iand.net

Lot’s happening but not a lot of time to write about it, so in no particular order…

• Gears of War - done! Well, on hardcore anyway. Now playing through it on insane - a lot tougher. Act 5 (last level) is very short though and while the train seems novel at first it doesn’t have the variety of earlier acts. There’s also some inspiration from the Matrix in that level but I guess it’s no bad thing. Two short games of multiplayer in the last week have confirmed what a fun game it is. Still an overall feeling of a rushed game.
• Pro Evo 6 has been patched. It fixes the online button lag but the game still feels…wrong. Never did get my thoughts up on the 360 version but in summation - a good game with flaws…Konami is the new EA.
• Another howling night of wind and rain. A quick trip out this morning and there was a lot of surface water around Glasgow - there will surely be quite a bit of flooding in the next few days. It’s also so mild - who said global warming isn’t making a difference.
• After Shakeels accident on the Kingston Bridge last weekend there have been two motoring deaths this weekend on the bridge. Puts things into perspective…good to still have you around Shak.
• Three weeks tomorrow is Christmas Day. Next week I finish work for the Christmas holidays. I C A N N O T wait…the last few months have been pretty frustrating.
• My Lifestream is now online. Early days yet but shows some promise. Plugin here.
• Tiger Woods 07 on the 360 is a very good game. Much improved over previous Tiger games from EA, this is actually hard as long as you play it at Tour difficulty i.e. turn off the arcade shite that EA feel they have to add to a golf (well any sports) game. My golfer is now looking disturbingly like me. Yep - that bad.
• I resisted buying a Macbook on Friday. The temptation was strong but having to pay for MOT, service, road tax, car insurance, house insurance in a four week period (oh - and Christmas) means funds aren’t what they should be. Next year though…it shall be done. I’m still loving the Mac in case you need a hint, despite not being cool enough to own one.
• I’m back watching Lost. First three episodes of season 3 have been pretty good - hope it continues.
• Did I mention that I stop work on the 15th Dec to return on the 8th Jan? Bliss.

Well it really is the calm after the storm - today is fresher, clearer and a lot drier. BBC News has some great pictures from last night including mine’s at picture 7. Hopefully my first and last mention on BBC News.

Wow. That’s the most intense lightning storm I’ve seen in Glasgow. In fact that’s the most intense lightning storm I’ve ever seen. Lasted about an hour, torrential rain and a massive amount of lightning and thunder. I’ve uploaded some pics to Flickr. Enjoy - I did.

Was I the only one that liked the new BBC weather graphics? More detailed, easier to understand and bang up to date. I wasn’t even bothered by the angle the UK was looked at but it has been changed so that Scotland is more in proportion - and it works.

Annoyingly the SNP are now claiming a victory over this change. How sad. One MP even raised a motion in the House of Commons for the map to be changed - great use of political time. The Tartan Tories strike again.