Flock - What the...?

Don't know what Flock is? It's the new (very new) web browser, but it's a good one. Based on the Mozilla FireFox browser, Flock offers an amazing amount of interactive features. For instance, I am writing this post from Flock. Yes, you can blog - to blogger, or wordpress, or almost anything - from Flock. But that's only a small part of it. Flock also shows you who's online on your social networking sites (ie: MySpace, Facebook etc), as well as being able to log you onto them without even going onto the site. Before, I was struggling to decide whether to use FireFox or Safari, but now I use Flock. To get the full experience though, you need to download it. I hope you enjoy Flock!

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Fifa 08 - The Review

Alright, it's been a long time coming, but here's the review for Fifa 08. It's probably aimed for those contemplating on whether they should buy the game or not, or those who want to compare their view of it with someone else's (ie: me). I own two versions of the game. Fifa 08 for the PS2, which I have, seeing as I have all of the Fifa games back to Fifa 03, and Fifa 08 for the Nintendo DS, hoping that it would have improved from the frankly dismal Fifa 06 for the Nintendo DS. Having played them for a while now, I think I'm ready to review them. To help you, I'll split it up into fairly bitesize sections:

"The greatest battle of the new football season is not between any real world club but between the virtual giants of FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer. Konami’s game has always been the favourite but last year FIFA closed the gap to such a degree that the title race has never been closer." - a quote from Harrison Dent's review of the game, on Amazon.co.uk.

Loading Times/Setup | PS2: 8.5/10 | DS: 9/10 When you turn the respective games on, it takes little time to start them up, but not an incredibly long time. You select your favourite club, which, on the DS, will always appear on the start screen, and on both games, is always the first team option for any of the modes you may play. I would say that the DS is fractions faster than the PS2, as sometimes the game almost seems to momentarily freeze when you exit from a menu. But otherwise, Fifa 08 is a fast loading game, which possibly could be made slightly faster.

Gameplay | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 6/10

When playing matches, the PS2 is brilliant. It is very responsive to subtle movements on the controller, which can make the big difference. On both platforms (like usual), there is a very clever control system, which makes them easy to play, once you get the hang of the controls. However, the PS2 controls have changed slightly, so you may have to switch the controls via certain menus on the game, or master the new controls. Switching players has changed button, but now you can use the right analog stick - R3 - (on the PS2) to switch players. At times, this can be incredibly useful, far better than just pressing a button, as you are in far better control. Flick the R3 stick towards the player you want to control and the game will switch to that player. This can also get very annoying, though, if you get it wrong. Generally, I try to use both of the options. Unfortunately, the Nintendo DS can be quite unresponsive, and the players seem to be unable to make smaller movements, unless travelling slowly. You aren't capable of being able to do as much with your players on the DS, as the PS2, although this can be forgiven, as there are less buttons and the handheld console.

Game Modes, Extras & Improvements | PS2: 9.5/10 | DS: 6/10

Unlike the trend that most Fifa games seem to have got into now, which is only adding small things to the games, Fifa 08 has broken it, for the PS2 at least. The new 'Be a Pro' mode, is a clever idea in which you only play one player on the pitch. It boasts quite a lot of realism, but if you play in an attacking position, your team doesn't seem to concede any goals. This may be a good thing, but it lacks realism. The Be a Pro mode has also been expanded into a 'Be a Pro Career Mode', where you control one player, possibly sell him to new clubs, but most of all play matches with his team. Next comes the brilliant idea of making your own formation. This is easy to do on the PS2, but is difficult on the DS, as you are required to use the touch screen. This new mode allowed me to make the strategy: '10-0-0'. There is also a 'Zone Play' mode, but I don't quite understand what it does. To add to the new modes, Fifa 08 still boasts all the old modes for the PS2, adding new features to some of them. For instance, in the Manager Mode, you can now schedule Pre-Season Friendly matches, and have Mid-Week Training sessions. Both are great ideas, that are realistic in the sense that it can have a negative effect on your team if you're not careful. As usual, there are many, many things to unlock on the PS2. On the DS, however, there are no things at all to unlock, and virtually no new modes, which is very saddening.

Multi-Player Activities | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 9/10

Both platforms score equally as well on this category. As usual, the PS2 version has the wireless version in which you can play anyone in the world, create virtual leagues, or play real leagues virtually, with your favourite team. These are all great ideas, but can only work if enough people participate (and if you have an internet connection). I haven't tried it before, so I can't comment on this much. And of course, you can still do two to four player games, with up to four people on the same team, which can be very team. The DS also scores greatly on this. There is the expected 'DS Download' which only requires one cartridge of the game for it's use, as well as the Multi-Cartridge option, in which the players can schedule tournaments, pit their created teams against each other. But the thing I like the most, is the fact the game has a Wi-Fi mode, now, so you can play anyone anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the chances are that they'll beat you hands-down...

Graphics | PS2: 8/10 | DS: 4/10

The PS2 graphics are fairly good. They look quite realistic, but could be improved if players had better facial expressions. Strangely, they've improved little from Fifa 07, which leaves me wondering if Fifa 08 has reached the PS2's capacity for graphics. And as for the Nintendo DS, the graphics are shocking. They have improved slightly, by a microscopic amount, from Fifa 06. That's two years ago. Two years, and the graphics are virtually no different from before, still in that appalling, horrific standard. Very disappointing.

