Ello!
Unfortunately there is now show this week, which is a shame because it's also my birthday week. I have picked up some sort of bug that feels like a cold or 'flu but without the massive runny nose - just no life, exploding sinuses and achy joints.
Hopefully I'll be back next week with a post-birthday special!
Boz.
Ello y'all!
Just a heads-up that there's an impromptu BBB in a few hours' time!
There's a couple of reasons for this. If you heard last Wednesday's show, you would know that, unfortunately, we had to abandon transmission after trying very hard to keep it going. The bandwidth that SlayHQ's providers had given wasn't up to the task that a live show demands. On a separate note, this had the interesting side-effect of allowing me to experiement with the UStream "BBB Video Show" that I have been toying with for a very long time but have never done anything with. Still, we know it could be good fun every now and then.
On top of that, it's the Hell Months for Sweden - almost everyone has a vacation around July and August. Although I'm "between jobs" and therefore had a vacation forced upon me (not that I was complaining), Mrs. BozRetro's vacation only starts next week. We would like to try and get away on a last-minute vacation, and we also have Parental Units visiting. The outcome of this is that it is highly unlikely that there'll be a BBB for the next two Wednesdays.
But, I wanted to do a show before it all kicks off. Because of the aforementioned vacation and, thankfully, SlayHQ's providers have upgraded the bandwith, so there should be enough for a live show.
Both myself and Slaygon will be closely monitoring the "Half Hour Rehearsal" to make sure all is OK, so I would like to invite to you finish off your Sunday with some BBB MMM (Merriment, Mayhem and Malarkey) tonight (July 17) at 20:00 CEST (19:00 BST; 18:00 UTC/GMT)!
Hope to see you there!
Boz.
Howdy folks,
Unfortunately this week, Real Life has taken priority and I'm going to have to cancel the show on short notice. But don't worry, I will be back as normal next week and maybe even try and fit in an impromptu!
Seeya soon!
Howdy y'all,
Just to remind you of what I said on the last show - the next BBB (2011-06-01) is cancelled due to the missus and I being in Prague. Neither of us have been before but we've only heard good things about the beautiful scenery and buildings and, of course, the Czech beer!
Remember you can keep up to date with shows by either going to this page on the SLAY Radio website, or by subscribing to the RSS feed at http://www.slayradio.org/rss.php/shows.xml.
Thanks and seeya soon!
It's been something like 9 months, but the new floor has finally been put down in the DorkDen! The BBB show itself hasn't suffered too much from the upheaval - I managed to have a minimized setup when the last parts of the old floor were ripped up - but I've always been very much aware that the DorkDen hasn't been like it should.
Thankfully it's now starting to look how I want it to; the last corner to be set up was the Commodore 64, done on Sunday evening. To give you an idea of the room used every Wednesday when I do a show, I thought I would make a little video explaining what it looks like!
The floor guy's finished! So I'm setting up the studio ready for tonight's show. Seeya there :)
So the SLAY Radio Gathering has been announced for the first weekend in August, which is Friday August 5 through Sunday August 7. This will be the seventh year that we've done it which is pretty good going. It's always good to catch up with some of the regulars and to see some new faces, something that happens every year.
More information on this year's Gathering can be found on this link.
Sweden, like some other Scandinavian countries, has a law stating that you should swap to Winter tyres if the weather calls for it and I think it's fair to say that the passing winter qualified with snow and ice for something like 5 months. But it was time to change back to normal tyres, a job that I'm starting to get used to. It helps to have a decent jack and, thankfully, Linda's dad bought us a pneumatic jack a few years back (you know, you pump it up with a handle and then turn a valve to lower again).
The trouble is, with so much snow this year, there was a lot of grit and, more importantly, salt on the roads. This causes a rusted bonding to occur between the wheel and the hub. Boy did I find that out this time around! To change four wheels usually takes me about an hour at a relaxed speed. This time it took me about four hours because of the damned rear wheels. I thought I'd write about how I finally got the wheels off in the vain attempt at helping anyone else that has this problem next time they swap over.
In the end I resorted to loosening the nuts slightly - one or two turns - and then driving around the block a couple of times. If you like, you can unroll a window and listen for a little 'clang' when the wheel has loosened.
This worked for the rear-right wheel, but for the rear-left, I had to resort to raw unadulterated violence! I jacked the wheel up (and made sure it was on a sturdy surface), laid on my back and then alternatively kicked the shit out of the left and right sides of the wheel! Eventually the wheel started moving a bit, at which time I could rock it with my hands and it eventually came off.
So that's my advice - don't be afraid to get violent with the wheels! Remember that whatever your hands and feet do to the wheels aren't half as bad as the pummelling they get from driving over potholes and farthinder (speed bumps).
There's a talented bunch of listeners out there in SLAY Radio Land and I wanted to give you some info on one of them. Long-time listener and all-round nice guy Nickenstein is involved in creating a game called Project Zomboid, a survival RPG which centres around - yep, you guessed it - a Zombie apocalypse.
The guys at Indie Stone Studios have decided to market it in a similar style to Minecraft in that you can pre-order it now, which guarantees you a lifetime of updates and help keep the team's cupboard full of beans and bread while they finish off the game. I know a few of the SLAY Radio listeners (including me) have already donated money to the cause!
A "first version" of the game is scheduled for release at the end of April; development will then continue to add functionality to the game until it is complete.
Some of the cynics out there may think that it is vapourware but I can assure you that the game does exist and will be released in a quicker life-cycle than some Duke Nukem Forevers that I could mention. And here's the proof: the first video of in-game action! In order to whet your collective appetites, this is a "destroy all Zombies" part of the game; remember that there will be some RPG elements in there too.
My first reactions after seeing the video (and associated screenshots) tells me that this is going to be one of those evil games that make you want to regularly come back for more carnage, and I can't wait for my virtual copy to be delievered!
Project Zomboid is to be released as an in-browser version, or stand-alone for PC, Mac and Linux OSes.
Here's the ink to the official Project Zomboid Site. You can pre-order and donate to the cause straight from there - £5 / $8 gives you a lifetime license and a warm feeling inside. Which is more than can be said for the Zombies whose innards you will be splattering all over the place.
Hi everyone,
This Wednesday's BBB has been cancelled. As an advanced warning, next week's BBB (2011-03-02) will also be cancelled.
This is as a mark of respect for the recent passing of my close friend, C64 "scener" and SLAY Radio staff member Paul "Skitz" Hadrill, who sadly passed away last Wednesday night as a result of his long battle with a brain tumour.
I was in two minds about whether to broadcast a show this week. It would have been a much more sober show with plenty of references to and remixes by Skitz. But in the end, you don't need me to force his memory on you. I decided it was much more dignified to back off for a couple of weeks and let you remember him how you want.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Paul Hadrill; 1971-06-02 to 2011-02-16.
Hi Folks,
I'm really sorry for the short notice, but I've had to cancel this week's BBB. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong; it's just that Real Life (i.e. work) took all my energy this week.
All being well, I'll be back next week as normal!
Take care,
Boz.
Ello everypeeps,
Just in case you missed my announcement on last week's show, or you weren't listening, please note that this Wednesday's BBB is cancelled. The reason is that it's our third wedding anniversary on the same day so we'll be going out for a romantic meal.I'm sure some of you were hoping for a Linda and Boz BBB special, but - fun though it would be - it's not really the most romantic thing we could do ;) But I should be back for next Wednesday as usual!Please remember that you can always see what shows are coming up by subscribing to the SLAY Radio RSS feed:
