The Life of Bryer

Thoughts: Singapore and F1...

2010-09-25T19:06:00.001+01:00

Good evening,

Welcome to this edition of The Life of Bryer. This post is all about the Formula 1 again, this weekend sees the night race in Singapore. I've decided to post my thoughts about this great aspect of night racing. For years NASCAR has been having race weekends taking place at night under flood lights. Formula 1 have been doing it since 2008, and you have to say, it's spectacular to witness.

I have attached some great photos from the practice and qualifying sessions that have happened so far from the track. The cars just look soooooooo much better. The aspect of rain and road tarmac with the speeds of F1 is a dangerous cocktail, one wrong move and a concrete wall will really hurt you.

So what is going to happen in tomorrow's race? I hope we see another fantastic race between the championship rivals. This is the closest season in my living memory. Five drivers all in with a shout of winning the championship. My money is going to go with a McLaren driver, just because I think that the Red Bull drivers have both lost the ability to mentally close off a race.

I know this is a short and to the point blog, but it's just a quick one while dinner cooks. So if you fancy trying your hand at F1 racing and have a Xbox 360, PS3 or a PC, check out the newly released F1 2010 game from Codemasters. If you want a competitive edge to your racing, check out my little project. XboxF1.com, great guys, and great racing to be had. We have prizes and giveaways through out our season.

See the full gallery on posterous

XboxF1.com Season Preview

2010-09-19T14:44:00.001+01:00

Hi race fans,

For those of you that don't know, I started a website about 3 months ago, that is designed to bring the thrills and spills of the Formula 1 championship to Xbox Live. The new F1 game from Codemasters is due out this week and it's looking absolutely amazing.

So what have arranged so far at XboxF1.com? Well in the last fortnight we have really ramped up our preparations. We have got the majority of the rules finalised, just waiting on our review copy to appear from Codies, so that we can tinker with the online rules and lap levels. We haven't had the uptake we were expecting, so to encourage people to play with their mates, we are introducing "Teams". Now at the moment we have 12 drivers that will be split into 6 teams, with each team being randomly assigned a team from the F1 grid. You get no preference, you just get what comes out the bowl. Will be an amazing principal, if everything runs smoothly. We still have slots open for European racers, so please visit the site and get involved. To visit the site, please just click the XboxF1.com button at the top of the page.

So having seen the game running now, from videos posted on YouTube, I cannot wait for a little run around the new Silverstone layout, which I must admit, no one seems to have raced around from the YouTube videos.

We look forward to seeing you on the track.

See the full gallery on posterous

The Meaning of Life...

2010-09-15T12:37:00.001+01:00

Good afternoon,

How are you all on this lovely wednesday lunch time? I have spent much of the morning thinking about a age old question. What are humans? While being at work, I have the perfect spot to people watch from location here in Poole. Literally thousands of people walk past the window every hour. So I can't help but think about life and where we all started.

You see many different types of people. Little, large, obese, skinny, healthy, unhealthy, emotionally drained, estatic. It's amazing what you can tell from someone by watching then for maybe 30-45 seconds as they walk past the window. It's also amazing to realise the character profiles you build up from seeing the same people on different days, wearing different things, and acting in different manners.

I know this is a pretty random blog post, but the next time you get 10 minutes to yourself, pop yourself on a bench in a busy area, and see what I mean.

It's weird!

F1 2010 from Codies is nearly here...

2010-09-13T19:19:00.001+01:00

Good evening blog readers,

This evening I thought it was about time I posted something about the up and coming F1 2010 game from Codemasters. Any one that was watching the BBC 1 coverage of the Italian GP at the weekend will have seen Jake Humphreys and the Hamilton brothers slogging it out on the Xbox 360 version of the game around Monza. The game is looking amazing, the best recreation I've seen of Formula 1 in a long, long time! There is a extensive career mode, all the latest teams and drivers and what looks like an AMAZING online game. So if your interested, drop over to http://www.xboxf1.com and take a look.

See the full gallery on posterous

Google is the future, no matter what Apple do!

2010-08-16T20:28:00.001+01:00

Good evening blog readers,

Thanks for again taking the time to read what I'm thinking. Well tonight's topic of conversation is Google's rise in the operating system market with Android and Chrome OS. So how many readers are using Google Android, or have heard of Google Chrome OS? I'm pretty sure most of you have used a device using one of the above. So what is Google doing to reel us all in to their awesome systems?

Well I think that the reason for this is simple, we are the internet generation, and want everything yesterday. Google's Android operating system for mobile phones provides us with email, calender, contact sync, Facebook and Twitter all built into the devices which run Google Android. So what does Google have planned for the future? Well it's hard to say, Android 2.2 aka Froyo is blisteringly quick, and is a great sign of things to come from the dev studio.

Google Chrome OS is a web centric operating system. I'm downloading it now as we speak to try on my netbook. If it works with the wireless and built in mobile internet adaptor, I'll do a extensive test.

Welcome to the new home...

2010-08-09T20:16:00.001+01:00

Hey guys,

Thanks for taking the time to drop over to the new blog here at Posterous.com. I have decided to move the blog over from Blogger.com as the host of options on offer here, are so much better then the previous site.

What about all the old posts? Don't worry they are being imported as I type and post this one, so you'll probably lose this one shortly as the imported posts start to appear.

So sit back and enjoy the new blog guys and girls. :-)

I'm going to chapel.....

2010-07-29T18:02:00.002+01:00

Hi blog readers,

Well today I have a big announcement to make, not made one for a long, long time, so thought I'd share this one with you.

About 3 months ago I made a decision in my own mind that it was about time I started to grow up, especially considering Lily-Mae's first birthday is approaching fast. So what did I decide to myself? Well I decided that it was about time that a certain someone made a honest man of me. Yes that's right I decided that I was going to "pop the question" to the one person to have stood by me, and loved me for me over the last 24 months.

I've been through a lot in the last 3 years, and they haven't really been the easiest in my life, for those of you reading this that know me, will know what I mean, for those of you that do not, it's been nothing short of hell, but I've come through. However 24 months ago, something or should I say someone walked into my life and things started to change for the better.

So my big announcement is that I'm finally going to become a married man. Yes I asked Kylie to marry me, and she said yes! Most people have advised her against it, but I'm glad she decided to stick to her original decision.

So without further a due, who wants a wedding invite?

See you all soon.

PS - Get well soon Sasha. Jelly tots are waiting at Daddy's!

Fernando is faster then me!

2010-07-27T23:25:00.000+01:00

Good evening blog readers,

A picture tells a thousand words.

Thanks for dropping by to read my latest blog. Today's post is about the fiasco from Sunday's German GP. It was a fiasco for one reason, team orders from Ferrari. Now I'm not really one for getting agitated or upset by things in F1, nothing really shocks me now in the sport, however, with the way the F1 season has been panning out, and the fantastic racing we have seen, I feel cheated that the Ferrari guys, were not allowed to race each other. We have seen Red Bull's racing each other and coming together, we've seen McLaren's getting all crossed up with each other, it's a great spectacle, so why do Ferrari feel the need to ruin the spectacle?! It's not the first time that they have done it either, any one remember Barrichello giving way on the finishing straight to allow Schumacher through on the last lap of the 2002 Austrian GP.

I have to admit I'm very glad to see the stewards throw the book at Ferrari, especially after such a deliberate flaunting of the rules. So is a $100,000 fine and a referral to the World Motor sport Council going to be enough to put them off from doing it again?! I personally doubt it, Ferrari have and will always flaunt the rules to suit themselves and get away with it.

On a lighter side of the weekend, did anyone watch Top Gear? In particular the tribute to Aryton Senna? If not, why not? I didn't realise that it would of been the great man's 50th birthday. So what was so good about the tribute, I hear you ask. Well I've always been a great fan of the late 80's and early 90's F1, just before the swathe of rule changes to improve safety came into effect. The ability of the guy behind the wheel of a F1 car was amazing. To see him driving the Lotus in the 1986, watching the car dance in a straight line, to the instructor of a V12 orchestra. The best bit of footage of the late Aryton Senna, is from around 89-90 when he was driving the McLaren-Honda around Monaco, where he spent 80% of the lap with just one hand on the wheel, and yet it qualified him 1.5 seconds ahead of the great Alain Prost. Try finding it on YouTube, its well worth a watch. In the meantime, check out this on board from Jerez.

See you all soon folks.

Changes to the blog...

2010-07-14T19:34:00.000+01:00

Good evening guys & girls,

Some of you eagle eyed readers will have spotted the gentle changes I've made to the blog. For those of you that haven't I'll make you aware. Underneath the blog title is a search bar, this search bar will allow you to search for keywords and topics, and make finding older posts easier, go on, give it a go, search for HD-DVD ;-).

I've also added in a photo stream on the right hand side of the page, this will display photos from my Picasa web albums, which are also available here.

The find a game feature is a old one, but I thought I'd just promote it again, it uses the Play-Asia.com website to allow you to purchase games at a discount price. Support the blog and treat yourself!

Enjoy guys,

Lee.

Red Bull gives you wings... Erm not in F1 it doesn't!!!

2010-07-13T20:32:00.001+01:00

So with the dust settling on the Red Bull Silverstone saga, I'm going to write about what I feel is happening and why the team have done it.

Now for those of you that have got no idea what happened over the weekend I will summarise. On Friday during the free practice session, Vettel was driving down one of the very fast straights at Silverstone, and hit a bump, this bump broke the connecting pins on his Red Bull car, which dropped the wing into the tarmac and smashed it to pieces. Now the team had only brought two new wings to the race weekend. Now instead of making Vettel go without the new lightweight, high performance wing, the team principal authorised the mechanics to remove Webber's new wing and place it on Vettel's car. This appeared to Webber that Vettel was being favoured, and I have to agree with how he felt, it's not acceptable behaviour from a multi national race team.

So why do the Red Bull team feel the need to favour one driver over another, when they have by far the best car in the F1 field at the moment?! No one will be able to answer that apart from the Team Principal himself, so what we get left with are reporters, fans and sceptics making our minds up for us. The drivers are staying tight lipped and so is the team. So being left for the press and fans to decide, I'll throw up opinion in to the internet. I personally think that the team have done this purely to create a competitive edge within the team, with neither Vodafone McLaren Mercedes or Scuderia Ferrari challenging Red Bull at the moment, the team needs to push it's drivers and the team in the right direction. I feel that the decision made my Red Bull management was wrong, but I feel I can understand why they did it. Yes it now looks that Vettel is favoured, but he was ahead in the championship before Sunday's grand prix.

Now with Mark Webber making the comments he did after his victory, will only fuel the fire which I think could destroy the team's title ambitions and possibly it's long term future. Favouring one driver publically is probably going to put future drives off from joining the team. Which will lead the same fate that Jordon say back in the late 1990's. My hat goes off to Webber for his drive on Sunday though, a great testament to his grit and determination to out perform his spoilt team mate time and time again, shows he has some real talent. However, could this be his last season at Red Bull, the rumour mill is bubbling away that Ferrari and Mercedes are possibly looking to sign him for next year. If I was him, I'd steer well clear of Mercedes and give serious thought to Ferrari.

Also announced today was that Lotus Racing is close to sealing a Renault engine deal for 2011. This can only be a good thing for them, especially considering how well they are performing at the moment, we will excuse Heiki's "accident" at Valencia. They are also close to getting permission to change their name to Team Lotus, in line with all the other F1 Lotus entries over the years, which will be great.

Keep your eyes peeled guys, I've got a lot planned for the blog this week, I hope you will all like it.

See you soon.

Lee

What a weekend!

2010-07-12T21:08:00.001+01:00

Evening guys,

Firstly I would like to apologise for breaking my promise of posting after every session at the F1. The days just flew by and I must admit it was an amazing experience this year at the British Grand Prix. I have been to about 10 races now at Silverstone, and I have never ever seen support for drivers like I saw for Hamilton and Button. It was just electric!

I went this time, courtesy of Vodafone UK, who I work for and awarded me the tickets as part of a incentive at retail level. These tickets were pure gold from seeing a F1 car at the limit, right at the entrance to the Copse corner, this corner is taken near enough flat out. Just amazing. This photo shows the view I had, just AMAZING.

The racing itself was great, it was close and just amazing to see the new style cars whizzing past. I can't wait to go again next year, and back to the whole camping for the whole weekend. So what did you guys think of the race? Did you enjoy it? Who where you cheering on? I personally am loyal to the Vodafone McLaren guys, not because I work for their sponsor, but because they are a truly British team.

If you did go, did you visit the Vodafone VIP area behind the Copse Grandstands? If you did, what did you think of it? I personally thought the idea was great, the execution could of been better, especially with all the additional space at their disposal. The camper van and F1 cars where a great touch, and with it being located next to the Copse E-Zone was great. Wondering what the Vodafone VIP camper van looks like? Here you go, it's an amazing little VW, that Jenson and Lewis drove to the track, check it out here.

I honestly cannot recommend the British GP experience enough, if you do one thing in your life, visit Silverstone over the next 16 years and try a Grand Prix weekend, go on, I dare you. You will remember it forever.

Silverstone 2010 Album (More images to come soon).

