Is Your Email Safe?

It surprises me that there is not more fraud on the internet. In fact, it's enough to give a renewed faith in the majority people that run their own websites.
I'm a student, and in my spare time I do some web design, and some coding - among other things. I'd consider myself fairly adept at […]

Top Ten Progressive Metal Albums

Progressive music was the first genre that really captured my interest, although I had been listening to far more mainstream rock music for several years before I came across any of the albums in this list. It was doubtlessly the originality that first attracted me to prog, progressive metal in particular, because so far I had never managed to find any music that I still enjoyed after several listens. Even though it took me quite a while to appreciate many of the albums in this list, there isn't a single entry that hasn't remained fresh - in fact I still find myself enjoying these albums more with each listen.

It's near impossible to create a definitive list of the best progressive metal albums because of the incredible variety that exists within the genre. The ten which I have eventually settled on are all albums which I love, and which show the all the extremes and the diversity of the genre; I've included softer albums, which feature a lot of progressive rock, and heavier albums that are interlaced with death metal elements. There is of course a lot of personal bias in this list; I love albums with stories or strong themes, so I’ve favoured some concept albums.

Running Street Fighter III on your PC

Street Fighter 3 is a fantastic game. Utterly incredible for a rainy afternoon - and since summer 2007, it's been possible to play on the PC. If you want to try it out, all you need to do is follow these simple instructions.
1. Download CPS3 Emulator
I tried a load of different emulators, including the latest […]

Top Ten Fantasy Books

Good fantasy literature I think requires two vital elements to be present:

Imagination – the ability to dream, to create new wonders, to explore new realms and bring them to life. In fantasy the ideas can be original or not, that is not important. Often the re-use of the old, of archetypes and legends, is of crucial importance in fantasy, which is a form of literature that connects us with our deep past. On the other hand, I personally value originality in approach, and I notice that this list seems to consist largely of works by unique, one of a kind writers. It's the power of their imagination which is so vital, which makes their works so unforgettable.

Storytelling – the story must captivate the readers or listeners. This ancient art goes back many aeons to the first cro-magnons huddled around the cave fires, listening to the shaman's tales of the mysterious world(s) beyond… And it is just as important today. Fantasy is about stories, things have to happen, events have to unfold, quests have to be fulfilled, monsters killed or perhaps heroes (as the case may be), uppances have to be comed, and consequences have to be faced. Homer knew this when writing the Odyssey, as did all fantasy writers (and tellers) since.

So, once more into the breach. Here's my list.

Why I chose to reject God

When I looked at Christianity (which is all I can really talk about with much confidence) in terms of the 'bigger picture', it seemed that people have believed in a God for generations upon generations simply because their parents did before them. The whole idea of having religious 'experiences' or life changing moments is rare - in my experience, people have a given religion from birth, they don't choose it, and in the majority of cases they stick to it until death.

This hereditary belief system does itself no favours. To begin with it gives religion a lack of credibility - surely a person of religion would be far more consciously sincere about their beliefs if they had actually chosen them? I decided that I had no strong convictions for the ideas of Christianity, so I gave it up.

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Installing Commandos - A Tale of Woe

I used to love Commandos; that is, the first game in the series, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines. I often go back to play games from ten or more years ago, and this is the latest one I have a craving for.

Did I mention, I've just ordered a pretty powerful, expensive gaming laptop from Zepto? Some of its power, I think, might go wasted …

Anyway, the first thing I needed to do was find the disk. It definitely wasn't a DVD case, which meant trawling through boxes and boxes of disks, often with no names along the spines, hunting for it. Three hours later - and with a significantly less tidy room - I gave it up.

Five days of Ubuntu Linux

Last wednesday I ordered a new laptop. I'll definitely be installing Vista on it, if only for gaming and DirectX 10, but I also plan to use it as an excuse to get to grips with Linux. I've used Windows all my life, 3.1 followed by 95, 98, 2000 and now XP, and I'd describe myself as fairly competent at working with it: this would be a pretty new experience for me. A few years ago I'd installed Fedora Core 4, and I wasn't impressed a great deal, but this time I decided to go with Ubuntu. This distribution, from what I've read, seems to be fast entering the realms of user-friendly for those with no experience of Linux - that is, it would hopefully be less like jumping in at the deep end and hoping to surface. Ubuntu's apparent popularity among those looking for a place to start in looking for a Linux based alternative to Windows, made it seem like an increasingly good place to start.

New Trailer for Ayreon's 01011001

As part of the build up to its January 28th release, an official teaser trailer for Ayreon's new album, 01011001, has been released, and one of the songs from the new album, The Fifth Extinction, has been made available in its entirety on the Ayreon myspace page. They're incredible.
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