metal&gin | (a weblog by craig t mackenzie)

Why hello there, after what has been a hiatus of exactly 252 days, i have decided it’s high time i started blogging again. Last time we spoke was in May of 2008, a lot has happened since then, and i’ve got lots to talk about.

So here’s what I’m going to do, there’s a few subjects i want to talk about, but i’d like to do each subject justice, so instead of trying to cram it all into one mega-post i’m going to summize here, and then i might elaborate in future posts, which will be linked from here if i do. Sound good?

Great. Let’s start shall we?

2008: A Recap

Two Thousand & Eight was, on the whole a good year for me, i was finally working in London, even if the commute was a bitch, i was enjoying my job and everything was peachy. In April i took Steve to Barcelona for his birthday, that was lovely. And in the summer we enjoyed a long weekend on the Norfolk Broads with our very good friends Andy & Debz.

I turned 22, which was pretty uneventful, and after the summer my personal life took a back seat to the large projects i was working on at work.

In September we finally moved to London, north London. We’re now living in a flat in a 100+ year old converted hospital, and we couldn’t be happier. My commute to work has gone from 2hrs 15mins to around 45/50mins. Bliss.

November was fun, i was taken to Moscow, Russia with work to meet the clients we were working with, needless to say we got drunk a lot, had fun and came home with a massive hangover!

Xmas 08 was, meh. in 2007 we decided to avoid it all and go visit our friends in Dubai, i really wish we had done that in 2008, instead we were shooting from London to Kent around Kent and back to London to try and fit everyone in. Not fun.

All Work & No Play

Work has been seriously intense, not long after joining AA|RF, the team i was a part of started to jump ship, then my boss left, then the rest of the team followed. I stayed, because after Impact this place was like heaven, so my new boss was my previous bosses boss (you following?)

This was great because me and Paul get on really well, and find it really easy to work together, it’s a great working relationship where we constantly challenge one another, i’ve learnt a lot from him, and can honestly say he’s become a good friend of mine.

Those are the good aspects of work, the not-so-good aspects are pretty typical for the Technology sector, but have had an effect on me none the less. Working 87.5 hour weeks, long projects, long hours. They all take their toll, after a year of it i’ve started to feel a bit exhausted, the time off i had at Xmas was the first ‘real’ break i’d had in a long time.

As for my future there, who can say? I’m still young, i’d like to travel and see the world. All i can say is watch this space.

Battlestar Galactica: Awesomeness

A few of our friends had recommended Battlestar Galactica to us, and it’s been something we’d been meaning to investigate, well luckily for us our friend Fang came to stay with us, and bestowed upon us THE ENTIRE FREAKING SERIES 0-3 on DVD. Thank you Fang!

We watched it, and got instantly hooked, on one day we consumed a staggering 16 hours of BSG, and are actively downloading new episodes from the US as they air.

BSG simply put, is one of the most amazing pieces of SciFi/Drama i have seen in a very, very long time. It’s exceptionally well realised and the main story arc is deep and complex, to the point were throw-away incidents in the early years have major significance much later in the timeline.

If you haven’t seen it, i strongly recommend it.

Burnout Paradise

Goog God Mother of Mary. This is easily the best game i have ever played. I actually didn’t realise how much i enjoy driving games until i played this. But it’s more than just a driving game it’s a free-roaming explorative landscape (which is huge) and you drive around finding races, challenges and so on.

The real catch though, is not just gameplay but the way in which the game incorporates online-gameplay. Normally in games you have to stop what you’re doing, go to some sort of “online” menu and find a game to join.

Not in burnout. Tap right on your D-pad a couple of times and you are seamlessly dropped into an online game. I mean super seamlessly. It’s technically amazing and makes it really rewarding to get in, get on and burnout.

I fucking love this game.

Boxee & Me (and you too)

Easily one of my most favourite bits of technology in 2008 Boxee is a customized implementation of XBMC which runs on Mac OSX, Apple TV, Linux & Windows.

What sets Boxee apart from other media center solutions is two-fold. First there is the built-in plugins, which cover hundred of online media outlets including BBC iPlayer, Hulu and MTV Music among many many others.

Then their is the social aspect of the service, you can add friends, recommend media, view their activity. It’s all very promising. Boxee is currently in an open alpha state, but stable enough for use. Oh and did i mention, it’s 100% free and mostly open source.