I was looking at the new version of Jetpac the other day; this is an update of the old Ultimate Spectrum game of the same name, running on XBOX360 Live Arcade - it looks fab, and almost worth buying a console for. Updating this game for the XBOX is, although a no brainer, an inspired move.

Anyway, more to the point, I noticed while reading the RareWare site that Chris and Tim Stamper had left Rare. This was news that although not unexpected, heads of companies tend to leave 3 to 5 years after a buyout, however I hadn’t noticed it…

Ultimate and Rare were responsible for some of the best games ever made, and if it hadn’t been for setting up Smoking Gun, I would have joined them back in 97. They were and still are, the only games company that I would really like to work for. However, with the Stampers gone, I don’t think my feelings would be the same. That said, whatever the Stampers decide to persue in the future, the chance to work with them would be one of the few things to tempt me back into the games industry.

Rebekah rode her bike on Friday for the first time without stabilisers. What was most striking about this is that she actually did it first time, no gradually getting used to it, no failed attempts… just on and go. I have to say that I was very suprised as I have never taken her as someone with the right amount of balance, focus, and concentration to ride her bike. Just watching her on her scooter or her bike with stabilisers she looked unbalanced to say the least.

Jacob looks like he will be riding very soon as well. He can ride his bike but can’t set off from a standing start… a bit more practise and he will be there.

I was so proud of them both!

I watched Doctor Who for the first time in ages, well the first time since David Tennant became The Doctor, well actually I only watched the first three with Christopher Ecclestone as the ninth Doctor… anyway… what a pile of old tosh!

The production looks like a cheap old American made for TV movie, actually a bit more like their TV adaptations of things by Danielle Steel. The acting is terrible all round, including Mr Tennant ( sorry Marie ) and the story was awful… how do these scripts get made?

BTW: Ecclestone seemed a better Doctor than Tennant.

Because we decided to rent a car in Naples I had done my homework and printed out Google maps and directions to get me from the airport to the hotel. I also had an old Naples map from when we last visited and bought a new map of Italy that covered the southern parts.

We picked up the keys and were told to take the special hire car shuttle bus that would take us to the car, which we did. Thus we found ourselves in a large car park, somewhere in Naples, with a left hand manual gearbox car, and a handful of directions that were no longer relevant!

We set off looking for the A3 which would take us along the bay of Naples, skirting the west side of Mount Vesuvious, and on to Sorrento. All we found were signs for the Autostrada and the A30. I knew that we didn’t want the A30 as it would take us around the other side of Vesuvious and down to Salerno or North to Rome. With hindsight we should have just got on the Autostrada as the directions would have been better and we would have probably found our way a little quicker. Also had we followed on to Salerno, we would have gone the wrong side of Vesuvious,and travelled a little further, but we would have been closer to our intended target. However, we started driving looking for the correct motorway, the A3.
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I got a free three month trial membership to Lovefilm just before christmas, so I’ve been using it to the full over the last three months. Basically, I can have two films at home at any time and as soon as I send them back, two more off my list are dispatched to me.

Anyway, here is a list of what I have watched over the last three months…

The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
I liked the first quarter or maybe half of this film, which ties in with the book. I always get bored at about the point that Aslan gets involved and the film was no exception. This was made worse by the fact that Aslan is played by Liam Neeson who is just about the worse voice over actor going… [IMDb]

Coach Carter
This was enjoyable, nothing remarkable but a worthwhile watch all the same. Tells the true-ish story of Coach Carter as he struggles to turn a bunch of no hope basketball players into a winning team. Samuel L Jackson puts in a great performance and makes the film. [IMDb]

Curious George
This was just a joy. The story wasn’t great but the animation style is lovely and the Jack Johnson soundtrack so complements the laid back nature of the film. [IMDb]




Dark Water
A woman moves into a “haunted” apartment with her child. The film was ok, Jennifer Connelly is very good in it. [IMDb]

Dreamcatcher
Based on the book of the name name by Stephen King. This was let down by Damian Lewis when he plays the Alien Mr Grey. Apart from that it is what it is. [IMDb]

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