Music/Sound Quality | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 5/10

Both games have a great variety of songs, many of them unheard of by most, but still great to listen to. Past examples include Get on the Floor, and Guten Tag, whilst a current example would be Young Folks, although this is all my (far from trendy) opinion. The PS2 version has good sound quality, but I assume this would depend on the quality of the television speakers you use with these games. Unfortunately, once again, the DS version lacks, with poor sound quality, which cannot be blamed on anything else, and is not made up for by the jukebox that Fifa 08 boasts.

Bugs/Glitches | PS2: 7/10 | DS: 9/10

Strangely, the DS version has beaten the PS2 version in this category. Unfortunately for the PS2, the commentating can be far off, claiming that the keeper saved the shot, when really it was miles wide, as well as getting player names wrong. Also, when the game is simulating match results and the transfer window, in Manager Mode, the music can momentarily stop, and the game can appear to freeze, for a few seconds, which I guarantee can be quite unnerving, if you are attached to your PS2. I've found no glitches or bugs with the DS version of Fifa 08, so it has outscored the PS2 version in this round.

Overall | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 6/10

So, now that I've covered all of the categories I can think of, it leaves me with a final thought. The PS2 version is brilliant, to be short. It has improved greatly from Fifa 07, which wasn't exactly too shabby itself. I can't wait for Fifa 09, the next game to come out, in which they could hopefully fix some of the bugs, and problems with the game. And for he DS version? Very disappointed. Even for a handheld console, it lags far behind the PS2 version with much less to do on the game, much less to unlock, as well as having appalling graphics and sound quality. I don't think I'll be buying another Fifa game for the Nintendo DS any time soon...

Thank you for reading, and I hope my review helps you.

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Google - My Way

I've stumbled across this fun little thing called Google MyWay. What it does is create your own little Google search page, where you can put whatever you want at the top of the page, instead of 'Google'. So basically, here's how it works:

After the website address (http://googlemyway.com/), you can type in whatever you like, and it will come up in that Google font. However, it has to be under 19 characters, or else it won't work. And that really, is all there is to it. You can put spaces in your website address, but it doesn't come up with any special characters, I don't think, apart from numbers.

Still don't get it? Try this link. I hope you enjoy messing around with this. :-)

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My First Tab

For all of you guitar players, this will make sense to you. For those of you who don't play guitar, then I'll explain briefly - a tab, is basically the way that people who play guitar write out their music. I have tabbed out a song for myself. It's called Stand By Me, by Sam Cooke (yes I know, it is a re-make of a previous song). But, did you know that the backing music for Stand By Me is also the backing music for Beautiful Girls, by Sean Kingston? Anyway, without any further delay, here is the tab*:

E¦----------------------------------------------------------------------------¦
B¦----------------------------------------------------------------------------¦
G¦----------------------------------------------------------------------------¦
D¦----------------------------------------------------------------------------¦
A¦---5-6-6----5-6-6--6-5-3-3-----3-3---3------------3-6-6-----5-6-6----5-6-6--¦
E¦-6--------6------------------6---------6-4-4----4---------6--------6--------¦

It is my first tab, and it definitely isn't perfect, but I hope you enjoy. =) I am fairly new to guitar, so don't be too harsh if you wish to critique it. And that will be all. Bye!

* The actual Stand By Me music is played on Bass Guitar, so this tab will sound an octave or so higher than the real thing.

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Remember This?

Well, do you? Of course you do! It's the GMail: A Behind the Scenes Video of course! Read the post just linked, if you don't remember. And, on the video above, if you haven't watched it, are all of the winners of the competition. There were some great little clips there, I thought, my favourite being the Lego one, or the one with the robot, which coincidentally was straight after it.

But there's more! Many, many people have submitted clips, hoping for it to get in the video. Unfortunately, they haven't. GMail, however, still allows you to see the clips that didn't quite make it. Have a look at the little flash thing, that looks like earth from a long way away, at the bottom of the page. Click here, by the way. That's all for now. Bye!

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Summer Holiday Goals Results

Alas, my summer break has ended now, but, it isn't all bad news. At least, I hope that, for my sake. Is it always very hard to get back into your daily 'routine'? I can say that it definitely is for me. But anyway, here are the results of my summer holiday goals (ie: if I've completed them or not):

Blogging
Yes! This is one (well, two really) of my goals complete. What a great start. Here, I've finished blogging about My Top Gaming Sites, as you can see, if you've read those posts. Also, I've finished blogging about the body (in CSS and HTML terms), on CSSBytes. That's two out of six goals complete, already.

Neopets
This is the bad one for me. I have completed none of my goals for Neopets. I have managed to code about three of my four petpages on Neopets (just about), but that isn't really good enough. I got sidetracked making userlookups, so really it's only my fault. And, to add to that, I got nowhere near raising enough virtual funds for the Secret Lab Map.

Reading
This is a positive one. I read the Harry Potter book (the last of the series) with plenty of holiday time to spare. It was fairly sad seeing the series end, but, all great things do have to come to one. I also cut it a little late, but I finished the Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman. The plot was ruined for me, when 'sin', and all of those things came into it. Still, that's three out of six so far.

And Finally
I have enjoyed my holiday. Yes, I've done a lot of things which I enjoyed (and some which I haven't, but nothing's perfect). So that makes four out of six. Not the best score, but a good one nonetheless, and good enough for me.

