Model Citizen - blog

3 Zero Hour Mods

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:42:00 +0200

There used to be a time when the Mod Shockwave for Zero Hour was THE MOD to have, it's still an excellent play, but these days it doesn't stand out so much from the other runners. Here are 3 of the best that will give you hours more gameplay for the Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour expansion:

COLD WAR CRISIS

This turns gameplay on it's head. Forget gathering supplies, it all about fuel. How much you have depends on how many vehicles, each needing varying amounts. An extremely difficult game, forget any other levels and just try easy.

1 point, if you download this Mod, you will need special CWC maps to play. Normal ones wont work.

DESTRUCTIVE FORCES

This has a lot of great vehicles, buildings etc. It's main difference straight away though is the greater height of play, it really helps. If you happen to be up against the General with the Harmageddon Nuclear Weapon though, throw everything you have at it. If it's fired at you it's game over!

lastly:

RISE OF THE REDS

A superb new army of Russia with some deadly attributes.

These 3 Mods should keep you going...and of course, theyr'e all free! just download.

If you can still find the old Shockwave and you haven't got it, get it at once.

Zero Hour Map Pack

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:35:55 +0200

I've just loaded on Command & Conquer Zero hour after 2 years of not playing. I dont know if anybody still plays this game anymore (I hope so, it's great fun) but if you do I've compiled my map pack. These maps were made years ago and are in varying degrees of accomplishment.

File can be downloaded HERE for free. Click the Download button on the left.

2 Great Bargains

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:02:00 +0100

I've been going crazy with the kids cameras! Every time I tried to take the 200+ pictures off that had accumalated over the year the batteries would die half way. As would all the othewrs I found round the house to try again. Just buy new ones I hear you say. Well how about this for £2!

I visited the local Poundstore and found these shops sell anything and everythin. I bought a 4 port USB hub and a card reader!

So, no more batteries for downloading :)

Mounting Photos

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:15:52 +0100

Just thought I'd post this for anyone thinking of doing something similar:

I've been trying to succesfully mount some photo's for the local club competition. How hard is that!
I tried spray mount- paper buckled the next day
Tried tape on the edges- paper buckled in the middle the next day.

I rang a guy at the club to tell him my woes and he's put me onto a product he uses. It's made by 3M, the same people that make spray mount and is basically photomount on a roll:
Here, at almost £50 a roll delivered though it's not cheap. (product at top of page).
Also, I've ruined quite a few prints finding all this out which leads me to one other thing. Rather than buying an expensive colour printer (and you will need one with at least 2 blacks for mono's), there is a company: Here that prints your images for a very reasonable price. Again, I got the address from a camera club member and they came very highly recommended.

Anyway, thought it might be use to some of you.

Robert A. Heinlein: Time Enough for Love

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:06:29 +0100

This is one of those books you pick up in a charity shop for 25p. It was massive at over 600 pages and a real marathon epic story. It's the size of 3 normal books, has an older style of writing that I wondered if I was going to manage past the first couple of pages...
But, I found that the first few pages are a style not repeated in the rest of the book. It is one of the most intriguing, funny, moving and peaceful books I've read in the SF genre.
It is the story of Lazarus Long, the oldest human alive who has lived for 23 centuries. He has lived this long due to a genetic programme of breeding set up in the early 1900's, maybe before, and then boosted as technology allowed for rejuvenation.
Lazarus is tired though, very tired and no longer wants to live. He has disguised himself as a tramp, headed for a 'homeworld' of Secondus where he wants to die, alone and unmourned.
This does'nt happen though, he is found by the ruling government on Secondus, and because he is 'The Elder' from whom most of the human race can be related he is coaxed into living again and taking another rejuvenation. Along the way he is coaxed also into giving some of his history which involves the book being spliced into sort of sub books that are so diverse. We see Lazarus as a man so lazy that his only option is to become a genius (think: a man who is so lazy to get up and turn the telly over inventing the remote control to spare him the effort) who embarks on a Naval career near WW2. The story of Lazarus as a spaceship Captain picking up a pair of slaves who are twins but not twins (the technology and DNA was explained but it went over my head) who teaches them to be more than just 'pets' but individual strong people. the story of Lazarus with the first woman he ever truly loves, who starts off as his adopted daughter! and becomes a story of a pioneering couple forging a life similar to the early American settlers but with a futuristic twist.
Also, dispersed between these stories are what I would describe as Lazarus's Books OF Proverbs, some of the funniest and poignant thoughts he's recorded.
Thoughts like: If you ever find yourself in an argument with your wife where you are 100% in the right-apologise at once.
A society that introduces identity cards is near the brink of collapse.