Day 1 - Silverstone 2010

2010-07-09T22:16:00.001+01:00

Good evening blog readers,

Here I am sat in my Travelodge room, somewhere in Bedford using mobile internet (very good thanks Vodafone) as the wi-fi in the hotel is broken.

Today has been a very long day. Matt and myself set off at around 6:30am and arrived at the circuit around 9am, we made good time with the rush hour traffic. Now I'm not normally one to comment on something as boring as the weather, however today just has to be mentioned. The sun was out in force, and I mean force. I started burning after about 2 hours in the afternoon.

So what was the action at the track like?! Well it started off slow, with the Minardi, sorry HRT cars getting in some much needed track time. I'll touch on this a little later as I have a bit to say about the dropping of Bruno Senna. The front runners all looked a class above the rest. The McLaren cars looked as amazing as ever with their metallic paint job and the victory red flashes. I was disappointed at the loudness of the smaller V8 engines, they don't make your ears bleed like the V10's used too.

The track action was made better by the rental of the Kangaroo TV, mobile tv unit, a truely amazing bit of kit, that for me was just everything I'd ever wanted from a gadget. It was functional as it gives you lots of bits and pieces of the stats, driver feeds, commentary, all provided on a lightweight quality portable TV. There isn't anything wrong with sitting there in the grandstand and looking at a TV screen when the action isn't near you. I spent a fair bit of the morning session watching Lewis and Jenson battling with the new upgrades on the McLaren from the in car view, was truly amazing.

Now back to the Senna being dropped saga... Now I understand that sometimes sponsorship for teams is withheld if a drivers needs aren't addressed. Especially in the lower teams, when the driver pays the team for a drive. Now who in their right mind, refuses to let someone to race their car, and then replace him with someone that is 2 seconds slower then the slowest driver in the pack? Ah well. Happy birthday Yakamoto (we think that's his name).

Right, need to get some sleep as it's another early start, however it's a very humid hotel room, and I'm not really sure a duvet is what I need. I'm off to the linen closet to find some extra sheets.

Silverstone British F1 GP 2010 Preview

2010-07-05T19:59:00.001+01:00

Hi guys,

Well this weekend I'm off on a trip to Silverstone for the 2010 Santander British Grand Prix courtesy of Vodafone UK and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. This trip was won as a part of a retail incentive. My store won, and we got 2 tickets. So I've decided to turn the trip into a bit of an experiment and to see how many people that read my Twitter and my blog, come and find me a say hello.

I will only be using mobile phone technology to update my blog and Twitter. I'll be in the area of the Vodafone area near the Copse B grandstand for the duration of the weekend. So don't be afraid to come up and say Hi, and get some free mobile phone advice (not too much mind you).

So if you are going, follow me on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/bryer and check the blog regularly. If I can, I'll probably be posting pictures, videos and some short blog posts after each session. I'm going to try and hunt down as many celebrities as I can.

Who do you think will win? Jenson or Lewis?

See you there guys.

A reminder of the European GP (UK users only)

Lee.

It’s a long way to Blackwater…

2010-05-20T12:46:00.001+01:00

I have been trekking across this desert for nearly 2 weeks, eating nothing but desert rabbits I can snare in my lure. I’m sick of nothing but rabbit for food. Today is probably going to be more of the same, riding from sunrise to sunset towards Blackwater up in West Elizabeth. I need to speak to a man they call Marston. The Mexicans have paid me handsomely to track this man down and pass on the message.

I can’t believe it, some people in the world just have no respect anymore, I mean I’m in the middle of the desert and someone tries to steal my horse. I pitched camp by the river so that my horse could spend the night eating some fresh grass and drinking plenty of the water that has flowed down from the glaciers in the mountains. Just before sun down I was joined by a man that was heading in the opposite direction, who asked if I would mind him sharing the campfire, his offer of fresh fruit was a welcome change from the rabbit I’d be eating. We spent a few hours trading stories of our travels, this guy was just a low down dirty gun slinger from the border I’d just come from, the place I was glad to be getting away from. I wouldn’t of trusted this guy as far as I could of thrown him. I decided for the first time in months to sleep with my holster on, and my rifle within arms reach. I didn’t like to sleep with the gun near me, not after what I saw in Mexico, that crazy woman slaughtering 12 men in her sleep, but I felt I needed to with this guy around.

He thought I was sleeping, but I couldn’t, not with him being such a slimy piece of the gutter. He had waited about an hour and he’d slowly got up and saddled his horse, trying to move silently over the shingle that we had camped down on. My horse is a beautiful Kentucky Saddler, cost me $250 from a rancher in the south, this horse will run and run and run, without complaining at all. She is in season and I’m guessing this wise guy was going to take her and breed her to make some quick dollars. He gently led her away towards the embankment, thinking I was awake, I gently drew my revolver and took aim from my stomach area, so that he didn’t see the muzzle and think I was awake, I gently squeezed the trigger, the revolver slowly clicked round and the kick from the round winded me slightly, I took my eyes off the slimy thief, to see him gently spin round, and fall to the floor clutching at his back, the bullet had passed clean through him, ripping lumps of flesh from his torso, I walked over to his lifeless body, “Never try to steal a man’s horse again!”, his final breath he uttered the word “Sorry”. I saddled up as I wouldn’t be able to sleep now after what had happened, and slowly rode the trail, the horse of the thief following behind, heading towards Blackwater. \

I soon hoped I’d be there, I needed to find Marston, and give him the message.

I just cannot wait for Saturday....

2010-05-19T13:35:00.003+01:00

Hello blog readers,

Me again, just wanted to say that it's Friday evening that I can't wait for and it is now only 36 hours away, when I will be settling down to a night with my horse and few select buddies, who will be riding across the plains of the frontier in Red Dead Redemption.

I decided that I’d traded in enough recently to reserve a Limited edition copy of the game, which comes with the soundtrack to the game.
I jumped on to iTunes and found the theme tune for the game, simply put, its an AMAZING piece of music. I thought I’d share it with you right here.

Just click the picture to download the track, enjoy.

Law enforcement or outlaw?!

2010-05-18T20:07:00.001+01:00

Good afternoon blog readers,

How are you all today? Good I hope. This week is probably one of the most anticipated in the last 18 months. This Friday sees the release of the eagerly awaited Red Dead Redemption. I have been looking forward to this game for the last 2 years since Rockstar Games announced a top secret open world game that was completely different to Grand Theft Auto.

As you can see by the trailer the game looks awesome. I have a conference to go to on Friday, and have had to ask a friend to pick the game up for me, which I will then collect. I have to admit it’s not the ideal way to get spend a release day, just hope that I get home early enough to enjoy the hunting we have planned.

Review: HTC Desire

2010-05-05T15:19:00.001+01:00

Hello blog readers,

Yesterday I finally managed to get my hands on the HTC Desire. The handset itself is on the Vodafone UK network. I have been eagerly waiting for over 2 weeks for this device to come back into stock, thanks to the volcano in Iceland. Now that I finally have one, I’m going to give a brief review of the device, covering the handset, Google Android v2.1 (Éclair), the camera and the unique Sense UI.

Just to give you a bit of my history with HTC devices and Google Android, when Vodafone UK announced their first Android device, the HTC Magic, I jumped at the opportunity to try out the new operating system for mobile phones. The device was good, but lacked some of the great HTC features I have seen on some of the other devices produced by HTC around the same time.

The HTC Desire is a lighter phone then a iPhone 3GS, with a larger screen area, shallower profile and most of all, a louder speaker. On turning the device on, you get to see the quality of the 3.7 inch AMOLED screen. The screen is so much clearer then the screen on the iPhone 3GS, colours are richer, screen is brighter, more vivid then the iPhone 3GS. Now once the HTC Desire has loaded up for the first time, you get presented with the setup wizard. Anyone getting a Android powered device, I highly advise you to go through this wizard to make sure you get the most from the phone. With HTC devices there are a lot more widgets built into the Android operating system, that really enhance the experience, these come from the Sense UI (covered below). After the setup of the device with all your accounts (Google, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Microsoft ActiveSync), the phone loads up the default “scene”.
Now the HTC Desire really comes into its own with the development of “Scenes” by HTC through the Sense User Interface, or Sense UI for short. The phone has the ability to have unlimited “scenes” from what I can see, but what is a “scene”? A “scene” on the HTC Desire is a great way of creating a customised space for the environment that you are in, at a certain time. Say you don’t want work colleagues to see your text messages or your Facebook/Twitter feeds, then you can create a customised homepage that hides this, then once work is finished and you want to have quick access to your text messages and feeds, then you just simply push the menu button, select “Scenes” and choose the relevant one. It’s as simple as that. Work and Play completely separate at the push of a button.

The camera on the HTC Desire is just simply stunning to say the least. It’s a 5 mega pixel, auto focus, face recognising, LED flash enabled monster. I wasn’t expecting much from the camera, having experienced Google Android’s inability to process photo’s very well on HTC devices. However I was remarkably impressed by it. The ability to upload the photos to a whole host of external websites, so that you can share them with your friends and strangers. Facebook, Flickr. Picasa and Twitter are all supported straight out of the box, with other photo hosting providers covered by 3rd party widgets and applications available through the Android marketplace. Below is a comparison shot, please click the images to see the full version. The one on the left is the Desire, the one on the right is the iPhone 3GS.

Now as you can probably see when you load the full size version of the images, that the Desire is a clearer picture over the the iPhone 3GS. Now I can hear you say that the iPhone camera is lower mega pixels then the HTC Desire, however in this “test” there isn’t much difference in the quality of the lens as the shot isn’t a close up. It was a test to show the image clarity, which the HTC Desire wins by a mile. The iPhone OS lacks the camera settings that the Google Android 2.1 software does, a great victory for Google over Apple, who have been known for great photo rendering etc. The one thing that does bother me about the HTC Desire over its sister phone, the Google Nexus One, is it’s low quality video recorder mode. In essence the Nexus One and the Desire are the same phone on the inside, however the Nexus One has the ability to film in HD 720p, although they share the same camera and operating system, the Desire will only record in SD. HTC have announced publically that they are working on bringing HD video recording to the Desire, just not given a time scale.

As I move into the final stages of the my opinion here, I wanted to touch mainly on built in support for YouTube on both devices. With YouTube being owned by Google, you would expect the Android to be the best at connecting and playing back YouTube videos, to which it is by a 100 times. The iPhone really does lack any options when it comes to YouTube, and you aren’t able to change the video quality and things like that, if you have ever watched a video on your iphone from YouTube, it is pretty much unwatchable through the mobile phone network. Now with ALL Android devices, watching YouTube over the mobile phone network is a delight. You have the choice of watching in HIGH QUALITY, which I have to admit is so crisp on the AMOLED screen.

Now I am only scratching the mere surface of the HTC Desire, the best thing I can recommend if you are considering a new smart phone device, is to go to a Vodafone UK store and try all 3 for yourself, Vodafone and Google announced recently that the Nexus One would be sold exclusively through Vodafone retail stores, and is available right now. It’s not fair of me to say which one is better then the other which most reviews and reviewers try to get across.

Phones are a very personal item, and you need to feel at home with the device as your agreement/contract will last for 18-24 months. I can only give my opinion on the 3 devices, if you like to customise your phone and make it personal (on screen), then the HTC Desire and the Google Nexus One are the devices for you. If you want to go with the crowd, get the iPhone. I did, and I kind of regret it now, as everyone you see has a iPhone. The HTC/Google devices offer something different to the norm. With Google really pushing their weight behind the Android platform, the next 12 months are going to be amazing for early adopters of this new mobile operating platform. Please if you get any questions about the devices, please don’t hesitate, post a comment below and I will try and answer it for you.

Laters peeps.

Thanks go to @VodafoneUK, @HTC, @Google for the device and mobile phone network. The opinions in this article are my own, and do not reflect that of any company or other individual.

2010 FIFA World Cup – Online 3/5/10 – Group stage.

2010-05-03T14:16:00.001+01:00

Hi guys,

Well it’s a bank holiday today here in the UK, and its the last day of my 2 week break from work.

I thought that I’d spend the day on the Xbox 360 as the weather is too unpredictable to do anything outdoors. I’m playing in an online world cup with England. Now the online world cup randomly pits you against players that are starting a tournament at the same time.

My squad of 23 is:

Goalkeepers: Green, Hart, James
Defenders: Johnson, R.Ferdinand, Terry, A.Cole, Lescott, Upson, Jagielka, Warnock.
Midfielders: Lampard, Barry, Lennon, Gerrard, Carrick, Beckham, A.Young, Milner.
Attackers: Rooney, Heskey, Crouch, Bent.

Here is how I did in the group stage of the tournament;

Group game 1: Spain.

Result: Spain won 5-0

Starting 11: Green, Johnson, R.Ferdinand, Terry, A.Cole, Lampard, Barry, Lennon, Gerrard, Rooney, Heskey.
Subs used: none

Formation: 4-2-3-1.

Match report: Well the first half was a disaster. Spain getting two goals early on using the counter attack to the full. The English defence being ripped apart by Torres. The second half saw much of the same with Spain dominating. The result wasn’t a fair reflection of the English performance. The lads just lacked a yard of pace against the Spanish.