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My Top Gaming Sites - Miniclip

This is the last of my top gaming sites, and it has actually been voted the best online gaming website on the internet. Although, I wouldn't say it was my favorite of the top gaming sites (although it would be either Miniclip, or AddictingGames.com). Here we go.

Miniclip has a very large variety of Games, all very well organized into categories, like on most gaming sites. The homepage is fairly well set out, showing off the newest games on the site quite clearly, with interesting flash animations, that loop between the three newest games. One of my favourite features on the site, is a list of all of their games, at the bottom of each page. You can choose to hide this if you do not want it. It's a quick way to find the game you want.

Probably my favourite bit of the site, is that with every game, it has simple instructions on how to play it. It shows you the controls, with small pictures of the keys you need to press as well, which some other sites do, but it also tells you the objective of the game, which at times, can be very, very useful.

Miniclip does allow you to embed some of their games on your own website, giving you the code and all, but unfortunately, most of these are the older games, which aren't necessarily the ones you want on your website. Nonetheless, below, is a game I particularly like, called smashing. The aim of the game is to break all of the boxes on each level. There are power-ups to collect and such, too. Move your mouse to control the paddle, and click, to release weapons gained from power-ups, if you get the right ones. Good luck!

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HIRO CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?

Ok, so this post is just a quick thing, about two of my favorite things, one on the internet, one on TV. Heroes - the brilliant show that's already been shown in America, but is now being shown in the UK, on the BBC - I'm loving it! No spoilers please... x( And then, there's the I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER? funny blog with lolcats. So anyway, here's a funny picture of the two combined, which I got from SOTI.

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Another Short Break

I'll make this quick. Basically, I'm going on another short break, from Thursday to Wednesday, so don't expect any updates in that short period. I may write a new post on the Wednesday I'm back, on either CSSBytes, or here, but that is not definite. If you
are interested, I'll be going to Plymouth in that time. I'm not sure what I will do there, though. x3 So anyway, bye for now.

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Summer Break Goals Update

Now, on CSSBytes, I've finished the body section, which is one of my six targets that I wish to complete in my summer break. Hurray! CSSBytes is now nearly reaching 1000 hits, too.

As for the stuff on Neopets, I have now nearly coded three out of four petpages, but I am unsure about whether I'll complete that target or not. :( Also, I have roughly collected half the funds for the Secreat Lab Map, so that looks doubtful too. :(

I finished Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows ages ago, to be honest. I really enjoyed it, great book, but not perfect, and probably not the best Harry Potter book so far, but it's up there. As for the Northern Lights, I've nearly finished that as well.

And finally, I would say that I have enjoyed my Summer Break quite a lot so far. I still have a couple more weeks of it, so hopefully I can enjoy them too. I hope you enjoy (or have enjoyed) your Summer Break too. Bye!

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GMail: A Behind the Scenes Video

After flicking through my email on my GMail account, I came across a link in the top corner of the page. Yes, there are often quite a lot of these, but I soon found out that this one was a little different. Basically, GMail (also known as Google Mail), is making a special video, trying to show how an email message travels around the world, as they said. Here is the video so far:





Basically, they want us, (ie: the people who use GMail), to add to this video, showing how an email can be passed on. They say that the best ones will be added to the current video, so you can see your own clip on the internet. It seemed quite interesting to me, so I thought I'd blog it. If you want more information, then click here. That's it for now, so bye, and good luck if you enter the competition.

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My Top Gaming Sites - Candystand

Yep, so the next top gaming site is Candystand.com. It's a little different to all of the other top gaming sites, except for maybe Neopets, but all will be explained, in the review of it, which is now!

Unlike some of my other top gaming sites (such as AddictingGames.com, and Egg2.com), Candystand doesn't just show games made by any producer. Yes, that means they make all of their own games, but that isn't what's mainly different about them. Candystand is owned by the large company Wrigley's, so all of the games will subtly, or not, as it sometimes is, advertise their products.

However, do not let this deter you from enjoying the online games site. It still has loads of great games for you to enjoy, with carefully explained instructions. To add to that, it has something which the other top gaming sites don't. These are called trophy games. If you become a member on the site, you can do a lot of extra things, but one of them is trophy games. Basically, if you score a certain score on some games, you get a bronze, silver, or gold trophy. Your supposed to try and collect them all! My favourite games on the site would have to be the following.

Firstly, there's a game called Dodgeball. Yes, that pretty much explains what you do in the game. But how many other dodgeball games do you know of? None, for me. All the controls for it are explained, and it does take a while to get the hang of, but I still think it's a great game. Click here to play!

And secondly, there's a game called H.O.R.S.E. But I think I'll just be calling it Horse, to keep it simple. This a Basketball game, where you have to try and do certain moves, or you can play the classic game of Horse. Don't know what that is? Worry not, the instructions for it will explain. Click here to play H.O.R.S.E!

That is it for my review of Candystand. It might not have as many games as other sites, and yes, it is trying to advertise it's products, but nevertheless, most of the games are brilliant, the site is clearly set out, and there are loads of great features for members. I suggest you give the site a visit. I hope this review helps you!

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Huzzah! Finally, My Own User Lookup!

Well, I had just got the hang of making Neopets user lookups, when the site got a new layout, which really did tick me off. Still, after a while, and with some help from a great tutorial, I have finally coded my own User Lookup! I'm really happy and proud of it, and hopefully I'll be able to make more slicker ones in the future. But for now, I shall just enjoy what I made. You can go see it by clicking here, and you can have a look at the great tutorial by looking here. Bye!

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My Summer Holiday Goals

Yes, so I am back from my week's holiday Dorset, and it was very nice, in case you were wondering (although I doubt you were). On the way back, I thought that it might be a good idea to blog about my goals, or aspirations of things to do in my summer break. So... here they are:

• To continue blogging on here, and to finish telling you all about My Top Gaming Sites.


• Also, to continue blogging on my other blog, CSSBytes, and finish explaining about the body (HTML-wise), and what you can do with it.


• On Neopets, to raise a lot of funds, and get the Secret Laboratory Map, so I can zap my Neopets.


• As well as that, I want to get all four of my petpages on Neopets up and running, with something decent, instead of the plain old default oner, which is terribly boring.


• To read all of the last Harry Potter Book - Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows, as well as The Northern Lights, a book by Phillip Pullman. Both of them are great!


• But most of all, what I want to do more than anything, is enjoy my summer break! Now then, that is the end of my post, but expect many more updates coming soon!
  

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Woohoo! Summer Holidays!

So, yes, if you have read the title yet, my summer holiday (or vacation) has finally started. After lost of weeks of hard work, I am finally rewarded with six weeks to relax, and do what I want. Even though it is a holiday, I will do my best to blog as much as I can. So expect My Top Gaming Sites to be finished by the end of the summer holidays. And that's a promise.

But, yes, there is a but, I won't be blogging on this blog, or CSSBytes, for the next week, because I am going to the lovely Dorset on holiday. Bye for now!

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My Top Gaming Sites - Addicting Games

Addicting Games.com could actually be the best of all of the gaming sites that will be in this feature. Yes, that means that there are more of them to come.

The site has lots and lots of games, all specified into their own categories, so that means that you don't have to search blindly for what you want. The games are mostly of a high quality, made by some top brands, like Mousebreaker, for instance. Some games are also made only for Addicting Games.com.
Some examples of some great games on the site, are Bloons, a game in which you need to pop all of, or a certain amount of balloons on a level, with your darts to proceed (I usually resort to going on Infinite Darts mode, because I'm rubbish), PacXon, a pacman-like game, although there are a few differences, which you'll find out if you play it. Also, there is Oversize XXL, which is basically a monster truck racing game, like the name probably suggests, as well as Electric Man 2, a game I've showed you in an earlier post.

Like one of the gaming sites showed before though, my favourite part of Addicting Games.com, is the fact that it allows you to embed some games onto your blog, or website, which is great. To show you this, I have placed a game called Pinch Hitter on the blog. It's a baseball game, where you simply move your mouse to get your bat in the right place, then click to hit the ball. You get points for how far you hit it. Beware, get three strikes and you're out, and if you get caught, then you're straight out! My top score is 8851. Can you beat it?


Play Games at AddictingGames

I believe that Addicting Games.com is truly a brilliant gaming site. My only criticisms for the site, is that there can often be a couple of annoying pop-ups, and the layout is a little messy. But apart from that, you should really visit it. And that's it for my review of Addicting Games.com. Thanks for reading!

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The Turing Test

Yes, it has been a long time since I last posted, and I reckon I have little to no excuses as to why. Anyway, today I shall ramble on about the Turing Test. Originally, the computer was invented by a man called Alan Turing (or at least something we'd call a computer). After this, many people argued about whether a computer could actually think or not. The answer was no, but a computer can learn things, and use them. This was when the Turing Test came in. The Turing test, is basically you having a conversation with your computer, to see how smart it is. Your computer can learn phrases you say, and use them correctly in conversations with you. It's really cool. I would know, because I've been training one! Well, that's all I have for now. Bye!

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Also...

Keeping on the subject, I hope some of you saw the Glastonbury music festival, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some great bands played, like The Automatic, The Kaiser Chiefs and The Arctic Monkeys. It's strange how you hardly ever get to see what musicians look like, isn't it? I was surprised what some of those people actually looked like. So anyway, I saw this strange band, called Gogol Bordello playing. At first, I thought they were from East Europe, perhaps, but it turns out they're from New York. They called themselves Gypsy Punks, which was a little unnerving at first. But in the end, one of their songs started to grow on me, and someone I knew bought it for me. It's called Start Wearing Purple (yes I know, strange). I suggest you buy it now!
Check this place out for some Glastonbury Highlights: http://scienceoftheinvisible.blogspot.com/2007/06/glastonbury-highlights.html

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Great Song, Great Video

Yeah, so I was just looking around YouTube, seeing as there had been the launch of YouTube UK - I can't say it's that impressive, it's really just UK slapped onto the name of YouTube, really, except that this is supposed to be just for us Brits. So anyway, I found this great video of F1 Crashes, (don't worry, there's no gore, or blood in it, just some great crashes. The main thing that stood out though, was the absolutely brilliant music. It was actually featured on a retro game for the PlayStation 1 (yes, a very long time ago, I know) game called Tunnel Runner. So the music is called Keep Hope Alive by Crystal Method. I just love the song, for some reason, so I bought it off iTunes. And, without any further ado, here's the video:

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Wow...

I really hadn't noticed how long it has really been since a last posted (on this blog, not CSSBytes of course). And, as well as that, I don't really have much to say. I've been searching the internet for the next top gaming site. What could it possibly be? There are so many great ones out there. Post coming soon. Well, goodbye for now, I assume.




