hands and it eventually came off.

So that's my advice - don't be afraid to get violent with the wheels! Remember that whatever your hands and feet do to the wheels aren't half as bad as the pummelling they get from driving over potholes and farthinder (speed bumps).

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Chilling in spring

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 06:47:51 -0700

MOV00207.3gp Watch on Posterous

We're setting up the new patio furniture, potting plants, setting the barbecue up and filling the jacuzzi. Yep, as any Scandinavian does, we're celebrating spring to the extreme!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Braaaaiiiiinnnnnsssss!

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:13:00 -0700

There's a talented bunch of listeners out there in SLAY Radio Land and I wanted to give you some info on one of them. Long-time listener and all-round nice guy Nickenstein is involved in creating a game called Project Zomboid, a survival RPG which centres around - yep, you guessed it - a Zombie apocalypse.

The guys at Indie Stone Studios have decided to market it in a similar style to Minecraft in that you can pre-order it now, which guarantees you a lifetime of updates and help keep the team's cupboard full of beans and bread while they finish off the game. I know a few of the SLAY Radio listeners (including me) have already donated money to the cause!

A "first version" of the game is scheduled for release at the end of April; development will then continue to add functionality to the game until it is complete.

Some of the cynics out there may think that it is vapourware but I can assure you that the game does exist and will be released in a quicker life-cycle than some Duke Nukem Forevers that I could mention. And here's the proof: the first video of in-game action! In order to whet your collective appetites, this is a "destroy all Zombies" part of the game; remember that there will be some RPG elements in there too.

My first reactions after seeing the video (and associated screenshots) tells me that this is going to be one of those evil games that make you want to regularly come back for more carnage, and I can't wait for my virtual copy to be delievered!

Project Zomboid is to be released as an in-browser version, or stand-alone for PC, Mac and Linux OSes.

Here's the link to the official Project Zomboid Site. You can pre-order and donate to the cause straight from there - £5 / $8 gives you a lifetime license and a warm feeling inside. Which is more than can be said for the Zombies whose innards you will be splattering all over the place.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

BBB 2011-02-23 Cancelled

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:04:00 -0800

Hi everyone,

This Wednesday's BBB has been cancelled. As an advanced warning, next week's BBB (2011-03-02) will also be cancelled.

This is as a mark of respect for the recent passing of my close friend, C64 "scener" and SLAY Radio staff member Paul "Skitz" Hadrill, who sadly passed away last Wednesday night as a result of his long battle with a brain tumour.

I was in two minds about whether to broadcast a show this week. It would have been a much more sober show with plenty of references to and remixes by Skitz. But in the end, you don't need me to force his memory on you. I decided it was much more dignified to back off for a couple of weeks and let you remember him how you want.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Paul Hadrill; 1971-06-02 to 2011-02-16.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

BBB 2011-02-09 CANCELLED

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:50:00 -0800

Hi Folks,

I'm really sorry for the short notice, but I've had to cancel this week's BBB. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong; it's just that Real Life (i.e. work) took all my energy this week.

All being well, I'll be back next week as normal!

Take care,

Boz.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

BBB 2011-01-19 Cancelled

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:28:28 -0800

Ello everypeeps,

Just in case you missed my announcement on last week's show, or you weren't listening, please note that this Wednesday's BBB is cancelled. The reason is that it's our third wedding anniversary on the same day so we'll be going out for a romantic meal.

I'm sure some of you were hoping for a Linda and Boz BBB special, but - fun though it would be - it's not really the most romantic thing we could do ;)

But I should be back for next Wednesday as usual!

Please remember that you can always see what shows are coming up by subscribing to the SLAY Radio RSS feed:
http://www.slayradio.org/rss.php/shows.xml

See you soon!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

First Week with the Kinect

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:00:00 -0800

So as you probably know by now, we decided to get a Kinect for the Xbox 360 which came out last Wednesday. The Big Three consoles now all have their own "hands-free" controllers now, of course, but there's been interest in the Kinect because it truly is hands-free; there's no wand to be held.

First impressions? Overall it's fantastic! Once you've gone through the calibration of the system (and optional fine-tuning, which I recommend for rock-solid recognition) you're good to go. Below you'll see a list of Good, Bad and Neutral points; these are all personal observations of course.

Before I get into that though, there's a side-story to tell. A while back the missus and I decided to split the usual living room contents into two rooms. The living room on the ground floor would be a place to socialize without the idiot box becoming the central piece. We could read, dine, listen to music and entertain guests. We then converted one of the spare bedrooms to a Media Room, where the TV, DVD and XBox 360 lives.

One thing you need to know about the Kinect is that it likes a lot of space - at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) is needed from the TV to get a decent play experience going. The Media room is quite small and we only just managed to make a clear space. Even then, two-player games were a definite no and there were a couple of times I hit the wall to the left or the sofa behind me.

I mentioned this in passing to Linda last Sunday. I happened to tell her at the right time though, it seems, because she turned into Mrs. On-a-Mission, which she is wont to do from time to time.

To get to the crux of the story, we visited both Media Markt and IKEA that very day to buy a new Xbox 360 S, a new 40" TV and a second "Poäng" lounge chair and changed the living room around a bit. So the Media Room stays as it is and a portion of the living room has now become the Virtual Play Area. The Kinect has now become one of the more expensive items we've bought, if you throw in all the extra stuff we bought just to get a good experience out of it. Such is life!

Anyway, onto my observations.

Good Points

No controllers in the hand
Rock-Solid recognition. Set up the Xbox to recognize you when you come into the play area - works like a charm!
Skeletal recognition has been spot-on. To paraphrase an English expression, it can tell my arse from my elbow
Included game (Kinect Adventures) was a good choice; really gives you a good impression of what Kinect is all about
Microphone calibration (on setup) is good. This allows for Noise Cancellation, so when you are in a video chat (for example), any background ambience or sound coming from the Xbox itself is removed
Built-in servos allow the Kinect to move up or down to keep you in the picture
3D positioning is spot on - it knows when you're moving toward or away from the screen as well as left and right.

Bad Points

First wave of games not to everyone's taste. In order to appeal to families, especially coming out for the Holiday Season, Microsoft have focused on family-orientated games. Personally I have no problem with that (as I'm having fun with Kinect Adventures and working out with Your Shape: Fitness Evolved), I can see that some people will be disappointed.
You need space - LOTS of space. Microsoft recommend between 1.8 and 3 meters (6 to 10 feet) which I agree with, so if you have a small game room, rather than having the Xbox in a big living room, you're going to have trouble.
Voice recognition is not yet available here in mainland Europe. That was another selling point to me when I pre-ordered it; then I read the news that it won't be switched on at launch, instead coming in Spring 2011. BOO to Microsoft.

Neutral Points

There's been some rumblings about the delay between you moving and the Kinect keeping up. While I have noticed this delay (for instance looking in the Kinect Tuner where you can "see" your body as Kinect sees it), it's not been a problem in anything I've played with - even Your Shape: Fitness Evolved which, with some activities, needs you to keep in time with the virtual fitness instructor.
You're not going to get the most awe-inspiring snapshots from the RGB camera - it's a VGA (640x480) camera using a Bayer filter so the picture can be a bit "speckly", especially in low light conditions. But you don't really buy a Kinect to become the next Photographer of the Year. Much fun is to be had from the likes of Kinect Adventures when it takes a snapshot of you mid-game and the pictures are decent enough to share - if you are brave enough!
Some people have moaned about the price. For the kind of electro-magic packed inside the unit, I'd say you were getting a bloody great bargain.

So, to sum up: Kinect == Good! It's not going to be to everyone's taste, but then again, nothing ever is. I recommend you at least try it out though; go to your local store or, even better, go to a friend's house who has one and test it in the "real world".

