At the start of May I was up with my family for my niece's confirmation, that was a fun day always nice to get to see may family and catch up. Also organised a nice day of pizzas in my garden with the weather being good, you have to make the most of it here. Hopefully that's not the last of the good weather.

I started running again in late March and after a few weeks of training got back to running 5K and beat my personal best time as well. I have a goal to get much more fit this year, after reading The Body by Bill Bryson it made me want to look after my body better. I'm also keeping up on weight training and it really does make you feel much better than sitting at a desk all day does. I forget that many years ago when I used to work in Woodies I was on my feet all day, lifting things and generally being active. These days I sit at a desk far too much so I really need to make the effort to be active.

I've been working more on a game, it's at that stage where lots of things are starting to take shape and come together after months trying things that went nowhere. I'll hopefully have something more interesting to share soon. It's a stealth game inspired by the early Thief games mainly. To help with this I am taking notes of ideas I have but also when playing games taking notes of what I like in those games that might work in mine as well. As you can see I even stuck with a game I wasn't really enjoying much just to see if there were at least ideas that would be interesting.

I've been shooting more photos on films, I have a couple of rolls that I need to drop off for development. I'm still enjoying shooting on film!

Formula 1 is finally back after being off during April. Miami was ok but Montreal was a really good race. Can't wait to see more of Russell & Antonelli battling it out later in the season and having Hamilton on form against Verstappen is always fun to watch. Hoping there are more races this good even if a Mercedes driver winning seems like a forgone conclusion already.

Dennis got in a fight(again!) and had a nasty infected bite on his cheek. He was kept home for 2 weeks and needed a cone for most of those 2 weeks. He got very grumpy by the end of the month but is back in good form now.

I got my garden in order, weeded it and topped up the bark. Then I had my friends over for a garden pizza aprty while we had some nice weather. There's still more to do on the garden, I have a goal to get it done by the end of summer.

I bought a Kodak Charmera and it's been kinda fun. I was just taking a lot of photos and videos as I went then wanted to created a montage of them. So I got some video editing software for that right? No! I looked up Python libraries for editing video clips and have started on a small script I can point to a folder, view and select clips/photos and then put them all together. It only took about an hour to have a simple version working, there are a few things I'd like to improve with it in the coming days.

Finally I have been thinking about Hivemind again. I have lots of ides in my head for Version 3 both for new games and a big change on the technical side that I think will help it run more smoothly and give the audience a better experience. I'm excited to explore some of those ides in June.

THat was a busier month than I thought! Roll on June.

Some good things I read

A few about AI being shit & awful:
AI and a world without migrants
Born in the wrong generation
Why is Ireland's Government cheerleading for privately owned AI?

One about queues ruining NYC. As someone who scoffs at the idea of queueing for Bambino(just go to the always empty one on Baggot St!) this resonated with me.
Stop the Madness

Films

Obsession

The best time I’ve had at the cinema in a while. Excellent characters and a fun premise that they get so much out of. I was laughing and then seconds later filled with dread never knowing what way things were going to go. Inde Navarrette is absolutely fantastic in this.

Titanic

Absolutely stunning. I don't think I've watched this since my mother brought me to see it in the cinema when it was released and it's definitely something I can appreciate more today than when I was 10. I had a strong emotional reaction to the second half. The desperation to survive, the panic to escape, the guilt from the Captain and designer of the ship for failing these people, the remorse of the crew enforcing rules that no longer matter and are only killing people. The other members of the quartet returning to play was the moment that broke me. "Gentlemen, it's been a privilege playing with you tonight" 😭

TV

Hacks

The final season, I'm sad to see this go but glad they're wrapping things up before any sort of decline. A good final season.

Paradise

I got through both seasons of this in a couple of weeks, really compelling stuff. It does mystery very well with reveals feeling satisfying. It reminds me of how I felt watching LOST when it came out.

Games

No One Lives Forever

You can read all about this here.

Thief: The Dark Parade

A fan made set of 10 new missions for Thief with a full story and voice acting and everything. This is really good, great quality art and levels although they can be a bit labyrinthian. I'm on the 7th mission but as it's such a dark game the days are too long for it to be easy to play. I just can't get my office dark enough during the day.

Diablo IV

Reading Play Nice gave me a hankering for a Blizzard game and Diablo is a series that I find it very easy to jump into and kill time. Diablo 3 was my zone out game when I was in a funk, I think I racked up 150 hours in it.

007 First Light

I think I'm nearing the end of this, it's fun if a little inconsistent. None of the specific systems are great but they're not bad either. They all do the job. The story has been enjoyable if a tad generic but the characters are all well realised and enjoyable to spend time with. It's a good Bond game though, it's hitting all the notes and there's been some great moments where everything comes together. I hope we get more Bond form IO Interactive.

Mina The Hollower

I'm only at the start of this, it's good! I am playing with some of the modifiers which I think help sand of the edges for me. Things like not losing XP/Money on death which I always just find irritating and pointless in games that allow you to just go farm these things endlessly. I'm loving the art style and the amount of exploration there is.

Music

Maya Hawke - MAITREYA CORSO

This has been on a lot for the past month. As easy to listen to as Chaos Angel but with more depth to most of the songs and just more going on. Terms of Estrangement is probably my favourite song on the album and the way Maitreya and the Way Back changes half way in is my favourite moment on the album.

CMAT in St. Ann's Park

What a show. My fourth time seeing CMAT and everytime it's a bigger show than the last time. She and her band are incredible performers who you can tell are having a great time on stage. It's infectious and these are the most fun gigs there are.

Books

Venomous Lumpsucker - Ned Beauman

I really enjoyed this, a sci-fi adventure set in a near future following two people trying to save a species of fish for different reasons. An easy read with a light and funny tone.

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment - Jason Schreier

An interesting history of the founding and life of Blizzard Entertainment. Goes into a lot of detail on the important people throughout the life of the company and the big events that steered it to where it is now. For anyone interested in learning more about the games industry. Other books I'd recommend are: Master of Doom, Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto & Blood, Sweat, and Pixels.

Theatre

The Bureau De Change Song Contest

This is always a fun night, a bunch of Irish comedians getting together to put on a spoof Eurovsion song contest. Don't miss it next year!