Group game 2: Nigeria

Result: Nigeria won 4-1.

Starting 11: Hart, Jagielka, R.Ferdinand, Terry, A.Cole, Lampard, Carrick, Beckham, Gerrard, Rooney, Crouch.
Subs used: none.

Formation: 4-2-3-1.

Match report: Major changes for the 2nd group game, with five changes from the game against Spain. We saw Hart in for Green, Jagielka in for Johnson, Carrick in for Barry, Beckham in for Lennon and Crouch in for Heskey. The first half was a very even affair, with both sides having their fair share of chances. England got the break through in the 41st minute with Carrick heading home a Beckham cross. Nigeria then equalised in injury time of the first half in dubious circumstances. The 2nd half was another disaster, Nigeria were attacking the end of the pitch in shadow, and playing in dark green, it was impossible to see them.

Group game 3: Congo

Result: England won 3-1.

Starting 11: Green, Johnson, R.Ferdinand, Terry, A.Cole, Lampard, Barry, ~~Lennon~~, Gerrard, Rooney, ~~Heskey~~.
Subs used: Bent & Beckham.

Formation: 4-2-3-1.

Match report: With England out after just 2 games of the group stage, the third and final game was for pride against the African minnows. The game started fairly equal with the score at 1-1 after 15 minutes, however England then started to dominate, going in 3-1 up at the break. The 2nd half was much of the same, short passing and no real chances for either side.

Maybe better luck next time for Fabio Capello and his men.

They think it’s all over……

2010-05-03T02:11:00.001+01:00

Good evening/morning blog sphere. How are you? Good I hope. Well I’ve been enjoying a two week holiday, and am back to work on Tuesday, damn it’s gone quick.

During my holiday I celebrated my 26th birthday and spent it with my sisters and by good friends in London town. One thing I’ve noticed about London, and Bexley in particular, is this new system called ClubScan in all the drinking establishments, its a system where the bouncers scan the unique serial number of either a driving license or passport which is then held on a database. I forgot my passport and had to blag my way through the door. The thing is the bouncers have no power of discretion, and I believe the system is highly flawed. The ClubScan system is not used in Poole & Bournemouth, so I didn’t think I need any ID being 26. /end moan mode.

Well this year is a football World Cup year, and that means that EA Sports release their video game to coincide with the tournament. I have got the game and have to say it’s a huge improvement over FIFA 10. The developers over at EA Canada have spent a lot of time tweaking the already great mechanics of it’s predecessor to bring gamers the best recreation of a World Cup tournament since Kick Off 2 – World Cup 90 edition on the Amiga 500. I’ve tried the majority of the features out, both online and offline and have to say that the game feels just like you see football played on the television.

There are offline world cup’s for playing by yourself, or you have the choice of going online, and playing out the world cup with any of the 199 FIFA registered international countries. In my first attempt I managed to get England through the group stages, undefeated I might add!!! 3 games and 3 wins still didn’t stop me getting Brazil in the last 16 and getting tonked 6-2. The 6-2 score line doesn’t really reflect the game though, as people still need to cheat to win. I was 2-0 up at half time, and the other user, who goes by the gamertag, Tapiiwa, started to “lag the game”. This is when the game will miraculously become unplayable on one persons end, while the other player can just pass it around like nothing is happening. Oh well, I will guide England to the World Cup this year. I would highly recommend this game on both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, as the fluidity of the football is 2nd to none. It’s a great marker for FIFA 11, which will be out in October 2010.

Anyway I’m going to head off to bed now, so I will leave you with the official trailer. Have fun!

88mph it’s when s**t gets serious!

2010-04-10T21:42:00.001+01:00

Good evening blog readers, how are you?

Sorry it’s been a while, but you know me, busy, busy, busy. It’s been a bit of a surreal day today. I was at work as per normal on a Saturday, and enjoyed it… Yes I know that sounds a bit odd, but I did. We had a 2 man band outside the shop today, playing 1950/60’s style honky tonk. A guy with a piano & a harmonica and the other with the double bass. They sang some of the best cover versions of some classic’s I’ve ever heard.

Check them out here :- http://www.twitvid.com/0MU6E

So what have you guys been up to? On my down time since my last post, I seem to have developed a unhealthy obsession with Back to the Future series, and some of the great one liners. This series has become a cult classic for people my age. It’s just superb…

Well I think it’s time I went back to watching the El Classico… Blog you soon blogosphere.

Just a heads up, I’m hoping to do a audio review of the HTC Desire soon, so keep your eyes peeled!!!

A brief visit to Baghdad in midweek!!!

2010-04-01T13:15:00.001+01:00

Good afternoon folks,

Welcome to the Life of Bryer, its now April and that means we are a quarter of the way through 2010. So what have I been up to since my last post? Well I decided to take a trip to the cinema on my own to get out the house. I picked a film that I thought would be good, and boy was I right.

I went to see the new Matt Damon film, Green Zone. A film about the immediate invasion of Iraq in 2003, and how the WMD threat was never found. The film itself is filmed in trademark Greengrass style with shaky camera giving it the impression of being filmed by an embedded reporter. The film is a must see in my eyes, and if there is a ounce of truth in it, which I believe there is, then its an amazing insight into military intelligence.

Here is the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Finally a connection that works and is stable!!!

2010-03-23T15:21:00.001Z

Hi guys,

Yes I’m glad to report that the guys at Thinkbroadband.com and BT Wholesale have finally managed to resolve my line issues by resetting the SNR to 6.0db. It was a long and winding road but they have got there. Well it was actually lowered the day after my last blog post, but I didn’t want to post anything until now to make sure that the line was stable and that the @BTCare guys where just fobbing me off.

The line has been stable beyond belief, I’ve never known a ADSL connection like it. The Type A homehub will hold the SNR right down to 3.0db late into the night with no issues. My sync speeds are now 8,150 kbps plus, which is a vast improvement over the reported problems. The IP profile has just risen this morning from 6500 to 7150 and is taking on average 5 days to increase. Which I’m happy about. I’m probably now reaching the threshold for the line, but it has synced up near the 8,500 kbps mark in recent days, so I’m hoping that it will increase on its own over time.

The introduction of a BT Accelerator drastically helped the line filter out interference and has cut the number of CRC errors by 95%, a great improvement.

Thanks for all your help guys, getting this resolved has been a great achievement for myself in the fact of proving that BT Broadband and parts of the BT Group PLC don’t care about customer service, or what their customers tell them.

Catch you all soon, I’m off to play yet more Battlefield Bad Company 2 online, which I have to say is a awesome game.

Hanging with Bad Company…

2010-03-07T01:00:00.001Z

Good evening blog readers, and welcome to another edition of the Life of Bryer. This blog posting number 3 of the week, I’m starting to get a bit dizzy with all this posting, but isn’t that what blogs are about?

So tonight’s post is about gaming, Xbox 360 gaming to narrow it down, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to precise with you all.

Now @richardsonsjr suggested at work on Friday that a gaming night was in order for a bit of multiplayer action with the newly released Battlefield: Bad Company 2, so we finished work and got pizza etc and go ourselves ready for a multiplayer marathon, this never happened though. Why? Because the single player engrossed us big time! Now the Frostbite graphics engine amazed people when it was used in the first Bad Company game, and the revamped and tweaked Frostbite engine is just simple stunning. The all round performance of this engine has to be seen to be believed.

Anyway I want to get a bit more multiplayer under my belt tomorrow (Sunday) after work before I write up a review. One thing I did notice is that the game is a lot better online then its predecessor. So keep your eyes peeled for my multiplayer review.

Also all my broadband woes are now sorted. Thanks to the @Thinkbroadband guys for putting a boot up the BT Wholesale backside.

BT Broadband woes…

2010-03-04T21:05:00.001Z

Hi guys, me again… Now I recently moved and have had to leave behind my 50mb Virgin Media service, which after teething problems, was by far the most reliable connection I’ve ever had, regularly hitting speeds in and around the 50mbps mark. Now having moved and Virgin Media not being able to provide a service to my new abode, I have had to lump for BT Broadband again…

By lump I literally mean it, the service they have provided me is nothing short of scandalous. It took me 3 attempts to get a line connected to the property and then some complaining to @BTCare to get the broadband added as they failed to get it activated on the same day. A line fault within the first 10 days of my service, which then led to a 2 day outage has crippled my BT Broadband speeds, and made my life hell.

Now I’m no idiot, but when there is a line fault and faulty equipment, all of which are provided by BT themselves, its their duty to ensure that the line is restored to a state prior to the fault (Under the SLA and OFCOM advice). Now my broadband speed before the outage was between 4.5mbps and 6.0mbps on a good day. Which to me was acceptable given the “noisy line”, well what I thought was a “noisy line”. However, the line fault (which was probably a source of the noise) brought out a nasty bug in my Homehub v2.0 Type B, in the fact that it was reporting false readings and randomly resetting itself (a known fault in Type B). This has subsequently had a knock on effect on the BRAS profile and latency of the line. I spoke to @BTCare on Twitter, who agreed to send me out a new Homehub and they would get BT Wholesale to look into the slower speeds and they promised to get my line recalculated, now that all the known faults had been rectified.

Great I thought, I should now be getting the 6mbps+ that the line checkers and stats recommended, but oh no, BT Wholesale in all there wisdom have raised the SNR to 15db+ and capped the speed to 3mbps. Not cool.

Now I know a little bit about the way in which ADSL works, and BT are sticking to their gun that its noise on the line and that rate adaptive lines can take time to lower the SNR, they would but not when BT Wholesale cap the SNR, it physically will not lower, even if the connection stays active for 365 days. Now although the line was faulty, and the homehub was faulty but working ok at higher speeds, they had no grounds to cap the line at 3mbps. Now I’ve spoken to former BT engineers and current BT engineers about getting the problem resolved, and according to them, it’s very simple. You either reset the BRAS profile on the line to NEW or you clear the line of all ADSL products and re apply the broadband product, this would flush any system errors off the line. Now trying to get someone to do this is proving nothing short of f’ing ridiculous. This has been on going now since the 27th of February 2010, when the “stabilisation” period ended.

As proof that my line worked better at the higher un altered speeds, I have a few images taken from the website Speedtest.net.

This one from pre complaint about inconsistent line speeds;

Notice the low ping. (I’m a gamer remember).

This one done as I was writing this post and BT say there are no caps on the line;

Notice the near doubling of the ping and the lower upload speed.

Now this is the stats being reported by my new Homehub 2.0 Type A, the Type B was giving 40db on the attenuation, which was probably caused by the fault on the line, and the equipment being poorly. (Lack of connection time caused by i-plate install tonight).

(The high reported errors are a fault in the Homehub firmware and are the same every time without fail).

Now using various different websites, I can check what those line stats should provide speed wise on both ADSL and ADSL2+ (which I’m apparently on), these are as follows;

1st from Kitz.co.uk (Click to enlarge):

2nd from Farina1.com (Click to enlarge):

Now I’m not asking for the 10mbps that Sky and Be are offering me, I’d be happy to accept the 6.5mbps that BT should be able to supply me with. I’ve asked for a very simple procedure to be carried out on my line, and seem to be being treated like some sort of re-tarded chap.

Well if your reading this @BTCare then I hope that you realise that I will not go away until one of the following is met (You have until the 17/04/2010 under OFCOM and OTELO rules, apparently);

The BRAS profile and line statistics get reset to allow the line to find its own happy medium as the 1st 10 days encountered a fault on the line.
The 15db SNR Margin is removed by BT Wholesale with no more faffing around which they can do as proved on the Thinkbroadband.com website and forums.
Or finally that BT remove my broadband service and reapply it or supply me with my MAC code to move to another supplier at NO COST to myself. (OFCOM have stated that I can cancel with no charges).

I shall keep you all updated on the current events, and if your reading this Sky Broadband, you may have another customer soon.

When you make a miss judgment, what do you do?

2010-03-02T23:03:00.001Z

Yes that’s is the question… If you misjudge something in your like, what do you do about it?

In the Playstation 3’s life cycle, I have never been able to accept it as a legitimate console due it having what I’d class as good games…

However I recently managed to get a brand spanking new PS3 Slim 250gb version after a very productive month at work, (Thank you iPhone and Apple for that), and pressure from a few of the guys at work, mainly Alex, Steve and Jamie. Who all now have PS3’s.

Now the console bundle I bought was from our trusted high street store HMV, and I must say they had the most competitive bundle on the high street at the time. I got the console, Uncharted 2 and Bayonetta for £284.99, bargain. I traded in Bayonetta in GAME for a reasonable £25 and purchased MAG, as I’d heard some great things about it.

Now I got the console home and set it up and changed my AV systems around a bit to accommodate it. The Sony Blu-ray player that I got a while ago from ASDA, has been relegated to the bedroom for those late night HD cravings while in bed. So I pop in MAG and now notice that the PS3 doesn’t need to install games. BONUS!!! The new slim consoles seem a lot quieter then their fat brothers and sisters, and also look nicer.

