Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but as promised in my last post, here is a more in-depth reason to my neglecting the Captains Blog.
It's been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks/months and lots of things have been going on that has meant I haven't had the time to concentrate on this blog. It's not a shock to anyone who knows me that I've been suffering sever depression for quite some time, and although occasionally I have good days, the majority of them have been bad.
However, things have been looking up recently and I genuinely feel as though we (the family) have been given a shedload of good fortune. Of course, I haven't discovered a miracle cure for depression, and I do still have occasional lows but it's always nice when many things happen to work in your favour all at once. It all started with a pay rise at work, then Michelle gaining her qualification to become an accredited nail manicurist a few months ago, leading to her starting her own business (www.at-your-fingertips.co.uk) which is proving to be quite a success, to finally being able to afford a larger, bigger and better house and move away from the hell hole that is/was Coronation Street in Evesham.
Anyway, with the school summer holiday now in its 5th week, I've got 3 more weeks to get a ton of jobs done in time for when term starts on the 7th September. Fortunately this year has not been as stressful as last year - as some of you may remember, last year was one hell of a nightmare getting the two school networks merged in to one on time. I definitely lost a few years of my life (and some hair) from that one!
Anyway, there you have it. Yes, I know life has its ups and downs, and the pessimist in me does not expect this to last, but life is fantastic at the moment. Long may it last.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
Commodore Plus 4 Gets a Service
Hello again! Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I will explain why in another post shortly.
Anyway, the reason for posting today is because of a little project I've been doing to restore my Mum and Dad's faulty Commodore Plus 4 (which they have so kindly given to me - Another one to the collection!).
This one only had a faulty 8501 CPU which I was able to replace thanks to a working spare that I fortunately had in another damaged Plus 4.
Today, I got some more heatsinks to put on the chips. Stuck down with some thermal adhesive.... That should mainly keep the MOS8360 TED and MOS8501 CPU cooler. It's amazing how hot these old chips get. It's been on for nearly two hours now and the temperature is definitely cooler than usual. Hopefully it will prolong the life of this 30 year old computer.
Oh that, and a nice clean with some IPA solvent, leaving the motherboard a tad bit cleaner than it was too.
Happy happy!
Anyway, the reason for posting today is because of a little project I've been doing to restore my Mum and Dad's faulty Commodore Plus 4 (which they have so kindly given to me - Another one to the collection!).
This one only had a faulty 8501 CPU which I was able to replace thanks to a working spare that I fortunately had in another damaged Plus 4.
Today, I got some more heatsinks to put on the chips. Stuck down with some thermal adhesive.... That should mainly keep the MOS8360 TED and MOS8501 CPU cooler. It's amazing how hot these old chips get. It's been on for nearly two hours now and the temperature is definitely cooler than usual. Hopefully it will prolong the life of this 30 year old computer.
Oh that, and a nice clean with some IPA solvent, leaving the motherboard a tad bit cleaner than it was too.
Happy happy!
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Sitting on my bum... Because I have to.
"There has been "an alarming increase" in the number of working-age people suffering strokes, with unhealthy lifestyles being seen as the main cause." They mention television and computer games (as they always do).
These news reports annoy me. They're very quick at criticising those who sit on their bums all day, watching TV or playing computer games.
The problem isn't watching TV or playing computer games. I love playing computer games... I always have and always will, and that will never change. I'm a computer nerd, however I spend 8 hours of the day sat in front of a computer not playing computer games because it's my job. YES, THAT'S RIGHT, the majority of my day is spent in front of a computer because I have too - I make a living from it. Is that any different to sitting at home playing games? Why not mention that when writing these articles since so many of us have to sit at work?
So if the chances of me suffering a stroke are increased because of that, maybe I should get danger pay? After all, what they are saying is that my job is dangerous to my health.
Also, if they're going to whinge at those watching TV as well, why not have a go at those who sit on their bums and read books.... play board games.... draw/paint... etc.?
Sitting on our bums doing things is a part of life! How easy it is to single out TV and computers for the health problems of today.
Friday, May 01, 2015
Moving Right Along...
It was inevitable... It had to happen eventually... We're moving house! (again)
For the 5th (and hopefully final time) in 13 years, we've decided that our current house is just too small for such a large family, and are now moving from a tiny 3 bedroom terraced house which barely has enough room to swing a cat, to a detached 4 bedroom family house.
