Pete White - 'World Famous' ImAFish

Blackjack

Pete — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:17:52 +0000

Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one, is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. Blackjack is a comparing card game between a player and dealer and played with one or more French decks of 52 cards.

The game is commonly played online through blackjack download services. The player is dealt an initial two card hand with the option of drawing cards to bring the total value to 21 or less without exceeding it, so that the dealer will lose by having a lesser hand than the player or by exceeding 21.

Many rule variations of blackjack exist. Since the 1960s, blackjack has been a high profile target of advantage players, particularly card counters, who track the profile of cards yet to be dealt, and adapt their wager and playing strategy accordingly. Online discussion can be undertaken through the ftr poker forum.

Other casino games inspired by blackjack include Spanish 21 and pontoon. The recreational British card game of black jack is a shedding-type game and unrelated to the subject of this article.

When twenty-one was introduced in the United States, gambling houses offered bonus payouts to stimulate players' interest. One such bonus was a ten to one payout if the player's hand consisted of the ace of spades and a black jack (either the jack of clubs or the jack of spades). This hand was called a "blackjack" and the name stuck to the game, even though the ten to one bonus was soon withdrawn. In the modern game, a blackjack refers to any hand of an ace plus a ten or face card, regardless of suits or colours.

Severn Magazine Issue #4

Pete — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:23:43 +0000

The latest issue of the Severn Magazine.

Shropshire's World traveller sets up his own very unique and very fascinating business

Pete — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:19:24 +0000

From a very young age, Shrewsbury-born Sam Handbury-Madin had a fascination with finding and collecting things. He's now turned the fascination into a business and has recently launched his venture as the quirkily named 'It's a Nomad Life'. Sam says "from a small boy I was always coming home with things I'd found. I had drawers stuffed full of old coins, bottles, fossils, mineral specimens, animal bones, you name it I probably had a collection of it!"

32 year old Sam was always interested in history and, undoubtedly this is connected with his family history as Sam's father was a history teacher before becoming an antiques dealer and Sam's great grandfather was also a collector. Sam said "I guess my passion for travel and wandering around the globe stems from my great grandfather, who I never met but it must certainly be in the blood! He was quite a traveller in the late 19th and early 20th century. He spent time in Africa and the Far East, mainly in India and he also visited Australia".

"Dad used to bring interesting things home all the time", said Sam. "I remember I was first entranced by some Australian aboriginal items he brought back: spears and clubs, some flaked stone stools, boomerangs etc., think I must have been 8 or 9. I knew from an early age that I was interested in ethnography and other cultures from around the world and wanted to start collecting objects. I used to love the Oceanic (Pacific) art Dad used to bring home, like masks from Papua New Guinea, beaded necklaces with metal adornments, cooking pots and textiles."

With many precious items locked away in display cabinets, Sam was allowed to 'play' with the tribal art items his father had brought back "these were always out, so I could look at and dream about where these wonderful items had come from and who had owned them before me"

After leaving school, Sam was accepted onto an Archaeology Degree course at the University of Bristol. Sam continued "archaeology was the perfect combination of history and learning and of course, going out in to the field to look for artifacts was something I'd always enjoyed doing".

During a university dig in Somerset in 2000 Sam uncovered the hearthstone of the long house they were excavating. Sam said "finding the hearth stone was a key discovery as we were able to radio carbon date the charcoal on the stone to around the late 14th century AD. It was an amazing feeling".

After graduating from Bristol in 2002, Sam stayed on in the area and volunteered at the Bristol City Museum. "I used to love being down in the vaults full of cabinets of curious items, from ethnographic weapons to ancient Egyptian sarcophagi. It was just breathtaking being among such incredible items".

Sam then moved to London where he undertook a work placement at Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers in the Tribal Art and Antiquities Department. Sam said "it was a yearlong placement and I enjoyed it greatly. I loved doing the cataloguing of the items that were going to be sold – I also helped in the sale room on sale days and loved the buzz of the auction room. Most of the other time was spent researching objects so I used the skills I gained in my degree. I also met some very interesting characters and some very 'colourful' antique dealers".

An interesting period then came for Sam, as he lived in the Caribbean for a few years where he worked in an art gallery and he also volunteered at the Anguilla Museum, where he catalogued finds and cleaned and restored items. "I've found some amazing things, like a large collection of ancient pottery I dug up in my garden when I lived there, dating back to circa 1200 AD. I donated this to the local museum along with numerous axe heads and arrow heads and a very fine Arawak carved conch shell pendant I had found".

Being passionate about travelling and collecting, Sam's favourite places are North and South America. "I am very interested in the ancient cultures of South America and the Caribbean, especially the ancient Inca people of Peru and the Taino people of the Caribbean. I also am fascinated by Native American cultures and in particular the cultures of North West Coast of Canada such as the Haida and Tlingit people where I have spent time". Sam continued "I have always wanted to travel to the pacific islands (Oceanic art is probably my single favourite area of collecting) – so this would be my ultimate trip with stops off in Australia and New Zealand to see friends and to learn about the Maori and Aboriginal cultures".

After almost ten years of working for other people, Sam decided to bite the bullet and go into business alone. "I just decided that I wanted to start my own business after working for others for the past ten years. I've been very fortunate to work in the art and antiques industry in some amazing places such as the Caribbean and Canada, and doing work that I've always been so passionate about".