Anyway back to MAG, this game boasts the ability for 256 players to play on the same map at any one time. An amazing feat that I guess has to be witnessed to be believed. At the moment I’m not a high enough rank to access these game modes, but boy with just 32 players the battles where intense, I dread to think what its going to be like with 128 fellow soldiers by my side is going to be like. The depth of the game is very good. There is a good levelling system that is a bit like the Modern Warfare 2 system, in which the higher your rank and the more you achieve the better the weapons and modifications for your weapon you get. Now the developers have capped the kit you can carry by credit points. At my rank, which I expect will increase as I rank up will get greater, but at the moment I have a credit limit of 1600, which allows for a assault rifle, pistol, grenades and a medikit. Not much for the concerning battle goer. But it does me. I just can’t wait for @richardsonsjr to get the game and his PS3 online for some squad battles.

Going on from that mention of @richardsonsjr, he recommend a game to me, that I’d never heard about before… This game was/is Killzone 2. Now for those of you that have seen or heard about Killzone 2 will know what I mean, when I say that this game is by far the best looking, and best sounding first person shooter I have ever played. The 5.1 surround sound system I have here in the flat, just does not do the game justice, the sound of bullets whistling across the speakers makes you duck as you hear the crack. The bass of a explosion, leaves you with a sense of shellshock.

So what I’m trying to say, is sorry Sony for not getting a Playstation 3 or PS3 as it’s now known sooner then I did.

On a side note, for some great people to follow on Twitter with regards to gaming, check out @atheistium @petedonaldson @richardsonsjr and finally @shikaboom.

Who does Don ****ing Revvie think he is?

2009-10-12T13:39:00.001+01:00

Good afternoon blog readers, and welcome back to the Life of Bryer.

I know my post are sporadic at best, but there has been good reason over the last few months. It’s because of the huge swathe of high quality games being released on the Xbox 360. So what has been keeping me from blogging, well firstly there was Need for Speed: Shift, then there was FIFA 10 and now it’s Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. There have been others that have been stop gaps along the way, but I’m sure you’ll have seen them in previous posts (IL2 and Ashes 2009).

Now I’m not one to enjoy games that really make you think about how you want to play them, but this has all changed with FIFA 10 and OPFLASH:DR. With FIFA 10 the game is outstanding, the way in which EA Sports has worked on making the game as fluid as possible is second to none. The way in which Virtual Pro mode works is fantastically addictive. Lastly the online clubs side of things is just down right AMAZING. We created a club called NorSouth Utd, as there are players from both the north and south of England, and we unite to play the game, sad I know, but catchy. EA Sports has put a lot of effort into getting the online side of things right this year, and they have ironed out a lot of the bugs that ruined club football in FIFA 09.

Check out NorSouth Utd on EA Sports Football world.

Now the other game causing quite a stir as a thinking man’s (or woman’s) game is Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.

I’m writing a full blog post about Op Flash: Dragon Rising, so for now I’ll leave you with that video…

It’s been a hard day’s night…

2009-09-16T22:50:00.001+01:00

Good evening ladies and gentleman and welcome to the Bryer Show. This is my first post for a while, and it’s a much needed post about all things Bryer, from gaming to professional life, it’s all commented on in this post.

First up is a bit of a moan to be fair… Royal Mail… How crap is the service for you? I’m finding that deliveries to my post code are truly appalling. I’ve had a parcel in transit for over 7 days now. So much for 1st Class. It’s the same with any form of 1st Class letter, it always takes between 5-7 days. Is this normal? I think not… I really wish that Royal Mail was like it used to be. 1st Class delivered next day and 2nd Class in 2 working days. Pathetic really that it’s got to the stage when this can’t happen.

Gaming’s been fun though when games I’ve ordered have turned up. Take for example IL2- Strumovik, probably one of the greatest PC flight sim’s ever created, recently got released onto the Xbox 360 and PS3 glorious high definition. Now I ordered the game well in advance of the release date through Gameseek.co.uk, who have reliably delivered games to me in the past, who ever the game was dispatched by them on the Wednesday before release, so technically 1st Class should be next working day, which would of been a Thursday, Friday at the very latest… Oh boy I wish it had been… It dropped onto the mat over a week later, not really acceptable. Now when I speak to customer services at Royal Mail, I’m asked to complete a P58 delay of mail form, this is a lengthy form which can take about 30 minutes to fill in and it then has to be posted to them. Fuck off, you can’t deliver paid for items, so why should I send you something Freepost…… Anyway back to the game, IL-2 is one of the most cinematic games, graphically, I have ever played. It’s just pure jaw dropping.

IL-2 Strumovik Birds of Prey

I just can’t praise how well made the game is, its amazing. It’s the same for The Beatles: Rock Band. An amazing game that covers a amazing time in the music of the 1960’s and 70’s. I was sad enough to buy the whole kit, 3 guitars, drums, microphone and the game. It’s immense…

Anyway time I went off to bed, I’m working in the Vodafone store in Dorchester tomorrow. Got to love covering in another store.

Laters peeps.

Follow me on Twitter @Bryer :-)

We don’t like cricket….. We love it!!!

2009-08-24T21:28:00.001+01:00

Good evening everyone, again sorry it’s been so long since my last post, but this summer has been a wee bit busy. Yes I’ve been glued to the Ashes. When I’ve been working, I’ve been getting updates to my mobile, when I’ve been at home I’ve had Sky Sports on all the time.

And we won, AGAIN, on British soil. It’s getting a bit routine is this… Going to savour the moments of this one, as I’ve actually witnessed all the games, and not just the odd one like I did in 2005.

I really don’t know what to post today, still in shock. So let’s just chant it once more for those that weren’t at the Brit Oval yesterday…. “Get those s**t stars…. Get those s**t stars, get those s**t stars off our flag”.

5th test highlights.

Oh Freddie, Freddie….

2009-07-20T15:12:00.001+01:00

Well it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed Test cricket as much as today. Now I’m not feeling at my best by any means, the dreaded summer flu caught me playing and missing at a ball just outside off stump on Saturday afternoon and I’ve been retired hurt since then. But this flu has given me a chance to watch some of the Lords test match between England and Australia.

Now this particular match is quite emotional for one player in particular. Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has announced his retirement from Test cricket after this Ashes summer. Now for you readers that aren’t cricket followers, Lords is the home of cricket, and playing any form of cricket there is a true honour and the Ashes are like the World Series or Stanley Cup in importance.

Well having watched the last 2 and a half days of this test match, I’ve seen a broken (bodied) man, bowl with the aggression and accuracy of a full fit fast bowler. He’s bowled amazingly, and has lived up to the hype regarding how good his bowling actually is. Never have I questioned his ability, ever since facing him when I was 14 at a ECB training academy.

So from all cricket fans from around the United Kingdom, COME ON LADS… Let’s get those Ashes back from the baggy green’s. I work with a team that are actually interested in the cricket now, and this Ashes series is looking to be one of the best in the UK for a decade (even better then 2005).

Well let’s now enjoy some video of the “Greatest Over” from Freddie Flintoff in the Ashes 2005 game at Edgbaston. I’ll see you all soon.

Decided that after finding some the 12th Man cd’s in the cupboard, I’d share the 2 English themed ones with you.

England vs. India 1987 – Download here.
England vs. Sri Lanka 1999 – Download here.

It’s one small step for me…. One giant leap for…..

2009-07-15T17:00:00.001+01:00

Good afternoon,

God it’s been so long since my last post that I’ve forgotten how much I miss writing blog posts.

So here we are July 2009 already, where is this year going? I think it’s been one of the most stressful years of my life to be honest, work is going great and is really enjoyable, but the stress being placed on the average worker is something I’ve not experienced before. But that’s enough about work.

I’ve been spending a lot of time recently listening and reading about the conflict in Afghanistan, and what is happening to the British troops that are injured and in the worse case scenario killed. Now the charity Help for Heroes is doing a lot to raise awareness of what goes on once soldiers that are injured come home and need support. I’m going to do my little bit soon, and host some gaming nights on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company.

So catch you again soon.

Sorry I’ve been gone so long…

2009-04-28T01:46:00.001+01:00

Hi guys, yes this is another apology for the lack of updates to the blog. Or in fact any blog posts. I kind of gave up blogging for a bit as I re-reached a low point in my life, and didn’t really want to post for the world to see.

But anyway, here I am, back again. I’m currently sat writing this blog post surrounded by semi drunk Chelsea fans at London Gatwick airport, waiting to check in for my whistle stop tour of Menorca. To be honest I can’t wait. But why are there all these Chelsea fans? Is it Champions League Semi final time already? If so are they playing Barcelona? God I’m quite forgetful at the moment.

So what has been going on in the last week that led me to post a blog again? My 25th birthday, is what has happened, and I’ve been quite spoilt this time to be honest. My best mate Jack took me to see 2 days of motor racing up at Thruxton. British Touring Cars are amazing up close.

We spent 2 days at the Hampshire circuit, enjoy the best of the British Touring Car Championship and support races. We met several of the drivers, namely Mat Jackson and Jason Plato, both of whom are driving for the new RML/Silverline Racing team, using the rather nippy Chevrolet Lacetti. We witnessed a few crashes over the weekend. Namely a gentleman by the name of Smith in the Renault Clio Cup, he hit the wall in front of us at what must of been 70mph… It was a spectacular testament to the strength of the cars, and the amazing absorption of the Armco barrier.

The poor lad got out of the car, but collapsed shortly after, we assume from shock, but he could of ended up a lot worse.

Ah well I’m going to sign off and write another blog post once I’m airside. I need the loo quite badly, a TGI’s Jack Daniel’s American Grill was eaten at about 7pm and you can imagine what my digestive system has thought of that. I’m going to leave you this evening with a music video of a song that is up and coming. Hope you like it.

Bangin Tuneage!!!

Introducing the EFEC Pumas….

2009-02-03T05:14:00.001Z

Good morning blog readers, welcome to a rather delayed blog post. I would like to blame Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft, Xbox Live and Robert Taylor for the distinct lack of postings recently. A while ago you might recall me asking you to make a decision on a video about a video game called EndWar. Well this game has swallowed up all of my free online time recently. It’s more addictive then Class A drugs (Having not done any in my life I can’t really make this comment).

Playing the game with only 3 other people on your team in Xbox Live mode of the game, communication is vital, and I’m afraid to say that being a player that doesn’t talk when playing EndWar, is about as helpful as a chocolate fire guard. It just doesn’t work at all. So when you find someone that speaks English or American, then you tend to buddy up and play together for a few hours. Now this has lead to what can only be described as a “Gaming clan”. Having a small collection of players from both England and America has proved to be a recipe for success. With all parties bringing some great tactics and strategies to the game play.

Now at first when I started playing EndWar online with Rob (aka Yellowarmy), we used to panic and shout at each other all the time. Especially if communication of battlefield commands broke down, but since finding a winning formula with many of our European Federation Enforcer Corps commanders, everything has become very much more relaxed. Since leaving the Officer Training college within the game, I have been in command of EFEC Battle group 10 (Tactical), which to normal people is artillery and tanks, and shed loads of them. I have not been a commander that has been merciful when in combat, when I’ve had the chance I’ve killed units out right, this has become known as “hostile killing or unit killing”, let me explain quickly. Units in EndWar have a 4 bar health counter and a shield of protection, when the health counter reaches 1 red bar, the unit in question goes into “Evac mode”, this is where they cannot physically fight anymore, but still remain on the battlefield awaiting a evac chopper. Which gives you a few moments to reduce their shields and blow them to kingdom come. Now EndWar employs a unit promotion and progression system, which to be fair is bugged to hell at the moment, but it takes a while for units to gain ranks and experience. Unit killing is seen to be a no go area. According to whiners on the Ubisoft forums, “unit killers are faggots that have no skill in the game what so ever”, now I’m sorry this statement is false. To me unit killing is a way of helping my side achieve the goal of winning World War 3. If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen.

Well its really time to get some sleep I guess. Battle group 2 Airborne aka Yellowarmy will probably want to recommence hostilities in the morning. Take care people and don’t forget for all the latest bits and pieces keep a eye on my twitter feed.

If you want to play with us in Theatre of War mode on EndWar, please add the gamer tags below to your friends list and hopefully we can get you battle ready ASAP.

There are others in the “European Pumas” but I couldn’t possible list them all here. They are EvilElson, Sexy Shell, Sabersayin and Ice Waster. See you on the battlefield.

(Edit 06/02/09 – Renamed to the 22nd Rapid Action Regiment, new site www.rapidactionregiment.co.uk – Check it out.)

You decide…

2009-01-21T04:24:00.001Z

So do you think this video echoes recent history with regards to events we have encountered recently'; Israel/Gaza conflict, Russia/Ukraine gas issue, 1st Afro-American President of the USA, Missile defence shield, Middle East troubles? Well this game is amazing and I personally think it’s possible to see events from it becoming a reality.

What are your thoughts?

Footage shown is from Tom Clancy’s EndWar available now on Xbox360 and PS3. All rights reserved. Copyright of Ubisoft Shanghai.

Are banks the UK’s biggest thieves….?

2009-01-08T02:21:00.001Z

Anyone that has been following my Twitter today will have seen I’ve been having a few issues with NatWest and the charges on my current account over the last few months.