So as I write this, I am surrounded with lots of cardboard boxes and not stressing too much (at the moment). We get the keys to the new house next week, and don't have to be out of our current one until the end of the month. Fortunately this means we'll have a good couple of weeks to gradually get stuff moved to the new house.
So, what are the benefits of the new home.... Well, other than the extra space, I can think of a few immediately....
TWO TOILETS! Oh yes. No more will there be queues to take a pee in the morning. No longer will I have to endure Kieran, Kayleigh or Sophie asking to go to the toilet whilst I quickly cover myself in bubbles to avoid embarrassment in the bath tub. See, something you'd think would be standard for most families these days is still lacking in many houses.
The living room in the new house is over twice the size of our current one. We struggle with the limited space we have at the moment - not for much longer!
Strangely, even after gaining an extra bedroom, you'd think the girls would like a room each... Nope. Sophie and Kayleigh want to carry on sharing, meaning we'll have a spare room for visitors and storage.
A driveway for several cars. No more will I have to worry about people blocking my driveway when we go away.
Of course, the best thing of all is that I get my own Man Cave. A place where I can display my Star Trek memorabilia with pride (and without embarrassing Michelle), and a place where I can set up my retro computers and game consoles.
Here's some piccies of the new house (minus a few of the bedrooms).
I admit, we will be a little sad to say goodbye to the old house. We've been here for nearly 10 years, and have watched Kieran grow. He was only 10 months old when we moved in, and now he's 10 years old!
Oh well.... Back to more packing.
For the 5th (and hopefully final time) in 13 years, we've decided that our current house is just too small for such a large family, and are now moving from a tiny 3 bedroom terraced house which barely has enough room to swing a cat, to a detached 4 bedroom family house.
So as I write this, I am surrounded with lots of cardboard boxes and not stressing too much (at the moment). We get the keys to the new house next week, and don't have to be out of our current one until the end of the month. Fortunately this means we'll have a good couple of weeks to gradually get stuff moved to the new house.
So, what are the benefits of the new home.... Well, other than the extra space, I can think of a few immediately....
TWO TOILETS! Oh yes. No more will there be queues to take a pee in the morning. No longer will I have to endure Kieran, Kayleigh or Sophie asking to go to the toilet whilst I quickly cover myself in bubbles to avoid embarrassment in the bath tub. See, something you'd think would be standard for most families these days is still lacking in many houses.
The living room in the new house is over twice the size of our current one. We struggle with the limited space we have at the moment - not for much longer!
Strangely, even after gaining an extra bedroom, you'd think the girls would like a room each... Nope. Sophie and Kayleigh want to carry on sharing, meaning we'll have a spare room for visitors and storage.
A driveway for several cars. No more will I have to worry about people blocking my driveway when we go away.
Of course, the best thing of all is that I get my own Man Cave. A place where I can display my Star Trek memorabilia with pride (and without embarrassing Michelle), and a place where I can set up my retro computers and game consoles.
Here's some piccies of the new house (minus a few of the bedrooms).
The main hallway, dining room, and open plan stairs leading up to the 4 bedrooms and upstairs bathroom.
The living room
The master bedroom (not too keen on the mirrors!)
Kayleigh and Sophie's bedroom, plus the landing leading to the bathroom.
Bathroom
Downstairs study. Michelle is using this room for when doing nails and girly stuff
Kitchen
Kitchen
The Man Room (ahem) Utility Room.
The Man Room (ahem) Utility Room.
The back garden. It needs a bit of de-weeding, but the estate agents said they would do it for us before we move in. How nice.
I admit, we will be a little sad to say goodbye to the old house. We've been here for nearly 10 years, and have watched Kieran grow. He was only 10 months old when we moved in, and now he's 10 years old!
Oh well.... Back to more packing.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Alive and Kick'Starting'
Kickstarter is addictive.... There I said it.
Last year, I backed my first Kickstarter... a book called "Commodore 64: a visual Commpendium", by Sam Dyer, and published by Bitmap Books. It surpassed all expectations and became quite a hit with fans of the Commodore 64 (including me).
So, when I heard that Sam was producing a follow up book entitled "Commodore Amiga: a visual Commpendium", I just had to back it immediately.
