New Anime Series- Nisemonogatari

March 6, 2012 by Mark Myers Leave a comment

First Episode Review for: Nisemonogatari

Summary : A quite reasonable guy (for anime hero standards) who’s world seems to be filled with only strange women and who seems to be a vampire of some sort, who knows other supernatural creatures and sometimes gets kidnapped tries to live his life (look don’t ask me I’m as confused as you are) but does all this strangeness have something to do with his possessive sisters?

Animation : Washed out and highly detailed but strangely abstract, like a modern artist was put in charge of a world filled with normal people

Plot Potential: Sodded if I know at this stage, but there are references to other anime so I suspect it will be a parody of some sort

Characters: Strangely formal but hugely endearing characters, all highly philosophical but innocent with it

Music: A lot of adding music to speeches for dramatic emphasis, the opening theme is very catchy

Reminds me of: An even odder Mawaru-Penguindrum (but with less humor)

Overall: This series started with a total WTF!! moved to a section that contains lots of WTF, but thankfully only ended in confusion, I think I need to watch more
EDIT: episode 2 makes more sense but its still a potty series

Disclaimer: These are mini reviews of anime’s that are fresh out in Japan and are not licensed in the UK, buy them once they have been licensed or at the very least buy the merchandise, remember if the anime makers make a loss, THEY WILL STOP MAKING ANIME!!

New Anime Series-Smile PreCure!

March 5, 2012 by Mark Myers Leave a comment

First Episode Review for: Smile PreCure!

Summary : The merchandise engine that is the PreCure brand pumps out another series, this time books seem to be the cause and cure to all the worlds evils

Animation : In the old days I would fear for the phosphor in my TV, now-a-days I’m just worried that my graphics card is designed to show that many vivid colours at once, on the plus side the animation is quite good even if the bad guys look half finished

Plot Potential: Same as all the PreCure, battles between innocence and evil in its most monochrome and pure form (with accessories for you to buy)

Characters: Too stereotypical to even look normal in an anime, the main characters look shiny and plastic to the point of disbelief

Music: All I can hear is “tinkle tinkle”

Reminds me of: The original PreCure (well it doesn’t actually remind me of it much but it would be good for you to go and watch it if you have not)

Overall: I remember the original PreCure (which makes me a very old man) and that had plot and even a serious couple of episodes, this one is just bouncy bouncy, but that makes it an ace background no stress anime

Site Review

March 4, 2012 by Chris Myers Leave a comment

Site Review 4/3/12

Rutland caravan and camping site Greetham is a affiliated site to the c.c. It is a family new site created from a flat field just outside the village of Greetham in Rutland. Pitches and shower block are of normal high c.c. standard, but the site will benefit from ageing. The site is divided into 2 sections one for family’s and the other for adults only, a footpath with a security gate leads to the village with a P.O. shop and 3 pubs one giving 10% off food and 50p off a pint or a glass of wine to anyone staying on the site.

The site is very convenient for greetham valley golf course and rutland water.

I would give the site 4 stars.

Dislike of the day

Caravaners who leave there outside lights on all night

3rd year

February 24, 2012 by Chris Myers Leave a comment

Well its the start of our 3rd year in a camper van. On Sunday 4/3/12 we head off to Brighton and the Kent coast for 2/3 weeks depending on weather and points of interest.

We picked up the van from storage 3 weeks ago and took it to Brownhills for its habitation service and to have the electric element in the water heater replaced under the guarantee.

Since getting it back we have been quite busy, washing and cleaning but my main job was to install a inverter so we could have 240v while staying in aires and stellplatzes. From the inverter I ran cuicuits out to shaver socket (electric toothbrush), vacum cleaner charger, camera charger, and a supply to the fridge/freezer so it can run on ferry crossings

Just the other side of the fence

February 12, 2012 by Mark Myers Leave a comment

In my current role at my new main client I am an integration architect rather than the senior developer/architect; the difference sounds small, my deliverables are virtually the same as are the technical skills needed to produce them, but there is one huge difference and that is WHERE I am sitting. Now I am with the BAs and Accenture consultants rather than the devs, where smartness is more important than the spec of your laptop, where consistently being there and typing when your boss arrives and leaves is better than being able to pull an all-nighter to get a problem fixed.

Now this may sound like I don’t approve of being on the other side of the fence, and historically I have always been one of those who go “What the hell is this?” or “Were they drunk when then wrote this?” when faced with a new spec that rolls down to IT, but after only a couple of months I now have a completely different viewpoint on it. Previously when the business asked for something daft, I would storm up and rant at them and being a senior tech who knew the systems intimately, they would give in to some extent and we would sort it out. But the BAs and PMs are asked by the business to define the impossible and sign their name to it; the business seems to just haggle with the BAs as you would with a used car salesman, and this is a general thing. I checked with other BAs and PMs colleges that I have known throughout my career and all have the same experiences, petty political battles and attempts to hide badly patched systems are jammed into the ring and made the problem of people who genuinely just want to make a single project a success.

Come on business these people are on your side, give them a break !!