Now according to FSA guidelines account holders have to be notified about any charges that they will be added to their accounts 28 days before they are taken. Now me being green and eco friendly I stopped paper statements and went to email notifications, however the system at NatWest failed to send me out any advice for the last 4-5 months, so hoping to get all my charges refunded.

Wish me luck, shall update you later.

What happened to British comedy???

2009-01-07T00:58:00.001Z

That is the question I’ve been asking myself a lot recently, where have all the decent British comedy geniuses from yesteryear gone? I’m referring to the shows like Monty Python, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and Not the 9 o’clock news. We now have to endure some real crap on the tv, I can’t name one comedy series in the last 5-10 years that I’ve watched week in week out. But I have all of the Blackadders, Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses on DVD or digital format that always seem to get popped on if I’m feeling a little down in the dumps.

So where have all the fantastic writers gone? I know Ben Elton (Blackadder) still does a little bit, as does Richard Curtis (Blackadder), but where has John O’Sullivan (OF&H) gone? We now have to watch things like Catherine Tate, Little Britain and all the other dross.

So come on people what is your favourite British comedy show from the past 30 years? This is my all time favourite episode of Blackadder Goes Fourth.

See pure comic genius. Catch you all later on.

Smart tuck, tasty beds and soft uniforms…..

2009-01-05T00:57:00.002Z

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2nd post of 2009. What a year 2009 could be, but I doubt it…

Recession, job cuts, being skint and rising cost of living, all look they are going to hit the hard working people of the world this year. Unfair really, as the best way to be is on government hand outs, at least your income will only go up from the “amazing” labour government.

Anyway that’s enough of that bollocks, back to the matters of importance, they are Where has Bryer been hiding for the last 3 months? What’s planned for 2009? and When will life become simple? The answer to these 3 points will be revealed after this short comical interlude……

Right then, lets get down to the matter of sentencing the deceased… sorry defendants, for the last 3 months I’ve been hiding in a small sausage factory in Tanganyika…

Just kidding, I’ve been busy enjoying, yes ENJOYING, my new job with Vodafone UK. Now I never thought I’d enjoy work after the fiasco of you know what, but the staff at Vodafone in Poole are the funniest and friendliest people I have ever met. Often spend most of the days giggling and chatting to customers… I’ve also been sorting out a lot of the issues I was encountering with life, and really hope that 2009 isn’t a bad year like 2008.

So what have I got planned for 2009? World domination… no just kidding, I’m hoping to make life a little bit easier for myself. Hoping to sell the flat and move to somewhere a little more lively, either Poole town centre or take the plunge and move to Bournemouth town centre… I can’t decide. There are many things pulling me towards the Bournemouth option, the one being the new fibre optic to home broadband being rolled out across the Bournemouth town centre area. 100mb broadband is really really appealing.

So I think that about wraps up this post, think I need to post about my landmark games of 2008 and the up and coming games for 2009 later on Monday.

So stay safe in this rather wintery weather in the UK and keep your eyes peeled on the blog, I’ve set up email to blog and mobile blogging to keep up with the schedule. I’ve also got my eye on one of these.

Goodbye 2008, Welcome 2009!!!

2009-01-02T18:21:00.001Z

Good evening blog readers, welcome back to the Life of Bryer. Sorry about the distinct lack of postings from October to December but life took a turn for the surreal and I had to concentrate on lots of other things, and the blog got left behind.

So what’s been happening with me? Well I started the new job with Vodafone UK, and must say I’ve not enjoyed work this much for a long long time. It’s fun, each customer is different and you have lots and lots to do. Suits me Dougie… Christmas and New Year where good, enjoyed a lovely dinner and a night of gaming, which I have to say proved to a lot more fun then it sounds.

Anyway I have things to do right now, but thought I would just post to say welcome to 2009, I hope that it brings you all the happiness and joy you all deserve… I’m cooking up a cunning plan for 2009, which I hope to reveal more on soon.

So take care, stay safe, and I shall see you on Sunday for my next post.

Do NOT adjust your sets…….

2008-11-18T19:33:00.001Z

Good evening, welcome back to the Life of Bryer. Sorry its been so long since my last post, but life has been a bit hectic to say the least. I’ve got a new job with Vodafone UK as a retail advisor and am enjoying life again. I will be posting regularly again towards the end of this week.

If your into your gaming you can check out the best online gaming community in the UK over at CompleteGamingNetwork.com.

So please let me know what you’ve been up to since I’ve been away.

The last few weeks……

2008-10-06T02:29:00.001+01:00

Hello there,

Firstly I’d like to apologise for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. I’m going through a rough patch at the moment and have been trying to sort a lot of things out and make sure that life doesn’t get me down, and I’m trying to stay on top of things (but failing).

But the gaming side of life couldn’t be better, the 3rd of October saw the release of the much talked about FIFA 09, which I must admit is the best football game for the last 10 years on any format. I’m not going to review the game, as the Metacritic.com website is the best place to go for the reviews.

So what else have I been up to? Well being the General Manager of the Complete Gaming Network.com Motherpuckers has kept me very, very busy. We aren’t having the best season so far in the NHL 09 EA Sports Hockey League, but we are slowly gelling as a team, and we will hopefully start to turn things around. I’ve also spent a fair bit of time teeing off in Tiger Woods 09, which has taken a back seat with NHL and FIFA being the games of choice.

Anyway it’s 0230hrs, I’m tired and really have got a stack load to do in the morning, so I’ll say good night. I will hopefully be back to regular blog posting shortly.

Night all.

Be a Pro…..

2008-09-18T04:01:00.001+01:00

Good morning sport fans, welcome to the first blog post of the week, which is going to focus on my new gaming exploits. I recently bought myself Tiger Woods 09 and NHL 09, both from EA Sports, which are fantastic.

Firstly a few bits of house keeping to take care of, Beardwatch has sadly come to a premature end, I could no longer take the itching and smell the beard was giving off, no matter what I washed it with. The HD-DVD’s have all safely arrived now and I also managed to pick up 2 Fast 2 Furious, which is a awful film, I have no idea why I picked it up, but hey, its got Eva Mendez in it.

Well anyway, back to the gaming experience that seems to EA Sports led this September. I’ve always enjoyed EA Sports games, but have to admit that they lost their way between 2002-2007 with some of their titles. One game that always managed to end up being half decent year in year out, was their ice hockey franchise, simply named NHL <year>. This year is no exception, and NHL 09 is leaps and bounds ahead of 2K Sports’ NHL 2k9. The biggest addition to the game is Be a Pro mode.

Be a Pro mode is a game mode that allows you to focus on taking a player and developing his career. You can create yourself, or take a NHL Pro to even greater heights. I personally have chosen to create myself, and ended up joining the Lowell Devils, who are the AHL affiliates of the New Jersey Devils.
I have only played a few games in my AHL season, but have started to finally get into the rhythm, and in my last 2 games I’ve got a goal and 2 assists. Want to see my goal? I thought you might, so here you go. Enjoy.

*** REMOVED 06/10/2008 ***

Well yeah there we go, not the best, but still my first goal. So what else am I going to cover today… I’m going to save the Tiger Woods 09 stuff for tomorrow, once I can beat Yellowarmy. I am nearing a milestone on Xbox Live, I’m nearing the big 10,000 gamer score. I’m hoping to get there by the end of the week. Let’s hope so huh?

Bryer

Right well I’m going to sign off and go and watch the end of the MLB on Channel 5. So I’ll leave you with the musical sounds of Blur and Song 2.

Liberty City... A great place for a holiday....

2008-09-14T04:25:00.001+01:00

Good morning all, sorry it feels like an age since my last post, but I've got a confession to make, I got lost in Liberty City with Niko Bellic and friends. While the holiday was nice, it contained far too much violence, vice and drugs, hehe.

So what have you guys been up to then? Enjoying Tiger Woods 09 I expect, well I have too, picked it up earlier, thanks to Doris X for taking me to ASDA to pick it up, I hope you enjoyed dinner that was cooked in return. Well Tiger Woods 09, takes digital golf to a whole new level, that is really really suited to console gaming, and playing with your friends. I will hopefully get a few more rounds in tomorrow (Sunday), and hopefully pop a mini-review up Monday or Tuesday, before I get my hands on NHL 09 from EA Sports, this game looks amazing.

A bit of good news on the HD-DVD front. Some of them have finally arrived. Take a look:

Looks good doesn't it? Click it for a larger view. Anyway it's 0421hrs and I need to get some sleep. I will post up about Tiger Woods 09 later.

Night all.

Beardwatch - 11092008 - 9 days - Low/Med Risk

2008-09-11T03:24:00.001+01:00

Latest update from the Department of Beard Growth.

Let me know what you think I should do....

Do I Keep it? or Shave it?

A busy few days in the software world....

2008-09-10T00:54:00.001+01:00

Good evening campers, this post is being posted after a few busy days on the software scene. Google updated Chrome and Apple have released iTunes 8.0. My mail is still missing, that's now 14 HD-DVD's lost somewhere in Royal Mail's systems and the beard is just...... Annoying.

Google's update to Chrome would appear to fix a few problems with the V8 system that runs the Java applications and it puts a stop to a buffer overrun issue that had been discovered. The update also seems to create a even faster rendering web browser.

Apple have now released iTunes version 8.0, which I must admit looks and feels a lot more reliable and user friendly then previous versions. There are several new features that are taking some getting used to, but overall it's going in the right direction. The new iPod Nano deserves a mention as you can see by the picture the new generation Nano sports a bigger screen and, if you ask me looks really really nice. I would get one but to be honest I'm going to be getting a Zune, hopefully.

Now for the part of the blog that's about me and my life...... As I've reported in my blog before, I've been ordering HD-DVD's from HMV.com due to a fantastic deal that is currently running on their site. So with 14 currently on order, you would of thought I would be happy, well unfortunately I'm not. Royal Mail seem to have lost 7 of them in the system, I personally think that they have been stolen by a postman in the local area. The reason I say this is because I've NEVER had a problem with delivery before, 4 HD-DVD's I order two days previously to the larger order of 6, have arrived no problem within 3 days. Now here we are 14 days since they got posted and still no sign. Also there are 6 others on order from HMV.com, they were ordered on the Friday just gone, and still no sign as of yet, hopefully they will arrive Wednesday morning in the post. We shall see though.

Right off to bed for me.

Oh I forgot to mention, the beard is growing really really well. Hope to get some decent pictures Wednesday afternoon.

BeardWatch - 07092008 - 5 Days - Low Risk

2008-09-07T17:50:00.001+01:00

In the words of a great.... "And, And, And, He's crashed"

2008-09-07T16:01:00.001+01:00

Good afternoon blogger's, I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to you from me and the beard. Yes that's right, the beard is coming along nicely.

But the beard is not the focus of today's post, F1 and music are the cornerstones today. Yes I'm going to talk about the Grand Prix that has just taken place over in Belgium at the Spa-Francochamps circuit, and boy what a final 8 laps to the race. Rain, crashes, controversy and most of all a winning British driver and team. The rain started to hit the race 8 laps from the end making the track greasy and I've not seen so much exciting racing in F1 for a long time, with the leaders just spinning and skidding all over the place. Great stuff. However shortly after the race had finished there was a announcement that the stewards are going to be investigating the incident at the bus stop chicane. Kimi left Lewis no room and he had to take the escape road as the picture shows, Lewis then let Kimi back through and overtook him at the next corner, according to the rules that is a acceptable practice, wish that the FIA would stick to the rules, there are one set for one weekend and another set for the following weekend. Bah oh well.... We shall see.

Well normally I would have the musical interlude here, but as I'm about to follow up with a bit on a new album I've acquired, I thought I'd post a trailer to a film that looks really good, and will probably shock some people that its already in development.

So what do you think?

Well now with that out the way, I'm going to move onto talk about a fantastic new music album I came across last night, it's called The Mash Up Mix - The Old Skool Edition part of The Mash Up Mix series, it's been running for 3 years now, and is mixed by The Cut Up Boys and published by the Ministry of Sound. Now it's normally a collection of songs from the year that are taken and then cut and rearranged to make catchy new tracks and I must admit they have been really good, this album takes all those old dance classics from the 90's and re-cuts them into some amazing new sounds. Really worth getting your hands on a copy. It's currently playing away now, and I can't stop my toe tapping antics, even the beard is getting a groove on.

In other business, the beard growth is starting to ramp up again, and I had a first last night, food retention happened at 2100hrs, while eating chips, we had a fluffy bit of potato trapped in the chin hair, shocking, a few more incidents and Beard Control are talking of raising the threat level.

Well I'm going to have a very late breakfast now and jump in the shower and clean the beard, don't want to get a nasty beard smell going on. I'll try and get a picture of the growth for a later entry, but I really must sit down and attempt the video blog again.....

See you on the flip side.

Homeland Security Beard Threat Level Update...

2008-09-06T15:23:00.001+01:00

Well with the recently announced growing of my facial hair for a laugh, there needs to be some sort of growth measuring level. There are going to be a few levels of "Threat of Food Retention", its going to be a similar scale that Security services use to gauge threat levels.