Would it be worth buying an Xbox just for the Kinect? Personally I would have done, but again, this goes back to the point about the range of games on launch. It's not going to replace your first-person shooter anytime soon.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Yes, of course we got a Kinect

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:26:00 -0800

It arrived a day after the release date, thanks to the lacklustre Swedish Posten, but it's arrived - the Kinect that we had pre-ordered in July. There's mixed reviews come out, but then again, there always is with stuff like this.

Proponents of Kinect are enthused with the feedback and clarity of knowing where everyone is in the room. The first wave of games that came out at the same time are very "Family Friendly" and that reflects the drive that Microsoft wanted ready for the holiday season. Kinect Adventures is included in the pack and is a great way of getting used to having a hands-free controller - a bonus being that it takes random photos of you which you can post to Facebook later on and show everyone what an idiot you look like when playing.

Opponents of Kinect mention the relative shallowness of the games so far ("too" family friendly) and some people have been having problems getting Kinect to follow them properly - but that is explained quite clearly by the Kinect help guides that you need to wear clothes that contrast with the room colours and have good lighting.

Reviews are only ever other peoples' opinions though. Personally, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with Kinect!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Six Years and Counting

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:50:00 -0700

When I first started broadcasting the BBB, it was an acronym for the "Bowness Bit o' Bollocks", with my surname, Bowness, being said slightly differently to sound like "Bonus". This was because it was an irregular mid-week bonus to The Z Show which was transmitted every Sunday with co-host Kenz. On 18 June 2005 I moved to Sweden. This meant the end of Z of course - while one could theoretically have two hosts in two locations, it just doesn't have the same dynamics because two people feed off each other with body language as well as speech. The BBB had become regular and - thanks to Slaygon - continued almost immediately after my move. The show came simply to be known as BBB and, for the sake of closure, was given the backronym of "Boz's Bit o' Bollocks".

The first BBB was on Wednesday 3rd November 2004. Tomorrow I would have been doing the show for six years. Initially, when I had worked out the dates, my reaction was "who'd have thunk it?" But the more I think about it, the less surprised I am.

I am, after all, doing a hobby which I enjoy. I'm playing remixes of old Commodore 64 tunes, which satisfies both the inner child and the inner geek. I was at the right age to own and appreciate a C64 and the SID soundchip inside, especially with the "two generations" of composers that came along[1] - hence, the inner child. Like-minded people came along, listened to the originals and made remixes using modern equipment - the inner geek.

More importantly, there's the listeners. The listener count has waxed and waned over the years but there has always been a core of regulars, some of which I have had the opportunity to meet in real life and some of whom have become good friends. The regulars know how the show works and I can count on them to come up with a line on the chat service that feeds my next dialogue between two songs.

I've never pretended to be professional by any stretch of the imagination. As I mentioned, it's just a hobby. When one thinks about it, it's just a random bloke from the Midlands playing tunes that he likes to play and having a laugh with a bunch of other guys that just happen to be listening.

That's the best feeling anyone can have.

Here's to six years of the BBB. Maybe we can raise our glasses in four years' time for the Big Round Number.

Thanks everyone!

[1] I've always thought that there were two major generations of SID composers. The first wave included the likes of Hubbard, Galway, Daglish et al. The second wave was Maniacs of Noise, the Follin brothers and so on.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Unnecessary Thrust Dance

bbb@bozretro.com (Alistair "Boz" Bowness) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:17:32 -0700

BozThrust.m4v Watch on Posterous

So, picture the scene if you will, dear reader. It was my 40th birthday party. It is in full swing and everyone is dancing to Doop. I'm wearing a white T-Shirt which came with special material-friendly felt-tip pens for people to write and draw on (thanks Anne and Mark!), and Andreas and I come down the stairs after lining up a few songs on the laptop and have to join in with the dancing. Because Linda (who is filming) is on the ground level and I'm a few steps up, a rather disturbing camera angle ensues...

Permalink | Leave a comment »