The book had a target goal of £25,000 so I think it came as a bit of a surprise to most when the total amount pledged to the project came in at just short of £130,000. Wow. It just goes to show how much love there is for the old Commodore computers.
Anyway, after several months of waiting, the book finally arrived through the letterbox today, and WOW.
The book is fantastic, and considerably larger than the Commodore 64 one. The graphics on each page depicting various well known games are truly remarkable, with a small piece of text from well known people from the Amiga days (game/demo programmers, designers, graphic artists and fans)
AND due to the massive success of the project, backers also get loads of cool extras with the book as standard.
Amiga Book - http://www.funstock.co.uk/commodore-amiga-a-visual-commpendium-book
C64 Book - http://www.funstock.co.uk/commodore-64-a-visual-commpendium-c64-book
Now, I've just got to wait for the other Kickstarter projects I've backed to arrive, including Matt Gray's "Reformation" C64 music project, From Bedrooms to Billions : The Amiga Years, Marcel Donne's "Project Sidologie" CD Box set, and Uncle Art's Elite 2 (Frontier) Orchestral and Retrogaming Music Remakes.
Last year, I backed my first Kickstarter... a book called "Commodore 64: a visual Commpendium", by Sam Dyer, and published by Bitmap Books. It surpassed all expectations and became quite a hit with fans of the Commodore 64 (including me).
So, when I heard that Sam was producing a follow up book entitled "Commodore Amiga: a visual Commpendium", I just had to back it immediately.
The book had a target goal of £25,000 so I think it came as a bit of a surprise to most when the total amount pledged to the project came in at just short of £130,000. Wow. It just goes to show how much love there is for the old Commodore computers.
Anyway, after several months of waiting, the book finally arrived through the letterbox today, and WOW.
The book is fantastic, and considerably larger than the Commodore 64 one. The graphics on each page depicting various well known games are truly remarkable, with a small piece of text from well known people from the Amiga days (game/demo programmers, designers, graphic artists and fans)
AND due to the massive success of the project, backers also get loads of cool extras with the book as standard.
- Shadow of the Beast 2015 Remix CD by Tim Wright (CoLD SToRAGE)
- I Love Commodore Amiga Sticker
- Metal Amiga engraved bookmark
- Amiga pen
- Amiga Ball Pin
- 6x Demoscene postcards (one signed by the author of the book)
- Another World poster
- Ask Me About Loom badge (from The Secret of Monkey Island) Limited to first 100 Backers
Amiga Book - http://www.funstock.co.uk/commodore-amiga-a-visual-commpendium-book
C64 Book - http://www.funstock.co.uk/commodore-64-a-visual-commpendium-c64-book
Now, I've just got to wait for the other Kickstarter projects I've backed to arrive, including Matt Gray's "Reformation" C64 music project, From Bedrooms to Billions : The Amiga Years, Marcel Donne's "Project Sidologie" CD Box set, and Uncle Art's Elite 2 (Frontier) Orchestral and Retrogaming Music Remakes.
Both Books - the Amiga Commpendium and the C64 Commpendium.
Both Books - the Amiga Commpendium and the C64 Commpendium.
Remember this from The Secret of Monkey Island?
Demoscene Postcards
A3 Poster from the cover of Another World
Shadow of the Beast 2015 Remix CD by Tim Wright
Sticker!
The full booty!
Oh yeah, I got my name in the book as an official backer!
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Please wait... Loading.
One of the great things about loading old cassette games on the Commodore 64 were the fantastic loading pictures that would often appear (usually accompanied with some equally fantastic music). It usually made the wait for the game to load much more tolerable
I thought I would share with you some of my favourites. Not bad considering the graphical limitations of the Commodore 64. Remember, the C64 had a palette of only 16 colours!
I thought I would share with you some of my favourites. Not bad considering the graphical limitations of the Commodore 64. Remember, the C64 had a palette of only 16 colours!
After Burner
Arkanoid
Back To The Future Part II
Batman The Caped Crusader
Buggy Boy
Cobra
Dan Dare - Pilot of the Future
Dark Side
Dominator
Driller
Druid 2
Druid
Fairlight
Head Over Heels
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Robocop
Short Circuit
The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars
The Sentinel
The Untouchables
Total Recall
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)