Yearly Archives: 2010

Old Grandfather Turismo

Tuesday December 14th 2010

The first game I picked up with my original PlayStation, back in late 1998, was Gran Turismo. At that time it was a showcase for the power of PlayStation – so much so that watching the gloriously captured replays was as much a part of the experience as actually playing the game.

Buying and playing Gran Turismo 5 feels heart-warmingly familiar. Like an old friend has come to visit after a long absence and we’re recounting past glories together.

“Remember that time I nailed Trial Mountain in a 3000GT and blew away the field by so much I started to lap the back-markers?!” I’ll say.

And yes, Gran Turismo does remember. Essentially, he hasn’t really changed at all since the last time I saw him.

gaming, gran turismo, playstation

A decade & change

Monday November 22nd 2010

After 12 years with Vodafone, I made the decision to change network provider when my contract was due for renewal. This is how I come to be typing up this post on a new HTC Desire Z, connected to the internet via Orange.

gadgets, mobiles, networks, Orange, phones, tech, Vodafone

What’s in a name?

Sunday October 31st 2010

At 09:43 on Saturday the 16th of October, our son was born at the Vale of Leven hospital. Arriving one day ahead of schedule, he caught us on the hop a bit with regard to his name.

Although we’d had several months to come to a decision, we just couldn’t think of anything we were entirely sold on. I wanted to make sure we gave him a name that would set him apart, so he wouldn’t be one of the three kids with the same name in his nursery or school. At the same time, I wanted to avoid giving him a name that would seem old fashioned in ten years time.

This is harder than it might seem, as a lot of the time there doesn’t appear to be a clear reason for the rise and fall in the popularity of a name. Some will hover in the top 20 for decades at a time, while others have brief moments of favour before dropping into obscurity.

elisha, family, jason