At last I found somewhere permanent to stay and I moved in tonight. I find myself surrounded by big brown boxes yet again and knowing how long I usually take to unpack they'll probably be there a while! So I now write to you from my new place and with my shiny new Vaio notebook; I've been without a computer too long and this will ensure I never again have to go so long without one (the real need is for Calculator. Several years using a computer has rendered my mental arithmetic useless and I need a computer for the simplest calculations).

So what does this mean for you? Most likely more regular updates and now that I'm living somewhere with new people that have nothing to do with work I better have more interesting banter don't you think?

I still have to finish of the SVG series I started oh so long ago. I want to delve into Silverlight and talk about those experiences and generally more geeky talk that will mostly be Xbox 360, XHTML, CSS and .NET Framework.

Now for some random statements.

• Australian beers, lagers and ales are much better than those in the motherland. Does this really surprise anyone?

• Melbourne may be in Australia but it's cold. Very cold. Right now my toes hurt a lot. Soon they'll be black and rotten.

• Roaches. At least there is something to clean up my rotten toes.

• The office canteen makes great muffins that are different everyday and I buy at least one everyday and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

• I still have to see Oceans 13, Blades of Glory and Transformers

• Now my fingers are cold

• I drink for too much Cola, but fuck it everybody else drinks Coffee.

I'm still alive folks, and I hope you haven't forgotten about me!

Back in 1996 we picked up the new PlayStation with Tomb Raider and Soviet Strike (which deserves more than 5.5 in my opinion; I loved it!). Next up was Air Combat and I played it to death. I completed all the levels on all the difficulties to get the alternate paint schemes for all the planes.

Ace Combat (they changed the name) 2 was even better, and so was AC 3. I remember playing the same level over and over on a demo disc for days. I bought my PlayStation 2 just to play two games; Final Fantasy X (in the hope that Square has redeemed themselves after FF IX) and Ace Combat 4. FF X wasn't what I had hoped for, and nor have any other versions after VIII which is where I like to think the series stopped. AC 4 had me hooked and so did AC 5. Today, just before heading out to buy Forza 2 I noticed that Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation will be coming out for the Xbox 360.

AC has always looked amazing. The aircraft looked great and the scenery incredible. But that's not all. AC has incredible playability. The PSP version alone has had me clock up almost 50 hours of game play. Unlockable paint schemes, aircraft and missions are like Xbox 360 achievements so that there is much more to get from the game than just completing the campaign (which usually has several different paths).

It might not be everybody's up of tea, but I was one of those kids that wanted to be a pilot and could name just about anything that flies. Having said that these games are just fun due to their arcade roots.

Everytime a flight sim like this is released I have to ask the question: Where's my Airwolf game?

I know I've been quiet and to those of you with the dead RSS feeds I apologise.

I haven't had an internet connection at home for around 5 months now and finding it hard to keep in contact with folk and stay web-savvy without it.

I've been looking for some shared accommodation here in Melbourne too, which hasn't been going so well. There's lots to rent but I'm not making the same mistake as last time and renting a 2 bedroomed apartment and never filling it. I may have to do that though.

My 4-year Visa for Australia finally came through a couple of days ago. I was worried about it being rejected for some reason, but honesty, how could they say no to me? ;)

Once I have a proper place to stay with a net connection I'll be back and geekier than ever ;)

In the meantime - to anybody left reading - I'm sorry and hold in there I will have some interesting banter at some point.