I've added a few photographs into the galleries. First up a couple of photos from Stu's birthday bash. Only a couple as A) I took mainly video and B) I didn't want to ruin my camera in the rain!

Secondly, I've added some additional candid portraits to the portrait gallery, including this one of Justin which I love.

Nezza

I have a not-so-secret double life.

By day, I'm a mild manned wage slave; but some nights I like to dress up in my robe and wizards hat and join a few million other players in Azeroth.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I play World of Warcraft.

But Neil, I hear you cry, 'what could someone like you possibly enjoy about such a geeky game?' Well apart from the obvious, I actually enjoy playing it. I get bored with the grinding, same as everyone else, but otherwise I really like the majority of the quest. The game displays a healthy sense of humor, doesn't take itself too seriously (unlike some MMO's I could mention) and best of all - theres a Mac native client so I don't need a Windows box to play. I'm also lucky in that a number of my 'real life' friends play as well, and between us we've got a pretty well balanced party.

Jeff is a Mage, Ed is a Warlock. Jim is a Rouge (what a shocker), and Glenn is a Warrior - our tank.

This is me, Altamiranna.

I play a Blood-Elf Priest, and its pretty much my job to keep the other guys alive. Well when I'm not out of mana that is! Of course, I can always do a bit of soloing as well.

So, I've been happly playing on and off for a few years now. Until tonight that is.

Oh bugger!



Double bugger!

It would appear that my account has been hijacked. I'm guessing that it happened this afternoon, as Jeff told me that he'd seen my online but not responding to any messages. Hmm, I wonder why that was.
Unfortunately, Blizzards customer support line only seems to operate between 08:00-17:00 - Monday to Friday ie, when everyone is work and not able to get to their gaming machines. I've had to report the problem via their web-form, which rather ominously states that it may take some time to resolve the issue.

Since I'm unable to even access my account management, I'm rather concerned that the little runt that has changed both my password and my e-mail address (so that I cannot re-set the password) now has access to my payment options and may be able to get my bank details. Whilst I'm not going to give Blizzard too much stick for only manning the phones during office hours. I do think the lack of weekend coverage when peoples bank details are exposed is an unacceptable risk.

So for the next few days, I'm going to blog the responses from Blizzard and document the damage that has been wrought on my account. I fully expect to log back in to find a naked blood-elf, penniless, weaponless and mountless.

If I'm lucky, Blizzard may be able to restore poor Altamiranna to her former glory.

Stay tuned for the next installment of 'looks like I've been hacked'.

Nezza

I've uploaded the photos from the stag do in Bournemouth. They can be viewed here.

I have to say I had one of the most enjoyable weekends in ages, and would much rather still be there then back here. I shot loads of video over the weekend, and I'll be putting together a video over the next view days. But for now heres a one that I have prepared of the hydro-zorbing.

Nezza

Nezza

They've just handed one of these to everyone. Question is - why?

Nezza

Now I've got he 3G modem, I've finally been able to test out screen sharing on my Mac's. In fact this entry is actually being written on my imac, from my MBA whilst I'm at work. Pretty cool, and could turn out to be pretty useful.

Nezza

It's been a gloriously hot sunny day here in Guernsey. The kind of day where you don't want to be stuck indoors as its a waste of a good day. Of course the last two sunny days have come along just as I received GTA IV and a fair few hours have been sunk into that this weekend. But right now I'm taking a little time out to enjoy the rest of the sun and give a few thoughts on the Macbook Air as I've now had it for a couple of months.

Right now I'm lying on the grass in the park. My Macbook Air is on top of my laptop bag in front of me, and I've just done a little browsing on the net. It is just the latest example of the biggest difference the MBA has made - portability.



I've found that since I got the MBA, I've began to take it places that I've never taken a laptop before. Previously I owned a 12" iBook. Hardly the largest laptop in the world, yet throw it in a bag and you know that you're carrying a laptop with you. With the MBA, its just another item in a bag, like carrying a book, or a couple of magazines. A lot has been written about the Air, but I have found that the biggest truism is that once you have one, you take it everywhere.

Power. Compared to my home iMac, (and especially compared to the latest Apple offerings) the Air looks completely underpowered. To an extent it is. That is the price you pay for that increased portability. However, in day to day usage, what has this really meant? Well to me, not a great deal. I've surfed the net, I've made spreadsheets and databases. I've even made a few videos in iMovie during my lunch and the Air has not even blinked. The real noticeable difference has come when encoding either video or audio. That is when you do see the limitations of the processor compared the other Mac siblings.

Battery life has proved to be adequate. I see around 3 and a half hours generally. That will increase to four or more with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned off. I've just bought a HSDPA modem, and it will be interesting to see what effect this has on battery life. Either way, it should not interrupt a lunchtimes worth of browsing at work.

One thing I will give special mention to is the screen. A few years ago I bought the G5 iMac, when it was first released. Next to it my iBooks screen looked awful. The same happened with that iMac when I replaced it with my current 24" iMac. I could not believe how bright and clear the screen was. As had as it was for me to believe, placed side by side with the iMac, the Airs screen is noticeably brighter. As I sit now in the park, I have the screen on half brightness. I can see when enough to type without difficulty and if I turn the brightness up completly, then it is no different from working indoors. The glossy finish has still not won me over. It's fine indoors, but I can see my reflection clearly whilst I'm outdoors.

Of course, the Air is not going to be for everyone. It is rather expensive when compared to a Macbook, and other PC's such as the Asus Eee PC are even more portable. However I'm delighted with it, and hope to keep it for a good long time.

I mentioned that I've just got a HSDPA modem. It's the Vodafone USB model on Airtel-Vodafone here in Guernsey. I've had mixed first impressions. First being good - it's small, Mac compatible, and simple to use. However, the connection so far has been, interesting. It seems to alternate between 56K modem speeds and around 70kps. I'd hate to play an FPS, as I bet the latency is terrible. But it is a new service, and I expect it will improve. Like with the Air, I'll give a fuller report once I've really had a chance to test it.

Nezza

I bought myself a new watch yesterday. A Tissot PRC200, and I have to say I rather like it.

Nezza

It's not often I say this about a Sony product, but I really want this. - http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/digital_imaging/camcorders/high_definition/release/34661.html

"

It sounds like it beats the hell out of my little Sanyo, but I get the feeling it will be rather more expensive as well. Still brushed aluminum would look good next to my macbook Air.

Nezza

We had a really warm day on Friday, so it was a bit of a shock when it started snowing this afternoon.

Snow in Guernsey is a pretty rare event, so of course I grabbed the camera to record the event.

What do I find in the garden? A big fat rat nibbling away at the seed we leave out for the birds. He didn't seem to mind the cold and the snow!

Mr Rat tucks into his grub.

This winters been very strange. We've just had the warmest day of the year, followed by the coldest a couple of days later.

Nezza