Now a quick update on the growth over the last 48 hours, well it started slowly but the growth from Friday night into Saturday has exploded, and we could be looking at a level change in possibly 36-48 hours. I'm not really looking forward to getting food stuck in the growth, but I've said I will not cut it for a month and that is what I'm going to do.

Well I am hoping to re do the video blog later today and have some fun with that. If you want to suggest anything for conversation, please email and let me know.

Dropping the F bomb......

2008-09-05T12:41:00.001+01:00

Good day blog followers, I'm not the messiah, I'm just a very naughty boy, and if my mum could of heard me last night and I was 12 years old again, I wouldn't be writing this entry. Due probably to the fact that she would of killed me.... I was playing Call of Duty 4 and accidentally hit the Dictaphone button on my phone, which recorded me for nearly 3 hours last night without my realising. God when I realised and played it back I was shocked. I dropped the F bomb over 20 times in a hour, that's more then the local pub football team, shocking!!!

Anyway time for a musical interlude.......

Hope you liked that little break up in the blog there, anyway yesterday was a fun day, helped Doris cheer herself up after the bad few weeks she had been having by going to the cinema and for a bite to eat. We went to watch Step Brothers which I must admit was hilarious, belly laughing for a good 45 minutes of the film, which for me is impressive. I think we both decided that it's one of those films you have to see to really enjoy the humour, its going to be a addition to my collection when it gets released.

So what else is going on in my life? Well apart from starting to think the postmen in Dorset are on the thieve as lots of my post is seemingly either getting heavily delayed or isn't turning up at all, including HD-DVD's and important letters/bills. But anyway it's been reported to the Police, we shall see if Dorset or the Met actually do anything about it.

Oh before I go, one final thing to tell you... Doris X (click the link in Blogs I read) has challenged me to grow my facial hair for a month, starting from yesterday, it was already pretty long by my standards and I'm now starting to realise that I could look like Brian Blessed after about a week more, dear god, I'm going to have "A great big bushy beard"....... I'll no doubt be posting again before the end of the day, but watch out for low flying Boeing 777's with ice in their fuel......

While writing this, I was listening to "Streetlife DJs Hot Mix 100 (Part 8)" by Streetlife DJs.

Chrome... The score... honestly....

2008-09-02T23:50:00.001+01:00

Right its been out little over a hour now and I've had time to sit down and play with Google's internet browser, Chrome. My first impressions are it is very fast, very reliable and could possibly shake the whole browser market to its foundations. The only problems lie in the V8 java script engine, its quite buggy at the moment, I hope they are fixing it as we speak. Anyway give it a roll of yourselves, you can find it over here.

What's that Scoobs??? Another new browser......

2008-09-02T12:40:00.001+01:00

Last night Google fired a warning shot to Microsoft, Mozilla and Apple, and announced that the Google labs have been busy developing their own browser, code named Chrome. Not much is known yet about what is actually hiding in the servers of Google's datacenter, but a few screen shots have been sited and it looks good.

I'm going to test the browser itself once I get my hands on it at 1100 PST and will let you know what I think within the first 5 minutes.

Now lets go downstairs and see if my HD-DVD's have arrived, if not Royal Mail are going to get another phone call.

Flickr vs Picasa - Battle of the photo hosting....

2008-09-01T13:05:00.001+01:00

Now with digital cameras becoming cheap and cheerful, online photo storage website's are popping up at the rate of 3-4 a day, with 5-6 disappearing with 24 hours due to the massive bandwidth and storage costs. There are two however that are starting to cement themselves in the online photo album stakes. These two are Yahoo's Flickr and Google's Picasa.

Both of the website's offer free storage.

Flickr gives you: 100mb upload per month, 3 photo albums, limited to 200 viewable pictures, limited to 10mb a picture, only allowed to show images up to 1024x768 until you upgrade for $24.95 a year.

Picasa gives you 1024mb to do as you want with. There are upgradable options, that are limited to bulk storage in 10, 40, 150 or 400GB packages.

Now I must admit both systems have their plus and minus points, but to be honest there are so many that I'd be here for the rest of my life, and preferences are down to the end user and not the reviewer.

What is good about both website's is they provide software for you to download on to your PC to make loading pictures to the respected website's easier. Now Flickr.com's isn't particularly good, it just allows you to rotate pictures and add tags to them. Picasa v2 is a photo editing suite, which wins hands down for me.

I'll let you decide for yourselves.

I feel the need, the need for speed.......

2008-08-31T19:10:00.001+01:00

Good evening all, sorry for my lack of blog posts over the last 2 days, not really been feeling right, and it was all topped off with the migraine from hell this morning. It's still here but is now just a "Category 2" headache. So what is there to talk about in Sunday's weekly round up, lots actually. I've had a amazing week considering what it has held.

Well Wednesday was spent celebrating my youngest sister Fay's 18th birthday, we went out for a family meal to the Taipan Chinese Restaurant in New Eltham, which I must say is the nicest Chinese food I have ever tasted. It's been the same for nearly 20 years. It's a tribute to family run restaurants.

Thursday was a bit more somber, with the funeral of my 99 year old Great Grandmother, we gave her a small quiet send off. It was nice to finally be able to let her go and rest in peace with Granddad Bert, who died 20+ years ago. The evening though was a no holes barred drinking session with Nick, Jack, Ben, Jordan, Tanya and Charlotte. We went to Nine Bar in Bexleyheath, which I must admit was very very very entertaining and a fantastic concept, a pool hall with a cocktail lounge. Nice plush leather sofas, plenty of widescreen TV's showing the latest sports, and a fantastic cocktail menu. The only downside was the over use of ice, far too much per drink, which to me shows the owner is worried about letting people get too drunk, we spent over £135 and none of us were particularly drunk, even with the shorts cocktails. I will never drink Sambucca, Tequila and Tabasco sauce again. It was just wrong.

Friday was a boring day of travelling back to Poole, Dorset after a week of fun and frolics. I have decided that from now on I'm going to book trips back earlier, so that I can use the nice air conditioned trains, where they actually stay cool and comfortable, not like the 2 coach journey's this week, that were hot and uncomfortable.

Saturday and Sunday have both been a bit weird to be honest, I've not been feeling right, and the fruits of that unwell feelings came to a head with a massive migraine, after spending all morning in bed, I woke up at 1600hrs and felt a little better, with just a mild headache. While I was laying in bed recovering I saw a trailer on the TV for a film that I must admit looks absolutely hilarious.

Step Brothers

Well I shall hopefully receive the rest of my HD-DVD's tomorrow, and I'll start doing the reviews. I have got a few employers to speak to tomorrow and will hopefully be looking at employment again.

Anyway I'll catch you all later.

Friday night is film night.....

2008-08-29T23:15:00.001+01:00

Well after returning home from London today to 4 of my 11 HD-DVD's, I decided that I'd have a relaxing evening in front of the TV watching 2 of them. I chose to watch Knocked Up and Miami Vice. Reviews to follow shortly. But I must say they were really good films to watch. Can't wait for the arrival of the rest.

Last night was a good night... Even if we were home early!

2008-08-27T15:52:00.001+01:00

Good afternoon peeps, sorry its a late start to the blogging today, been lounging around and then celebrating and visiting my grandad in hospital, there isn't actually anything wrong with him, but hey ho. So last night was a quiet affair with Nick, Kieran and Jack. Started in the Blue Anchor, then moved onto Bexley Village visiting the fine establishments of Bar Lorca and The George, good times. Then a slow walk back to Chez Nick.

I managed to take a few pictures and have posted them to Flickr.com and Facebook.com, so if you want to take a look feel free.

Have arrived safely...

2008-08-26T18:14:00.001+01:00

Well the long journey to the top secret location in Bexley, Kent has come to a end and I can safely report that I made it without incident. Phew! Well I will be attending a local curry house and then pub with the boys, and who knows, it's Tuesday though so options are limited...... There will be plenty of pictures up over the next few days on my Flickr.com site, so keep your eyes peeled.... Anyway time to get a move on and freshen up before the drinking begins...... My liver is already complaining, as are my kidneys hehe..... Good luck lads.......

Travelling with twats.... yes twats.....

2008-08-26T12:43:00.001+01:00

Hello all, this post is being made from National Express Coach BT11 on the 035 Poole to London service. I'm sitting at the back of the coach itself and am about 7 rows from 3 couples of retired folk. We've been travelling for just under 20 minutes and hey haven't shut up yet. I really hope they do. They are your typical old biddies. Talking about the every little fucking thing. It is so annoying.

The next 7 days in The Life of Bryer...

2008-08-24T19:13:00.002+01:00

Good afternoon readers, this afternoon is all about the next week in the Life of Bryer. It's going to be a busy one considering the week only consists of 4 working days, and those 4 days for me are going to be packed with travelling, celebrating, mourning and then some more travelling.

Well Tuesday is going to be a long, long day. It will mean getting up at 7am, then travelling into Poole Town Centre for a trip to the job centre, then moving to the bus station for a midday National Express coach trip back to the smog of London. I'm hoping to catch up a few friends when back in London, will be nice to see Jack, Nick and Kieran. I'm hoping Tuesday will be uneventful and will just be nice and quiet.

Wednesday is when the party for the day starts, it's my youngest sisters 18th birthday. God that sounds weird. Fay.... 18.... Dear god where has the time gone. I'm not sure what the arrangements are, but I heard that a big surprise for Fay is waiting in the wings at a family meal in the evening.

Thursday is a little more somber and is the funeral of my late Great Grandmother, Margaret. Nan was 99 years old. A amazing woman that lived through 2 world wars and had seen many, many changes in life. Hoping to give the old girl a grand send off.

I'll try to stay online via the mobile phone and the like and blog a little while in London. If any of you want to meet up and catch up during the week, let me know via a email and I'll see what I can do.

The Old Manor.

HD-DVD: Additions to my collection.

2008-08-24T00:14:00.001+01:00

Good evening, HMV.com are still doing their offer of HD-DVD's from £2.99 so I've decided to order a few to add to my collection. Just to let you know what to expect in the reviews stakes over the coming weeks I'll post the new additions now. There are 11 in total, yes 11.

So what film are you most looking to reading the review of? Please leave a comment and I'll do my best to get the most voted for film reviewed first.

Sorry for the absence...

2008-08-21T14:25:00.001+01:00

Hey all, sorry for the lack of posts or updates recently. I can only blame myself for that, blame myself for getting hooked on Beijing 2008 on the Xbox 360. Well I can actually blame the regular mob I play on Live with, they have been really pushing the envelope in most events, but I've not had this much fun on Xbox Live for a long time. I'll post a more in depth look at the game later on this week, possible even at the weekend. But until then, keep your eye on my Facebook or my Twitter block on the right for updates :-).

Now on the right hand side you will see a little search box has appeared which is labelled, ~~Buy a game~~ Find a Game!, this links straight into Play-Asia.com and gives you the cheapest price on games, DVD's and accessories anywhere in the world. Just type in what your looking for and click go, and it will bring up their amazingly well stocked website. I will personally support any transactions done through Play-Asia.com, they might be in Hong Kong, but all goods arrive within 5 days. Amazing really.

Enjoy.
The Online Team GB Olympic Team

HD-DVD Review: I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry...

2008-08-19T01:01:00.001+01:00

Well the first review of the the new and improved blog is going to be about recently released to HD-DVD, I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry. Now this particular film isn't normally my cup of tea as the saying goes, but I must admit I was shocked when I actually sat down and begun to watch the movie itself. The picture quality was a lot sharper then previous HD-DVD's that I've watched. I think this might have something to do with the small changes in codecs that were made towards the end of the HD-DVD/Blu-ray battle.

So with a cast of high quality actors and actresses, the storyline matches the quality. Actors starring in this film are Adam Sandler, Dan Ackroyd, Ving Rhames, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi and many many more. The story focuses on a pair of New York City firefighters named Chuck and Larry. Larry has 2 children and has lost his wife. Chuck is a playboy of epic proportions played by Adam Sandler. The story gets going after 20 minutes into the film, when Larry saves Chuck's life, and in accordance with the firefighters code, Chuck then owes Larry a favour, that favour is anything. So when Larry goes to make the beneficiaries of his pension to his children and finds out he cannot, he gets informed that getting into a marriage or recognised partnership would allow him to make that person the beneficiary. So in a weird a twisted way, Chuck and Larry enter into a "gay" relationship. The film then goes onto tackle gay acceptance in a still backward US of A. With the FDNY accusing the pair of fraud.

I highly recommend this film for the comedy. It's approx a laugh every 10 minutes. I'm talking a belly laugh, the one that sometimes brings a tear to your eye. Worth a rent, or if you have a HD-DVD player, worth the £2.99 from HMV, just click the image of the case above!!!

Next week I will review Full Metal Jacket.

Team GB, for once doing us proud......

2008-08-17T22:54:00.001+01:00

Well good evening and welcome to tonight's episode of The Life of Bryer. Today's topic of conversation is the amazing performance of Team GB over in China. I have recently had the time to watch a lot of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on the BBC HD channel through Virgin Media. I really cannot describe how much better the sports have looked in high definition, but it has really brought the Olympic games to life.

