Shower Gel in the eye…
I got some shower gel in my eye today, but I wasn’t in the shower. I was walking through Sainsbury’s with Hannah and decided we need some shower gel. I picked up some Radox Invigorate Oxygel stuff that was on offer and I looked at it. I remembered that the last Radox shower gel I had didn’t smell very nice though, so I popped the cap up and had a whiff of it quickly.
It had one of those little valves on it though to stop the gel getting out unless you really squeeze it, so I gave it a gentle poke to get some air out of it – WHAM! Blue gunk on my face, glasses and eyeball as if I was a unwilling participant in an alien bukkake.
I really stung, so I had to go wash it out. Turns out that those exfoliating bubble-bead things didn’t make it any better either.
I had a nice Christmas before that though, with muchos phat lewt and a lovely duck. Hannah made the best roast potatos ever again.
Joe, out.
The Ultimate Guide to PC Gaming…
The Ultimate Guide to PC Gaming
CustomPC is working to get this new book out before Christmas, dubbed ‘The Ultimate Guide to PC Gaming’. It’s pretty awesome stuff, though pages 118 and 119 are a bit of a letdown. Currently one of the only two copies made is on my desk, which is enough to make me feel super special until it goes on sale and starts flying off shelves. Whether people will actually read it or are just going to buy it so they can point and laugh at page 118 and 119 remains to be seen though.
The book is supposed to go on sale before Christmas but has apparently been delayed by a week. When it does it see retail you’ll be able to pick it up in all good newsagents and you’ll get around 200 high-quality glossy pages for just £7.99. The book covers all aspects of building, tuning and upgrading a PC and gives some background on game development and so on, as well as having a bundle of reviews on some of the best games of the last year. Stay away from pages 118 and 119 though, those are pure trash.
You can find out more about the book at the official website, where you can also read an online sample and admire the fancy cover art.
Oh, and I’ll also be accepting bets at 2:1 odds that my mother will buy me a copy without knowing my involvement.
Out, Joe.
Return of the Blog…
Yes, again; long time no post. I’d feel bad if I thought anyone actually read this drivel. Ah well.
I’ve actually had a lot of stuff to post about recently, such as going home and arguing with my Mum a lot, coming back and going to Garlic and Shots with Katy when she came to stay, that carrot story that Hiren told me about Hugh…all sorts. Unfortunately though, I can’t be bothered right now. Mainly because I have a cut at the back of my tongue that makes it hurt to swallow or talk and that’s made me grumpy.
Still, there are some things I want to post about at some point soon – such as how the elitism of the hardcore gamer (and PC gamers especially) is injuring the market, how awesome Tim Schaefer is, how addicted Hannah has got on Left4Dead and how bit-tech.net will soon be moving offices. I’ll get around to all that in time.
For now though, I’ll just tell the story about out induction day at Dennis Publishing. We were in London and by ‘we’ I mean all of the bit-tech staff; me, Tim, Harry, Jamie, Bindi and Hiren. Also there was all the Custom PC staff, the new Publishing Manager Barry and all the Dennis Sales teams for our two sites. We were in a very classy Dennis Publishing meeting room which perfectly contrasts with the squalor of the Dennis Publishing testing labs that I will mercifully have to spend no time in whatsoever. Being a games journalist rocks.
So, for many of us this is the first time we’ve met the Dennis people (all of whom are very nice and lovely and pleasantly alchohol-focused in their evening activities judging by the piss-up afterwars), so we go around the table and introduce ourselves. We say name, job and who our hero is. Harry goes first.
“Hi, I’m Harry Butler. I’m a staff writer for bit-tech and basically do hardware and help Tim out with stuff. You’re all staring at me now, so my hero is…um, my dad! Nobody else can use that now”
Haha, we all chuckle. Harry’s a funny guy, especially when he’s a little nervous. Jamie is up next and I’m wondering whether my hero is Guybrush Threepwood or Warren Spector when Jamie breaks from his usual quietness.
“Hi, I’m Jamie. Developer. My hero is Joe’s mum, yeah.”
I can’t think of how to end that story any better, so here’s a list of stuff I’ve written recently that is good:
Yes, Games Critics Understand Innovation
Tomb Raider Underworld Xbox 360 review
James Bond: Quantum of Solace Review
Prince of Persia Xbox 360 hands-on preview
And here is some good music that Hannahs got me listening to.
Out, Joe