But... in case you haven't noticed, the blog has a new domain name! Now, it's the AllTheThingsILike blog, instead of that old, fairly ugly one. xP

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My Top Gaming Sites - Egg2

Sorry I haven't been able to post much lately. I've just been wrestling with a bug on Wordpress, for CSSBytes, and generally haven't had much time to write this post. But anyway, it's here now, so enjoy:


Egg2, is the next featured gaming site. It does have quite a large variety of games, some of them my favourites. What's more, you don't have to click millions of links just to find one game, like you do on most other sites. On the other hand, the layout (especially the homepage) is pretty messy, and split up by adverts. Also, the site doesn't particularly inform you about whether they have added new games or not. So overall, it is a good site, but probably the worst out of these featured sites. Here are two games that particularly stand out for me:


Tanks:
Tanks. As you'd expect, it involves tanks. Basically, you can set up rounds with 2-5 Tanks, all armed with weapons, that are basically supposed to blow each other to bits. The Tanks are named by you, and given a colour by you. You can also decide whether any of the players are computer controlled or not. This game is really fun, and quite retro too. I have no violence, or anything like that to warn you about, except for animated explosions. This is a link to it. There is actually a second version of this game, but to be honest, all it has really done is add some nicer graphics.


Bug On a Wire
Here is another retro game, that is still fun to play. The idea is, that you play a bug, running across the wires on those communication pole things, somewhere very hot. You need to avoid crows, and anything that might try and eat you. This is a great game to consume some spare time that you have. And for some reason, it never seems to become tedious. Usually, I can only survive for up to a minute and a half or so, but others can survive for over and hour! Click here to try and beat my score. Have fun playing on Egg2!

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POTC - At World's End

Yep, I saw it. Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End, the third film in the saga. To be honest though, I wasn't particularly impressed. Don't worry, I'm not going to give you the full review, because you probably don't want one, due to the spoilers I might give away and all. Anyway, the film really wasn't that good. I'll admit that the actors who acted in it were good, and I did enjoy some parts of the plot, but not others. My favourite part of the film was probably when Captain Jack Sparrow had a battle with Davey Jones (I think that is what he's called, I mean the guy with the tentacle beard). So basically, I'll some it up like this:

• Too long


• Too cheesey

I have nothing more to say, except that the end of the film did hint that a forth Pirates of the Caribbean film would be coming out, but after this one, I don't know if I would really want to see it. Anyway, goodbye, and enjoy the film if you do choose to watch it!

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INCREDIBLY Funny Video

Yeah, err... sorry I haven't been posting for a while, despite the fact that it is now the holidays (yay!). I've just been quite busy. Anyway, just now, I have found an incredibly funny video off YouTube. It is about Star Wars but it doesn't matter if you have seen the films before or not, really. It is just soooo funny. The film is suitable for all, the rudest part of it being the title: Darth Vader Being a Smartass.

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My Top Gaming Sites - FreeOnlineGames

Hey, it's that time again. My next top gaming site is a place called FreeOnlineGames.com. It has a large variety of games, and also allows you to have videos and pictures on it, if you are a member (I am not, so I will not say anymore about it). By the way, don't ask why I'm angry...


My favourite bit about FreeOnlineGames.com, is the fact that it actually gives you the code, for putting their games on your website (or in this case - my blog). This is quite rare on websites, and usually when it is there, it is only on a minimal about of games. Alternatively, the website also gives you the code for linking to it, which is still good. Because of the game option, I have actually put a game on the blog, called: Ninja Rampage. (Warning: Does contain violence, blood, gore and death.)





These are the controls:
- Left arrow key to move left
- Right arrow key to move right
- Up arrow key to jump, as well as jumping onto walls to climb or jump off of them.


The point of the game, basically is to advance through the levels, killing your enemies (any other person) on the lesson. If they see you, you lose points, and they might kill you. Just a warning: watch out for traps. Good luck, and have fun playing!

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CSSBytes...

Alright then. CSSBytes, I'll admit that sounds a bit random, maybe a bit puzzling and/or crazy, but nevertheless, it is the name of my new blog. Don't worry though, the log here is still here to stay. CSSBytes is something completely different. Basically, it is a blog which will give you advice and tips on CSS every post. It has only just started, so if you want to know about CSS (and a little about HTML), the things that make webpages, like my blog, then keep checking back at it! Here is the link to it: cssbytes.wordpress.com/. Remember to bookmark it, as well as this blog, and keep visiting both!

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Just One Away...

Yes, I am just one Pokémon away from completing my Pokémon Sapphire Pokédex. I am just so tantalizingly close, it's horrible! I desperately want the Diploma (a prize you receive for completing the Pokédex. There is only one thing that stands in my way - a Cradilly. I got Lileep traded to me, but then I gave it back. Oh, how I wish I didn't do that... Anyway, I'll tell you if (hopefully when) I complete it.

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My Top Gaming Sites - Neopets

Yep, it's a new feature on the blog, although it won't take as long as my top ten Pokémon one, don't worry. This one is just a little help for anybody who is looking for an online gaming site. If you have any good ones, tell me and I might post them on the blog. Anyway, here's the first one:



Neopets:



Yes, it's Neopets, that great site which you really should make an account on. There are quite a few good games on here, all of them with instructions to help you out. The game range is a bit limited, seeing as all of the games are Neopets related, or a sponsor submitted game, but they seem to manage to get enough. I will now walk you through a few...