Now Team GB have out performed at this Olympics then any GB team that I care to remember, I've seen 6 Olympic games in my time, and cannot remember a team more successful then the 2008 athletes. The currently tally as of 2000hrs GMT on the 17/08/08 is 11 Gold, 6 Silver and 7 Bronze. That puts us 3rd in the medal table, which to be honest is amazing considering its only China and the United States ahead of us.

Well done Team GB, and just think there is still a week to go.... What does that week hold for Team GB and the medal hopes? Bring home the medals guys and make this the most successful Olympics yet....

The new McDonald's can glasses....

2008-08-16T14:58:00.001+01:00

Yes that's right.. I'm going to talk about the new McDonald's Coca-Cola can glasses that are appearing in the UK fast food outlets of the world's best known burger bar. About 18 months ago, there was a similar promotional campaign with some rather old fashioned glass swirl glasses that to be honest, were hideous. Now I went for some lunch yesterday afternoon after picking up Madden 09 in town, and ordered a large Big Mac meal as I was quite peckish and the server asked what colour glass I wanted, I looked up and saw a multi coloured poster full of 6 glasses of various colours, so I asked for a black one. Now these glasses are exactly the same size and shape as a can of Coca-Cola, they really are unique and to be honest. They would impress anyone that got served a ice cold glass of Coca-Cola in one of these fantastic beverage containers. So if anyone has some they want to get rid of drop me a email and I'll happily take them off your hands.

Note - The glasses shown are from the official Coca-Cola store.

EA Sports presents Madden 09...

2008-08-16T01:35:00.001+01:00

Well hello sports fans, Friday 15th August 2008 saw the release in the UK of EA Sports' latest American Football game, Madden 09. Madden 09 is the 20th edition of the EA Sports franchise, that's 20 years of American Football on consoles.

I have got myself a copy of the game, and over the next few days I'll get some playing time in, and will be posting a review on either Sunday or Monday, and this will be accompanied by a review of 2 High Definition DVD's, The Last Samurai and Training Day.

Anyway folks its time get some sleep on and to relax.

What course does The Life of Bryer take......???

2008-08-15T03:48:00.001+01:00

Good morning sports fans, and welcome to yet another redesign of my blog. This one should be sticking around for a while. The new design is aimed to show my hobby and passion which is video gaming, thanks goes out to FourZeroTwo (Robert Bowling) for his video blog about showing passion for gaming to get along in life.
Well anyway I have drifted off the course of the aim of the post, I'm thinking of posting a lot more gaming related stuff on to my blog, along with movie, game and DVD reviews. I will also post reviews on my electrical hardware and gaming setup. This mixed with the day to day post, should provide "The Life of Bryer" with plenty of content and variation.
Do you the readers agree with where I'm going on this line with the blog? Please cast your vote on the right hand side. Voting will run until the 29th of August, until then I'll be posting both to give you a idea of what to expect.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare becoming a reality?!.....

2008-08-14T22:05:00.001+01:00

Good morning, everyone, today I've decided that I'm going to compare a video game to the real world in the recent past and the present. I know this might seem like a particularly odd thing to do, but I feel that video games are somehow able to see into the future and predict possible conflicts.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a video game that has been made for the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 systems. It's based in the current world climate, and really echoes the 2003 invasion of Iraq and currently the escalating climate in Georgia. For a insight into the story line of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, please visit Wikipedia or click here.

Now what do I think of Russia's aggression and plan in Georgia, well I personally think that the Russian military has been secretly rebuilding and modernising itself since the Cold War years. With the current economic power of oil, I can see Russia recapturing the oil infrastructure in and around its borders. With Georgia having a major pipeline running through it, it seems the only reasonable answer, not to protect the Russia citizens in South Ossestia.

Now America wants to throw its 2 cents in and says that the US Marines and US Air Force are going to be the major force behind the aid operation to citizens.... Could piss Russia off enough to see the US and Russia scrapping in Georgia. Not a full blown war, but just like taking a few pot shots at each other.... Not what the world really needs right now.

Anyway that's enough of that and I shall see you all soon.

What is it about Lee Evans???

2008-08-11T11:51:00.001+01:00

Hello all,

Today's 2nd post is on the subject of stand up comedy, in particular stand up comedy by the living legend that is Lee Evans....

I recently acquired some video footage of Lee Evans back in the mid 90's when he was starting off, and I have to say it it some of the funniest comedy that I have ever had the privilege of watching. The gags are all completely original and his style of using real world situation to entice laughter is excellent.

I can't quite explain what the funny side of a 30/40 something man, standing on stage sweating like something out of a Benny Hill sketch. But his gags are so funny too, could the relevance to everybody that they know exactly what he's talking about. Well I'll let you decide, but all I know is that when I'm feeling a little low, on goes the Lee Evans and the laughter cheers me up! :)

Anyway just incase you don't know what Lee Evans is all about, here is a little bit of a taster.

The one about birthday's....

2008-08-11T11:33:00.002+01:00

Well today is the one I love's birthday, and we had a interesting conversation about getting older and it brought to my mind the one question that baffles me. Why do women care so much about their ages? I don't hear a man going on about "oh no I'm a year older" or "god I'm closer to the big 0"..... I really do wish you sweetheart a happy birthday and I cannot wait to see you again soon. xxx

Gordon Ramsey.... what a ledge!!!

2008-08-08T04:10:00.001+01:00

What we all think of the French...

I have recently become aware of a TV show which I will be honest wish I'd seen first time around, but thanks to Virgin Media, I'm watching it again and again. It's Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmare both from the UK and the US.

Now I'm not a racist, I just dislike the arrogance of most French people really angers me. It doesn't appear to me that the arrogance of the French isn't just a thing that bothers me. It's amazing the fact that Gordon states his mind all the time. I really would love to meet Chef Ramsey, just for the experience of what he is like in the flesh. As the movie above shows.

Gordon has lit the fire under my cooking ambitions, and I'm currently looking at developing a few recipes that I hope to cook for friends and family on a regular basis.

Bad Company gets a reprieve... or does it?

2008-08-07T23:37:00.001+01:00

Hello all, welcome to this blog entry about gaming and vlogging.

Well earlier today Battlefield: Bad Company received a title update and the new Conquest mode was released. Am I the only person in the world that thinks that EA and DICE should of delayed BF:BC until they had more game modes ready? Also what is the deal with the inaccuracy of the weapon in the game. I can be scoped with the MG36 (a light machine gun), firing in short burst, and not hit a thing that is about 100ft away. Yet I can get hit with a silent Uzi from across the map... Highly infuriating and I have to agree the game still needs a lot of work.

I have also decided to experiment with the new craze of Video blogging, or Vlogging as its become known. I think it's a good way to quickly and easily summarize and add the humour that apparently I've become famous for.

Well I'll post a demo up soon, hopefully I won't make a hash of it.

Bobby Jay introduces Micro mixing.....

2008-08-06T19:22:00.001+01:00

Well as most people are starting to leave the big blogs for what's become known as micro blogging, my good friend Bobby Jay has decided to do what he is calling Micro mixing, these micro mixes are going to be 30 minutes long and range from House to Garage via Drum n Bass.

With his first mix just having left the studio, its a amazing mixture of what he is calling Tech House, got to love the sample used in the final song of the mix.... takes me back a few years to the Apocalypse Now era.......

1. Dirty South - Minority
2. Steve Angello - Gypsy
3. DJ Wady - Hulk
4. Spoon, Obernik & Harris - Baditude (Mark Mendes Remix )
5. Mark Knight Feat. Soha & Adam K - From The Speaker (Dub Mix)
6. John Dahlback - Pyramid (Dirty South Remix)
7. Dirty South - The End (Tocodisco Loves Techno Remix)

Get the mix here......

£40 a year for a sub standard service

2008-07-31T01:14:00.001+01:00

Right had enough of a certain company charging users in the UK £40 a year for a service that isn't working properly 90% of the time.

The company is Microsoft and the service is Xbox Live.

Extreme latency has plagued UK users now for well over 6 months and Microsoft refuse to acknowledge the problem. This latency makes the gaming experience so much worse, especially in the Call of Duty 4 online modes, although I don't think Microsoft can be held responsible for the problems entirely, I think that they need to advise Infinity Ward to fix it. Considering Call of Duty 4 used to work perfectly until the last patch......

New music in my collection & gaming exploits!

2008-07-30T19:22:00.001+01:00

Hi all and welcome to my latest blog. Well as July rapidly approaches August, I thought it was a good time to reflect on the last few months of life in the World of Bryer, boring you might think, but I'm probably going to shock you and reveal a few interesting bits and pieces....

The music collection has taken a unusual turn over the last month or so, with a rather sharp increase in House, Electro and Trance, which I must admit is a tad out of character for me. Must be all this sunshine that I'm having here in Poole at the moment, putting me in the summery mood. With albums like Global Gathering 2008, Hed Kandi's galore and most interestingly of Now You've Gone: The Album by Basshunter. I would like to say that CD2 of Global Gathering 2008 is something special, really captures the summer mood down to the a tee.

Another album that sneaked into my collection and I didn't expect to be any good, but has surprised the hell out of me and is really worth a purchase, if you still like your UK Garage beats is Pure Garage Presents: Pure Bassline, its a mixture of new flavas and old skool tracks all with heavier, dirtier basslines.

Well I hope that the musical tastes I've developed are in line with every reader of my blog, please feel free to comment on the selections in the comments section.

On the gaming front things again have been a little bit slow, with Top Spin 3 and Battlefield: Bad Company being added to the collection, with both not getting much play time recently, due to Call of Duty 4 coming back to the forefront and being slightly better then before..... Odd I know, but highly addictive.

Sunday brings the arrival of a mystery beauty to the land of Dorset and the flat of Dorset. I wonder if anything will develop....

Well time to sign off but before I do, just to let you know I've updated the Contact me section on the top right menu and have also changed the layout template. Hope you like it.

Best film of all time...... Bryer's Choice!

2008-07-08T07:33:00.001+01:00

Recently had a few hours knocking around, which has allowed me to watch a good amount of films in both High Definition and Standard definition. This film watching has led me to asking myself the question of what is my own best film I've ever watched.

I've decided that it's impossible to have one favourite, so I have chosen three. They are in no particular order of preference:

First up is the Ridley Scott epic, featuring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator. This film unfortunately has fallen foul of the High Def format war and still hasn't been released on either HD-DVD or Blu-ray, so I have to put up with a standard DVD upscaled to 720p via the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, which to be honest, isn't the best upscaling DVD player on the market, but it does the job well. The film has made my list because I believe that the script, acting, music and cinetography is probably some, if not the best of the modern era. Ridley Scott somehow managed to capture all the raw emotion of the rollercoaster of Ancient Rome. From the opening battle scene, to the final duel, the acting and script writing are perfect. I won't be ashamed to admit it, but this film is one that makes me cry, well mainly the end scene in the Coliseum with the song by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard - Now we are Free playing. This film is just epic and should grace anyone movie collection.

Now we are Free - Lisa Gerrard

Secondly I decided that it probably wouldn't be on many people's top 3 list, but I really enjoyed the film itself, mainly because it is the latest movie in a franchise that has been ruined by Tim Burton's adaptation and creation of the image, the image of Batman. Yes the original 1989 classic with Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Jack Nicholson and others was a fantastic introduction to a new generation of Batman fans, the series was destroyed by the creation of the Penguin (Danny DeVito), Mr Freeze (Arnie) and the Riddler (Jim Carey). Now Batman Begins however staring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman is a epic masterpiece and what I hope is a fantastic series of darker Batman movies. Yes the outfit is familiar to all Batman films, but the Batmobile looks nothing like what we are used to, and again brings Batman back into the realms of believability. I own this movie in HD-DVD format which really shows off the fantastic back drop that is Gotham, and makes the viewing experience even better. I just hope the Dark Knight follow up film is just as good as Batman Begins. The camera work and script are again in my eyes top notch, with some fantastic acting for all the cast, except as we come to expect from Katie Holmes. Thank god she's gone in the 2nd movie, here enjoy the trailer for The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight Trailer 2

Third in my selection is a age old classic from probably one of the best modern day Directors. The film is from 1980, and was directed by the great Stanley Kubrick, yes that's right folks, it's.........

The trailer

Even the trailer above is a amazing piece of cinema. If you've never seen this film, I cannot put into words the amazing acting of Jack Nicholson. The most talented actor of his generation delivers the best performance of his career. In High def, this movie looks, sounds and thrills even more then before.

Best bit of the film!

I hope you like my top 3 films of all time, as voted for by the brain of Lee Bryer. Please feel free to discuss your top 3 favourite movies, and remember, movies are good fun when watched in company of others :) .

HD-DVD after the death!!!

2008-07-01T13:41:00.001+01:00

Well, I was one of the muppets that bought a Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive add-on when Microsoft released them in 2007, when I first got the unit I was amazed at how big the thing was, I thought it would be a small little add-on, boy was I wrong. However this little white add on has proved that HD-DVD for me, is better then Blu-ray.

I have owned both a Blu-Ray player (PS3) and the Xbox powered HD-DVD drive, I have watched hours worth of movies on both formats, and can't see how HD-DVD got muscled out of the market, considering the image quality is a lot better on my setup.