Whilst Lazarus has been under the process of rejuvenation he has been attracting a sort of family around him of relations and careers, scientists and historians that he eventually joins in a new pioneering away from the most advanced civilisation to a new untouched planet to start again. The city computer has also been tasked with finding a new adventure for Lazarus that will inspire him to live longer, one that is finally arrived at with Time Travel. The book finishes with the adventure of Lazarus travelling back in time to 1917 to meet his own family and due to a small miscalculation with time also get embroiled in WW1.

An incredible epic of a book, sometimes it feels like this is 7 or 8 book ideas cobbled together to make up one really big one, but it is never more than exciting. You come to love the character of Lazarus (who has a temperament a bit like Jessie Duke), and listen to the wisdom he's learned from 23 centuries of having done most things that can be thought of.

Heinliens idea of the future is great, the sexual revolution that has clearly taken place takes a bit of getting used to and if you dont get used to it you will never accept what happens later in the book, which maybe one of Heinliens motives behind the book: destroying prejudices and taboos.

A Shop is Born!

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:53:06 +0100

Come visit my store on CafePress!

Some Photography Links

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:12:02 +0100

I thought I'd post a few links to some of the photography goodies I've been finding over the last couple of months.

First are some Flickr goodies that will help spice up your profile and images. The complete list can be found at Big Huge Labs, but here is an example of what they do for links:

OK, next here are some links to other sites and what you can get:

www.topazlabs.com This is an incredible Photoshop plug in that will give super HDR type images and more.

www.flamingpear.com This site has some free Photoshop filters that come in handy for world making effects.

enblend.sourceforge.net You will need this software if you want to start stitching Panoramic photos etc.

hugin.sourceforge.net Free panoramic software!

www.cybia.co.uk Free Photoshop filters....lots of them!

www.hdrsoft.com Software to help you make great HDR images.

Well, have fun.

Pictures from Flickr

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:35:12 +0200

Well, I said I'd post some pics from the new camera. I've not taken that many, still getting to grips with it, but here's 3 that came out OK.

I've set up a Flickr account to display them HERE

Anyway, still learning. i bought the Blue Crane DVD on how to use the camera, not had a chance to watch it yet, but I'm enjoying the journey so far.

A new camera

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:35:00 +0200

I've not received an inheritance before, but my late mums inheritance came recently. It was a last act of kindness from a very kind lady. It was not a huge amount of money to some but I really wanted to get something with it that mum would have approved of. To me that said get something that will help your creative side because mum was always encouraging me in that. Even as a kid when I did some really silly things she never seemed to mind because I was experimenting. Things like accidentally spilling red gloss paint on my bed as I was building a model of Eagle 5 from Space 1999, or the day I started to colour in the wallpaper in the living room to make it look more interesting. The felt pen took years to cover up!

I also remember mum helping me buy my very first camera for college. A Petri SLR with 50mm lens. I looked after that extremely well all through college and then passed it on when I bought a Nikon F501.

Yesterday i became the owner of what is the best camera I have ever laid my hands on. The Nikon D300.

Whenever i buy something significant I really do my homework, usually for months as I search out reviews, best places to buy etc. With a purchase as important as this I did the same. This time though I had a huge helping hand from my friend Richard at AV Talk Richard has had a few Nikons and steered me to start thinking of the 300 rather than the 200 that I was looking at. He also helped me in the choice of lenses I bought and from where I got them. I took all his advice and bought them from MIFSUDS a shop based in Devon that sell new and used equipment all with warranties. They give next day delivery and that's when all the equipment came. It's the sort of camera that will last forever, as with anything, you look after it. I hope to put some sample pictures up soon that I've taken with it, but in the meantime if you want to look at the review of this camera from DP Review look here.

Thank you very much Richard. Thank you very much Mum.

I bought a phone!

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:05:00 +0200

Unbelievable. The people in the shop could'nt seem to grasp that i was one of the few people in the world that had managed to live without a mobile phone till now.

If I was going to buy one, which i needed to for work related things, then I wanted to get one with a pretty good camera.

I bought the Sony Ericsson K800i

It's a good phone as far as I can tell, but the 3.2 MP camera is excellent. Not that great in darx situations, but for portraits and landscapes in good conditions it's as good as my 8MP Olympus.

Here's a shot of the kids inside with only natural lighting coming in.

I dont know, boys and their toys eh!

p.s. my iPod Dock from marantz should be ready at the end of the month, I'll write how that goes.