Hasee Bounce This is quite a clever game, that involves two Hasees (petpets) jumping up and down on a seesaw to collect donutfruits. Collecting donutfruits gets you points, and the better the donutfruit, the larger amount of points you'll get from it. There is a sixty-second time-limit, but by collecting special letter-shaped fruits, to spell the word Hasee, you gain back twenty seconds of that time. You have to avoid anything other than fruit though, or you will become incapable of retrieving fruits for a few seconds of your precious time. It is a fun and easy game, once you get the hang of it, well worth you trying it out.
	Wingoball This is basically a puzzle game, where you have to throw your wingoball (it's just an ordinary, small red ball really), avoiding all of the obstacles, to get past the finish line on the other side. Many gnomes try to get in your way. Green-hatted ones will deflect your ball away, usually pushing it out of play. Red-hatted ones take control of your ball, minimizing it and almost certainly forcing you to throw again. There are also natural obstacles, which your ball just bounces off of, which you usually have to use to your advantage. There is a thirty-second time limit for each level, but usually you complete each level with buckets of time to spare. I have completed it once, and I believe there are about 22 levels. If you get good at it, it can be a high-scoring game.
	Mynci Beach Volleyball This game is great for having a bit of fun. Basically, it is a game of beach volleyball, where you have to knock the ball over the net, trying to make sure that your opponent can't send it back to you. There are so many rounds, and you win them by getting twelve points before your opponent. Obviously, as you progress through the game, your opponents get tougher. I may be rubbish at this game, but it still really fun, the only thing letting it down is the fact that it is side-on, reducing the games 3D look, but that is to make it easier. The best thing about it, is that it can be played by two players.

Actually, now that I think about it, I want to go and play some of these games, to earn myself quite a few neopoints in the end. Keep checking out the blog, because new game sites will be coming up. Goodbye!

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Software & Eragon

Firstly, yes I know, that was probably the worst possible blog post title ever done, or at least the most random one, but still, basically this post is exactly what it says on the title.

So, for the software. I found this piece of software called CSSEdit. As you might think, it well, edits CSS. I have basically been messing about with it for a while, and, I guess that's it for the software.

As for Eragon, I watched Eragon on DVD, just to see what it is like, because I never got a chance to see it when it was out. To be honest, I'm not impressed. I haven't read the book, but I still think that the film was.... rubbish. I sure hope the book is better. -___-

As yuo can tell, I've been having such an exciting week...

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A Good Online Game

Yeah, so I've found this good online game on the internet (duh), which is called Electric Man 2. Basically, the idea is that you play this person, who is entered in the tournament of Voltagen. It is like an arcade fighting game, where you fight off against multiple enemies at once. Also, I have completed easy mode!!! (Yay)? Don't worry, there is a tutorial at the start, which teaches you everything, including how to do some amazing moves. Click the link below to have a go!

Electric Man 2

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Another Good Tutorial

Well, not much has been going on, except for the restart of school... oh the joy. So I guess this means that I am not exactly in the best mood today. So anyway, I found this great guide for making Neopets User Lookups that look fantastic. The secret is actually using divs, and absolute positioning. You do need a basic understanding of HTML, but you can find guides and tutorials everywhere. Also, the page gives you the basic codes. (Obviously you'll probably need to alter them a little bit). It can be found here.


I only really have one problem, which I stumble upon on making my dream lookup, and unfortunately, the guide doesn't help you with that. It's the graphics. I just... can't draw (or get) the pictures I need for my lookup, so... yeah. Maybe my standards are too high, I don't know, but anyway, that is what has put me in a bad mood also. Bye for now.

***Also:*** Woohoo! Fiftieth blog post!

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Yes!!!

Woah! You will not believe this:



It's absolutely brilliant, isn't it! And, I got the Avatar too! This is from the Alien Aisha Nerkmid Machine (I think it's called that). Basically, you need something called a Nerkmid, which you put into the machine, and well... there you go. I believe I was quite lucky though, getting a Paint Brush. You get the avatar anyway. So, here is the new funnything205:

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Spriting & Graphics

Yeah, so I've been doing a little Pokémon spriting, and other fun stuff. In case you don't know, a sprite is the Pokémon you see in the gameboy games. There are also trainer sprites, item sprites, and lots more. Therefore spriting is tinkering with sprites, which is what I've been doing basically. This is what I've done:




I guess this is pretty self-explanatory. It's a trainer sprite (a Camper boy, with his arm erased off), sitting on a Tropius. He is supposed to be crouching, but he does kind of look like he's sitting.




This is a merge between two Pokémon. Can't guess which ones? It's Golbat and Skarmory! I name it... Skarbat! The other option was Golmory, which doesn't sound as good. The trouble is, I've run into a dilemma with this Pokémon. What types is it? Poison and Steel? Poison and Flying? Steel and Flying? Or all three!?



This is a bit of a random one I suppose. I've jammed at least a hundred Magnemites into the small space of eighty by eighty pixels. Still, it is quite funny (and random), and I call this picture Magnemite Overload!




This one's my least favourite. It is basically just a recolouring of a Gardevoir to gold. So I call it Golden Gardevoir. At least I can give it two definite types - Psychic and Steel.