Now with HMV.com doing HD-DVD's from £3.99 inc delivery, the choice of movies is now very large, I've expanded my collection 7 movies for the price of 2, which to me is great business sense and also great for the movie enthusiast, the quality of the movies in terms of sound and vision is out of this world, the movies are just so crisp, clean and detailed.

My collection is now up to around the 15 movies mark. They are as follows

We Were Soldiers
Fast and Furious
Terminator 3
Transformers
Top Gun
Hot Fuzz
The Shining
Batman Begins
The Kingdom
Oceans 11, 12 and 13
V for Vendetta
Full Metal Jacket
Flags of our Fathers
Letters from Iwo Jima

I think you will agree some great movies there in my collection, I'm looking to expand it with Blade Runner, Planet Earth and the Matrix Trilogy in the coming weeks, so again the best in High Definition.

Anyway, catch you all soon.

I always knew Brains was a nutter!!!

2008-05-15T15:35:00.001+01:00

Well anyone that has seen the title, probably knows what I'm about to comment on, yes that's right the Drench water advert featuring Brains from Thunderbirds.

Do I really need to say anymore? He he.

Burma's Junta needs to keep his eyes peeled!?

2008-05-13T18:28:00.001+01:00

Those who have been living in a cave for the last few days, well nearly a week, will not know about the escalating seriousness of post cyclone hit Burma, the military Junta or ruler is refusing to allow foreign aid workers into the country and this is starting to cause aid problems for the disaster hit area.

So why does he need to watch his back, well British Foreign Secretary David Milliband MP has sounded out to the UN that military aid might be needed under the UN's jurisdiction to save life from problems. This comes in the wake of the UK, US and France all sending military assets into the area according to the BBC. Could we see aid convoys escorted by UN troops? It's a possibility, or could we see C-130's dropping aid under the close watch of F-18 Hornets, again we shall see.

Anyway, the article is over here. I thought this would make a welcome change from the normal gaming posts. Now back to enjoy this rather warm sunshine!!!

GTA IV breaks another record!!!

2008-05-07T12:08:00.001+01:00

Well with GTA having been released 8 days ago, the figures are starting to pour in on how well the game itself is doing. It's beaten all UK Game sales record, its topping the Xbox Live Played game of the week, dethroning Call of Duty 4 for the first time in 3 months.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)
1 GTA IV
2 Call of Duty 4
3 Halo 3
4 Guitar Hero III
5 Gears of War
6 Rock Band
7 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas 2
8 Iron Man Demo
9 FIFA 08
10 Forza Motorsport 2
Thanks to Major Nelson

So how is my time being spent in Liberty City? Well its being spent keeping the vast majority of characters happy. Balancing Niko's social life with the story can prove to be a challenge, especially considering the vast size of the first 2 islands, yes that's right, I still haven't unlocked the third island in the trio yet..... Shocking.

Got to the Tw@ Internet Cafe and surf over to ~~http://www.whattheydonotwantyoutoknow.com~~. Hehe.

Liberty City Interactive Mapping system - Thanks to IGN.com

Only a slightly more serious note, something happened in upmarket Chelsea, London, UK last night, that looks like something straight from the GTA IV story line. Man fires gun randomly in street, Police turn up, man fires gun at police, Police return fire. Couldn't believe when I read the story, so I'll share it with you here. Click the picture to jump to the article.

Anyway just thought I'd share those thoughts with you!

Cousin Niko makes the headlines!

2008-05-02T13:19:00.001+01:00

Well with Grand Theft Auto 4 having been officially released on Tuesday 29th April 2008, the dust has settled on a manic week in the video gaming world, and as per normal the normal stories of controversy surrounding the Grand Theft Auto series are pouring in. The biggest of note, seems to of happened in Croydon, South London, near to where I am originally from. I won't go into details here, but here is a link.

Moving onto the good news of the GTA IV launch, it would appear that its smashing first day sales records, and will probably be smashing first week sales too. If Rockstar Games don't re-coupe their $100 million production costs in the first month, I will officially do something stupid!

The game itself isn't really a game, its more of a "work of art". The city has been loving built, brick for brick, street for street. I opened up the middle island of the trio the night before last (Wednesday), but only went exploring last night, and for the first time ever in a game, I was speechless. I was walking through the games version of Time Square, completely in awe of my surroundings, the lights, the noise, and the typical NY street talking. I also found the comedy club, and enjoyed Ricky Gervais... Live, so so funny, well worth the $20 cover charge. He He.

Well since the release of the game, so good resources have popped up online, too many to mention in my small but yet unread blog. I thought I'd share with you the best of the bunch though. It's a cross between Google Maps and the Yellow Pages.... Interactive Map for GTA IV.

Anyway peeps, I'm off to do some bits and pieces and to prepare for some things that are happening this evening, catch you all soon.

Liberty City, it's the new place to be!

2008-04-28T17:21:00.001+01:00

Well on Saturday morning at 11am, the postman rang the door bell holding a package. In that package was the most eagerly anticipated game the world of video gaming has been keen to see.... Yes that's right, it was my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition.
The picture is to prove that I'm not lying, but you can also see from my Gamercard on the right hand side of the blog for proof.

I bet your all wondering exactly what the game is like, well its exceeded my expectations by a long way.

I will be aiming to get a full in depth review up sometime this week, I don't want to write anything without having sampled every aspect of the game, yes that means multiplayer too..... I'm really looking forward to Cops & Crooks hehe..... Anyway keep your eyes peeled.

In the meantime I'll point you in the direction of the latest video of the game.....

Enjoy :-)

Virgin Media for the win!!!

2008-04-28T17:07:00.001+01:00

This is a old blog post that got lost in the system.

Good afternoon all. Welcome back to my blog, this post is going to be blowing sunshine up the backside of Virgin Media...... "Why?" I hear you asking from your screens, well I shall explain more in a moment.

But first, I want to ask you all, did you enjoy the snow in your part of the UK? I experienced a weird thing, bright sunshine and a blizzard at the same time. Really really odd. And no I don't think global warming is the cause.

Anyway back to the important matters which is the fantastical system that is Virgin Media.... Why am I harking on so much about the Virgin Media brand, well how long did you have to wait for BT or Sky to install their services into your property? Well I ordered Virgin Media on the 31st of March and all the services were install and working by the 3rd of April, impressive huh?

Now firstly I'm going to review the television service that Virgin supply, I went for the XL television package, which includes over 140 channels to watch..... That's a lot of programming each day......

BT Broadband, the great British rip off!!! Plus a bit of a update!!!

2008-04-05T14:11:00.001+01:00

Good day everyone and welcome to today's blog post, I'll be focusing on BT Broadband this evening, they are my ISP and really are pissing me off at the moment. I'd also like to apologise for the lack of posts in recent weeks, but it's been a little bit of a rollercoaster and I'm now hoping to be back to normal posting conditions.

My BT broadband has never worked particularly well since moving into the flat and getting it installed. The BT Homehub is the worst piece of hardware ever designed when it comes to firmware, but I must admit the phone features work well. The problem is it cannot hold a good sync speed, I have other hardware which works well on the line but cannot use the Broadband Talk, which is a must with friends in the US, family in Spain and super cheap UK calls. I have decided to ditch BT connection as a everyday connection and have gone for something much more interesting. On Thursday 3rd April I had Virgin Media install all 3 of their services into the flat, which I must say have impressed me greatly. Well the television has, I can't use the broadband until their account management systems come back online at the weekend. 20mb broadband.... Yum Yum..... We shall see though, still waiting for the Wireless router they issue now to turn up.

The sign up to Virgin hasn't been as easy as it could of been, I would like to add its been a lot easier then getting BT to install here. From ordering on Monday the 31st to installation on Thursday 3rd of April, the speed of the service was incredible, the TV package is amazing, enjoying live football from all over the world. Roll on the broadband size of things.

Welcome to the week in review.....

2008-03-15T20:45:00.001Z

Well firstly I would like to apologise for the lack of activity, it's been a very very busy week. I've met some new people and had a few laughs along with way.

The weather has been awful, pretty much all week and I haven't managed to get out as much I'd really like too. I've been for a few runs and regret it, as my muscles really do ache.

Gaming has been good as the weathers been awful. I've managed to complete Army of Two with DJ Double00 on the Recruit stage, we are now battling through on the Contractor level, which I must say seems a hell of a lot harder.

Poker has been my sore point this week, I just seem to keep losing my chips, it will start off well, but then the 360 just seems to eat me alive. Oh well. Always next time.

I'm going to be offline for the next week or so, back off to London to say the final farewell to my grandmother. So I shall see you all back online soon.

Poker.... A hobby or a career?

2008-03-11T19:56:00.001Z

Right as some of you that follow my gaming habits closely, you will have noticed that I've increased the amount of time I've been playing Poker games on the 360 recently. This includes the Xbox Live Arcade classic, Texas Hold' em Poker and the standalone title from Activision entitled World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets (I'd like to thank How U Doing XX for introducing me to it). Now the big question on my mind at the moment is do I take poker playing to the next level, and start competing online in tournaments that have prize money etc? I really feel that I'm learning tricks and bluffs from the games, and have developed quite a good poker face. So what do you think I should do people? Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Update: Added the gamercard for the above mentioned player. If you play poker, I'm sure she'll take some cash off you.
How U Doing XX

Review: Army of Two

2008-03-11T19:40:00.001Z

Good evening and welcome to my first game review of the new blog, I'm going to be taking Army of Two through its paces and giving what I hope to be a half decent review.

Right here goes, Army of Two throws you into a environment of private military contractors, pretty much beefed up bodyguards in a war zone. I understand that the United Nations use PMC to provide UN staff with protection in Iraq.

Anyway the two main characters are Salem and Rios, both are former US Army Rangers, who after meeting a PMC, decide that its the way forward and where the money in the world is, and they basically become guns for hire and you can pretty much work the rest out for yourself in that respect.

The game itself uses a new game engine that I understand was developed especially for Army of Two, and I must say, with the odd graphical tearing issue, was spot on. (Just for information, I'll post my AV setup so that you know what I review my games on). The characters models where solid and actually looked and moved in a human manner, not like Frontlines: Fuels of War, where characters run with a stoop. The weapon models are also spot on, all appear to have been digitally scanned in 3D and then added into the game, as they are in proportion to the characters. The environments in which you fight are also beautifully built and some nice effects are employed for fire and explosions, I think some might of been borrowed from Battlefield: Bad Company, which is still in development.

I'm going to move onto the sound within Army of Two, which has been mastered in Dolby Digital Surround sound, and I must say its the cherry on the top of the cake. The weapons sounds great, all have a nice bass tone, that really thuds when fire them. The vehicles, especially the helicopters can be heard flying into the battlezone from miles away, and you can also really tell what direction too. I can't rate the sound highly enough from within the game. Character dialogue is plentiful and quite varied, the random comments by the 2 main characters will often bring a smile to your face and entertain you.

The multiplayer side of things has been region locked between the US and the EU, so no playing your friends across the pond... which I must admit is highly annoying. But oh well. There are 3 game modes at the moment, which all offer a different playing experience. The 2v2 modes work really well and I've had a fair bit of fun building up my bank balance.

With EA promising to support this game with downloadable weapons, maps and more story missions every month, we can only hope that it carries on growing and becomes the game it should of been.

I rate this game 3 out of 5. A highly recommended game, but has been let down by the short story which could of been so much longer.

Riding the storm!!!

2008-03-10T14:47:00.001Z

Yeah as the title suggests the winter storm that is battering the United Kingdom at the moment, has found me in Poole.

Poole - From a plane very high up!!!

I was rudely awoken this morning by the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard. It shock the block to its foundations. Really thought it was a earthquake all over again.

So what shall I talk about today then? Well spent most of last night playing Army of Two with one of my closet friends. He was my old next door neighbour in London, and has always been there to lend a hand when needed. He is.....:

DJ Double00

Army of Two..... now that is a interesting yet challenging game when you sit back and look at it.... It's a co-op game, that means its best played with a friend.... D' oh... You lot already knew that anyway. The game is set in the present day, you work for a private military contractor, SSC. The game takes you to all parts of the war torn world, and is a great blast when you've had a few beers and are enjoying the humour of the game, and the inability to shoot the easy targets.

Well I think that about wraps it up for today, stay tuned for tomorrow's post that will be a review of Army of Two & World Series of Poker 2008 (Yes, thank you Sharon, I'm now bloody hooked and developing a nasty habit!).

"Let's fire up the Quattro"......

Well hello there.....

2008-03-09T14:41:00.001Z

Hello there strangers, you've found my blog and I would like to welcome you to it.

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Lee, I'm 23 and I live in Poole in Dorset. Home of Sunseeker, the RNLI amongst other things. It's a beautiful part of the South coast that boasts the Jurassic coastline. Anyway enough of that b*****ks.

I'm currently in the process of setting up this new blog, so please bare with me while I get all the relevant bits and pieces in place. I'm also using a new program from Microsoft called Live Writer to write the blog, so please be patient if things start to go wrong. I'm hoping to introduce lots of ways for you to contact me, through link buttons on the right of the blog post.

Well I better get back to watching Cardiff City thrash Middlesborough in the FA Cup.

Catch you all soon.