Putting this here mainly for my own benefit, but it may help others. If you want to find out which NT users are connected to your MS SQL (2005 or 2008) server, and which computer they’re using – simply use this query (which you could run in SQL Server Management Studio):
select hostname,nt_username from sys.sysprocesses
For added excitement, if you do use Management Studio, you can display the result as text or a grid to take into Excel and filter it.
I found this video recently, which I watched in disbelief. The number of times I’ve played this game. The hours put in. And yet, I never stumbled across any of the massive game breaking bugs exploited here to get such an incredibly quick completion time.
I think I’d struggle to do just Sonic 3 in 45 minutes, let alone Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Mind you, I’d struggle to contain my lunch if I was forced to play as Tails…
OK, it’s not officially called that (yet, at least), but this is the most exciting Zelda related thing since Minish Cap. And that was TEN YEARS AGO. Finally, a proper 2D Zelda game, ironically, in 3D. NEED.
Time for an update on my Adventures in Cycling, I think. Mainly because I completed the Hethersett 30/60 (er, the 30 rather than the 60) at the weekend.
Firstly, my stats. I’m not doing as well as last year. My Enormous Geek Cycling Spreadsheet of Awesome Numbers tracks my miles and cross-checks it against how I was doing at this time last year, and the sums say that at the moment, I’m 51 miles down.
Thankfully, that’s redeemable and with good weather I can catch up in a week or two. The main problem was that last year the weather in January and most of February was pretty good – cold, windy, and a bit wet – but not bad. This year, we’ve had weeks of snow and weeks of gales. Last April was rubbish though, and this April (so far) has been mostly great, so that’s where I can make amends. I’m also not been cycling my best times (well, except see later…), but that’s also partly down to weather.
Taking part in the Hethersett ride marked my first proper sportive. Sure, I did the Ride for Life last year, but that wasn’t really the same – it was a charity event and mainly aimed at casual riders, although I’d probably class myself as more than a casual rider these days. This was a bit more serious with proper actual cyclists. I did wonder how I’d keep up.
The forecast for the day was mixed. It was warm, but very windy – blowing north. The event had already been postponed from three weeks prior partly due to similar wind conditions, compounded by recent snow, sub-zero temperatures, and ice. Thankfully it was just the wind this time around.
But hoooo – what wind. The first half of the 30 mile route (or rather, the first 13.5 miles until the rest stop) were almost entirely going south. As in, the opposite to north. 40mph wind in my face, pretty much all the way. A few short sections ran east or west, which gave a little respite but had their own problems with side winds that almost toppled me twice (and did topple some people, it seems).
7 or 8 miles in we hit a slight uphill incline too, so wind and hill combined to make progress incredibly slow. Thankfully, I, along with a few other riders, combined to form an ad-hoc peloton which made things do-able, if still really difficult. I even took the lead a couple of times and we worked together as a team. It was a fantastic experience. Sadly, near the end it broke up due to a few members needing to stop (one had a puncture too) and we got too strung apart. Still, it felt great to be a part of it.
After the rest stop, things went great. The remaining 17 miles were almost all downhill with the wind, so I completely stormed it home. In fact, I did those 17 miles 8 minutes faster than the previous 13.5. I flew past countless other riders, and ate up the miles. I was rewarded with a pile of new personal bests, including stripping more than two minutes off my best 10 miles time, and improving both my 20km and one hour bests.
I also had a minor gloat as I passed the Mulbarton Women’s Velo team twice (once before the rest stop, once after). Childish, yes, but gave me a boost at the time. Actually, overall, I passed far more people than overtook me, so I think I did pretty well really.
That wind though – my legs have not forgiven it.
Filed under cycling
Yes, that’s an overstatement. Gaming is not going to die. It’s going to change, and if it changes how it looks like it’s going to, then it’ll be dead to me.
Much of this concern stems from rumours (most of which have been rubbished), but where there is smoke, there is fire. Rumours come from ideas, and even if they’re not implemented now, or fully – someone, somewhere, thought they’d be a a good idea.
Online only
I don’t want my console online at all times to play. I can’t rely on my internet connection to allow that, even if I wanted to.
No second hand games
I buy about 30% of my games second hand. None of them have required any of this “online pass” nonsense, so when I pay £10 for a game, I get the game (and all of the game) for £10. I bought it for £10 because I thought it was worth £10, and if I need a £10 “unlock code” because I bought it second hand I won’t buy it. I never trade games in, or borrow games from other people, so it wouldn’t bother me for that reason, but when I buy a game – I want the game for the price I pay for it.
Microtransactions
There are two reasons I don’t play many iOS games: 1) touch screen controls are rubbish on almost anything approaching a “normal” video game, and 2) you can’t just play games any more – you have to pay to play, or have to wait (minutes, hours, days even) or grind tediously to progress. If this comes to console gaming, I’m out.
Download only games
I’m not adverse to downloading my games (legally, I mean). 42.5% of my spending on games last year was on downloadable games. Every single one of which was under 2GB, and the majority were under 500MB. My internet connection will not cope with bigger games, and although my connection will improve in the future (apparently), the size of games will also increase. Some titles are already 35GB+ – and that ain’t gonna happen, no matter how cheap they are. I had a taste of this when Sony had their “intrusion” and I got two free game downloads. That took me a fortnight to download.
Endless updates
It’s a minor thing, in the overall package, but updates are becoming ever more commonplace. Gone are the days you just put your game in and played, and it was rare a bug was found that prevented you from playing it properly. Now, not only are there updates for the games, but updates for the consoles too. Sure, they add features, but especially in the case of the 360, they add a load of stuff I neither want, nor would ever use. The dashboard is now atrocious, which leads me to…
It’s not all about the games
Remember when games consoles were primarily for playing games on? Microsoft don’t. They’ve moved the Xbox 360 into “entertainment system” territory (oh the irony – Nintendo Entertainment System, anyone?) and don’t even have games as the main focus on the dashboard any more. They’re all tucked away. Yes, I play videos on my PS3, but that’s a side effect, not the main event. With the PS4 cramming Facebook into every orifice and the new Xbox almost certainly moving further away from gaming than the 360 already has, it’s losing focus. And, as a result, my interest.
Flail
Kinect? No. Move? No. We’ve already done that with the Wii. We know what worked well, and what didn’t. We don’t need any more of it, and we certainly don’t need them shoe-horned into games.
Where have the games gone?
So many studios closing. So many sequels being churned out – and even those series I enjoy (Assassin’s Creed, for example) are becoming worn and rely upon wrong-footed changes to appear fresh. Pirates in Assassin’s Creed IV? Sigh. Indie games and small studios funded by the likes of Kickstarter seem to be where my gaming is going, but how long will that last before they’re bought up or go bust?
At the moment, only Nintendo seem to understand what a games console is, but how long for? They’ve already got streaming video and TV on the Wii U, along with a web browser. Miiverse is a great example of how to do something new with a console but still be all about the games – but if the Wii U fails where then? Or worse, what if it succeeds because it changes to be more like its competitors? What’s left for me then? The next Playstation and the next Xbox. Or PC gaming, which I’ve never really liked.
As a gamer, it’s the first time I’ve been concerned about the future of gaming.
Sometimes there are things that just need to escape my head.
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