This is probably my favourite one, either that or Magnemite Overload! It is a Team Magma Trainer about to suck her Pokémon back into its pokeball. Can you guess which Pokémon it is? Here's a hint. It's from Kanto and the sprite is an Emerald one (not animated).


After this I hope to move onto making little random (and hopefully funny) animations, not just about Pokémon, anything I can think about. But until then, bye for now, and don't forget my challenge to you all at Monkey Kick-Off!

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Monkey Kick-Off Continued

Still, nobody has beaten my score? Wow, I'm not that good. I challenge the world! Try and beat my high score! If it is not beaten within a week, I shall claim world domination (Monkey Kick-Off wise, at least)! Really though, I didn't think it was that good...

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Monkey Kick-Off

Okay, hello. Sorry, but I am in a bit of a rush for time at the moment. Anyway, I found a good game on the internet, called Monkey Kick-Off. Basically, just click the mouse when you want the monkey to kick the ball. It's quite funny actually. Click here to challenge me! My high score is 3217 metres. Can you beat it? I don't know if it's that good, but when I last checked, I think it was only about 1000 metres off the top scores, so anyway, notify me if you do beat me (which you won't :-P). Bye!

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Neopets Banners

Well, firstly, it's nearly Easter now - whoo! And I don't have much Homework either - whoo! But, anyway, now on to what I was really going to tell you about. In case you haven't noticed, on most Neopets pages, there is always a little banner at the top. I wanted to make these, and I found a really useful Tutorial for making them on the internet. It has one for Photoshop, Paint, and Paint Shop Pro. You must have at least one of those and your computer (I used Photoshop). It can be accessed here. This is one I made:





Note: You probably shouldn't use these on your own website, unless it is maybe a Neopets fan, or graphics site, because of copyright and stuff. Read the Neopets Terms & Conditions for more information. Also, if you put a Neopets image in it, then put it on the internet, you will need to put a little copyright message somewhere on the page, like the ones on my blog posts (see below).

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Catch-Up

Seeing as I haven't been able to post on the blog for a while, for reasons which I don't know, here is a brief summary of what I have been doing when not posting on the blog - i.e: a catch-up:


• Finally, I was able to code my own User Lookup. I am really proud of it, seeing as I did everything on it, even the background graphics. It might need a little more fine tweaking, but still, I'm happy with it. Click here to see it.


• I resigned as manager on itsagoal.com. :( I still have an account, and can get a new club any time I want, but not now. Unfortunately, it just lost its appeal to me after two seasons. I might be be back on it someday though...


• Hopefully, I can start up some petpages on Neopets soon. I am currently doing some coding on Dreamweaver. When it's finished, you'll see what it's all about.


• And last of all, I created a Flickr account. Flickr, in my opinion is a great sight, which is not just a image hosting site. It has much more, so click here to sign up. Here is some of my art which I have put on it:







Yes, I know it is a bit of a dodgy name, but still. I just like it. If you don't know what it is, then I will tell you. it is a Pokémon Trainer's Card. I think that they are really neat. A great tutorial for making them is here. (All sprites on the image from: www.pokemonelite2000.com/). Well, g'bye for now, I'll try to post more often now.

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The Overdue Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Review

Sorry I haven't been posting for a while, but at least now I am back with this - Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - the Review. Seeing as I only have Blue Mystery Dungeon (for the DS), this review is not about Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue team (GBA).

When this game out (I shall shorten it's name to "PMD"), it was instantly sold. PMD is unlike any other Pokémon game, ever before. With the exception of the Pokémon Pinball Games (though I'm not 100% sure on this), PMD was the first ever Pokémon game not to feature humans. It is the start of the new generation of Pokémon on the Nintendo DS, as well as Pokémon Ranger, and Pokémon Trozei/Link.

At the start of the game, you are asked a lot of questions, asking what you would do in certain situations. This allows the game to calculate your personality, and assign you a Pokémon form, (gender plays a role in this). I ended up being Charmander - the hardy type. Then, you get to pick a partner, of a different type. I chose a Chikorita.

As the game gets gonig, you notice that you are not in human world anymore. Instead, you are in a land inhabited entirely be Pokémon. You live in Pokémon Square, where you meet lots of people, who generally help you, in different ways. There is a shop, an item storage system, a general shop, a friend area shop (explained later), and finally a place where you can link moves, which I say is pretty self-explanatory.

This world has many groups called Rescue Teams. These Rescue Teams save Pokémon in trouble. Soon, you gain access to a wide variety of zones, or dungeons. The terrain includes forests, mountains, valleys, volcanoes, caves, and much more. Once you complete the main storyline, you gain access to even more dungeons.

The storyline is quite complex, for a Pokémon game, although sometimes it does get a bit repetitive. Nevertheless, it is still one of my favourite Pokémon game storylines. Also, I personally think the game has a brilliant soundtrack, second only to Golden Sun 1 (GBA).

You get to fight many legendary Pokémon, all of them, in fact, except for the fourth generation ones. You do see fourth generation Pokémon, and hear them be mentioned, such as Lucario, Bonsly, Weavile, and Munchlax. Instead of capturing Pokémon, your team befriends them, and the Pokémon will ask to join your team. Some Pokémon are easy to recruit, whereas others (like Mew, for instance), are harder to recruit, or have certain requirements for you to recruit them. Some though, you get for free, such as Smeargle, Latias, and Latios.

To recruit Pokémon though, you usually need a friend area. A friend is basically a place where you can visit your recruited Pokémon, talk to them, give them items, let them go on missions with you, or even make them the leader of the team! Friend Areas can be bought in Pokémon square, but you sometimes get them for free, with legendaries, like Rayquaza for instance.

There are some similarities to the main Pokémon RPG's. Hm's, and TM's still exist, but TM's can now be re-used, if you have a Pokémon with the attack refresh. Virtually, this game is completely different. Evolution has been revamped, now making you have to go into a cave and sometimes attack items to your Pokémon to make them evolve. Frustratingly though, you can only do this after completing the main storyline.

Overall, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is a great game, so I would probably rate it 7 or 8 out of 10. The things letting it down are probably it's slight repetitiveness, and other minor details. If you haven't bought it yet, then go buy it!

***News*** There is going to be a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Sequel coming out soon in Japan. It will feature all of the Pearl and Diamond Pokémon, and will hopefully have improved the original. Seeing as it hasn't even come out in Japan yet, it will be quite a while before it comes out in America, and Europe...

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A New Member for the Family!

Alright! Redeagle205 and Dementedfrog205 both have a new brother. His name is Randombi, and he is a Grundo. But he is not just any Grundo, he is a purple one (even though he has spots). Doesn't he look cool (see below)? I adopted him from here. And, he only costed about 300 np! I'm sure Randombi will be a great addition to my Neopet family. Well, bye for now!

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The Top Ten Pokémon in My Eyes - Number One...

This is it, the number one, top Pokemon (In My Eyes), is, the one, the only....



Name: Quagsire
Nickname: Quag
Type: Water/Ground
My Moveset: Earthquake, Surf, Stength, Body Slam
About: Yes, the number one is Quagsire! Don't ask me why I like it, 'cause I'm going to tell you now. Quagsire is a dumb Pokemon, but it is also funny. It is supposed to bang its head on boat hulls all of the time. This makes it a strong one too. It only really has one big weakness - it is four times weak to grass.

Sprite from: www.pokemonelite2000.com/

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The Top Ten Pokémon in My Eyes - Numero Due

Alright then, we're getting close now, we're on number two (which was written in Italian by the way). Also, if you look at the mood indicator - lol.

Name: Magcargo
Nickname: Flamesnail
Type: Fire/Rock
My Moveset: Body Slam, Flamethrower, Rock Slide, Heat Wave
About: I've always liked Magcargo, a lot, for some reason which not even I understand. I have never been able to raise one fully, although I do have one around level fifty on one of my various Pokémon games. In reality, Magcargo isn't that strong. It has low speed (without EV training), and is four times weak to water. Still, I don't like this Pokémon because of how "strong" it is. I just do.

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The Top Ten Pokemon (In My Eyes) - Número Três

Even though you may think the language above is Spanish, I say it's Portuguese so :-P I say it's a different language!

Name: Tropius
Nickname: Tropical
Type: Grass/Flying
My Moveset: Razor Leaf, Stomp, Solarbeam, Fly
About: Tropius is one of those Pokemon which you find (only in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald) that is quite rare. It isn't as rare as a one of a kind Pokemon, but it is still quite rare, like an Absol for example. Despite it's large size, it is supposed to be able to fly quite fast. Notably, it appeared in the anime, beating Ash's Grovyle, before losing to it afterwards.

Sprite from: www.pokemonelite2000.com/

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The Top Ten Pokemon (In My Eyes) - 第4

I haven't really got any comments to say before we start, except that today's language was Japanese. Anyway:



Name: Lugia
Nickname: Lugi
Type: Psychic/Flying
My Moveset: Aeroblast, Recover, Fly, Hydro Pump
About: Everyone has to have their favourite legendary Pokemon. Mine is Lugia. Unfortunately it is another of those elusive Jhoto Pokemon which I can't get my hands on (due to Nintendo Events and lack of Gold/Silver/Crystal). Lugia is a very strong Pokemon, arguably the strongest legendary Pokemon of Jhoto. Whether that is right or wrong, we all know that Lugia wipes the floor with Ho-oh.

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The Top Ten Pokemon (In My Eyes) - 번호 5

Alright, here we go again. This time, the guest language was Korean! all thanks go to Google Translator. Now then....

Name: Houndoom
Nickname: Darkflame
Type: Dark/Fire
My Moveset: Flamethrower, Crunch, Body Slam, Iron Tail
About: Houndoom is one of those Pokemon which I have always wanted. Because I never got the Gold and Silver games, I couldn't catch one then. And, for LeafGreen and FireRed, you need an E-Reader or something, and I don't have one. So I still can't get one....


Sprite from: www.pokemonelite2000.com/

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The Top Ten Pokemon (In My Eyes) - Номер Шесть

Firstly, that was Russian for Number Six, and secondly, wh00t! It was my birthday on Tuesday the sixth! More on that to come. And thridly, it snowed today. Wh00t again! But now, number six...



Name: Glalie
Nickname: Icehead
Type: Ice
My Moveset: Blizzard, Crunch, Ice Beam, Headbutt
About: Ash had this Pokemon in the anime, after evolving it from a cheeky Snorunt. And that's pretty much all I know about from the TV series. Apart from that, Glalie is actually a not very well known Pokemon. Nevertheless, it is still a good one, and with my moveset, Blizzard and Ice Beam will be even more powerful because of STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus).

Sprite from: www.pokemonelite2000.com/

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