Sam has amassed a large collection of eclectic and interesting items for the business "I've been building my collection up over the years so I've got plenty to sell!"

Sam's business, 'It's a Nomad Life' is initially an online emporium bringing customers a collection of globally inspired affordable goods, ranging from the ancient Neolithic period right up to the 1980's, items are sourced responsibly and with respect. By using his experiences and expertise, Sam is able to source quality interesting items from all over the world.

www.itsanomadlife.com

Detecting Apple Device Orientation

Pete — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:37:53 +0000

Following on from my post at the weekend about Responsive Design, a fellow blogger Tristan Bettany has emailed in his example for detecting either the iPad or the iPhone and the screen orientation.

It uses a small amount of PHP to detect the device then CSS to detect the orientation. Copy and paste the following into the head of your page.

<?php
//Functions to check user agent for iPad, iPod, iPhone
function iPadCheck(){
return preg_match('/(iPad)/', $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']);
}
function iPhoneCheck(){
return preg_match('/(iPhone|iPod)/', $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']);
}

//Set correct css files based on detected device
//orientation property supported in mobile safari to change layout on rotation
if (iPadCheck()) {
echo'
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen and (orientation:portrait)" href="iPadPortrait.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen and (orientation:landscape)" href="iPadLandscape.css" />
';
} else if (iPhoneCheck()) {
echo'
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen and (orientation:portrait)" href="iPhonePortrait.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen and (orientation:landscape)" href="iPhoneLandscape.css" />
';
} else {
echo'
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen and (max-width: 1199px)" href="minDesktop.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen and (min-width: 1200px)" href="fullDesktop.css" />
';
}
?>

The script detects the device then includes the associated stylesheet depending on the orientation.

Any questions add a comment.

Responsive Web Design

Pete — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:03:50 +0000

Responsive design is the idea that web site layouts should change based on the users choice of device. Depending on the users environment the design may adapt to the screen size, platform or orientation.

I've put together an example that you can use in your own web sites. Look what happens when you resize the page horozontally in your web browser or on your mobile.

View now - Responsive Design

Feel free to inspect with Firebug and copy into your own project where suitable.

It uses a condition to tell the web browser which stylesheet to include:

In the above example we are saying to include 1col.css when the media is a screen and the maximum width is 660px.

Here we are saying to display 2col.css when the media is a screen, the minimum width is 1000 pixels and the max-width is 1200 pixels.

Any questions I will try to answer in the comments.

Update: When setting the viewport you might want to detect the device with PHP first otherwise the viewport will be set too small on the iPad.

Grow your Blog Income with Link Vehicle

Pete — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:35:35 +0000

We've covered a number of services for helping bloggers make money, today I want to share a website called Link Vehicle. I've been a member for a number of years and they provide a great service to earn cash blogging.

Their two main services include text link publishing and sponsored reviews. I've found sponsored reviews work especially well for advertisers as it brings great exposure to their products or services. Link Vehicle manually check all sites before allowing them into their directory meaning that advertisers only see the best quality sites.

Placing ads for bloggers is simple as their automated system and excellent technical support means that even bloggers with limited technical knowledge can get to grips quickly with their service. You have complete control over which ads are displayed on your site as you have the option to approve each one.

Bloggers get a 50/50 split of any income and payments are made on the 1st of each month via PayPal with a minimun payout of $10. We've never had any payment problems with Link Vehicle, their structure is clear and easy to follow.

Link Vehicle ads don't conflict with those from other publishers so they can provide another potential income stream to help make your blog profitable. On ImAFish we run Link Vehicle ads along side those from a number of other companies to help sustain the site.

Sponsored posts can provide a vital income for bloggers and can add additional value to your blog or website. ImAFish recommends Link Vehicle.

Severn Magazine Issue #3

Pete — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:24:58 +0000

The third issue of Severn Magazine, The Web Orchard are excited to be involved in providing web services for the Magazine.

Year in Review: 2011

Pete — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:47:42 +0000

2011 saw our 10th Birthday, making ImAFish one of the longest running blogs on the Internet! I discussed some of our highlights in the post 'A Decade of ImAFish'.

I will remember 2011 as the year I got married, we had a great day at Lion Quays and it was great to see all our friends and family.

Some of the highlights of the year on ImAFish include:

A big thank you to everyone who has contributed or visited ImAFish in the past year and I look forward to seeing you again in 2012!

Are The UK Bingo Adverts Working?

Pete — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:49:51 +0000

If you are living in the UK and you have turned your TV on through the day then you will usually not be able to watch 1 hours worth of programs without seeing a bingo advert. From that annoying Fox that used to sponsor The Jeremy Kyle Show, to Barbara Windsor being the face of JackpotJoy, bingo seems to be huge, but is it really and are people actually buying into the TV adverts?

Why is Bingo So Popular in the UK?

If you catch a bus to your local town/city and you look around, within 5 minutes you will come across a bingo club, usually either a Gala Bingo or a Mecca Bingo club. Have you ever noticed that you will not walk past a casino however? If you are lucky, your town/city will have a very small betting shop or a tiny arcade, nowhere that you would be able to play poker or roulette. This means that if you wish to dabble in a bit of gambling then bingo is your only choice.

Bingo is a social sport, if you wish to socialise and you have a few hours to kill then going to your local bingo club is great. Adding the chance of winning money to the equation is what makes the game so popular amongst the female population.

Making it Easier

Anything that makes our lives any easier is always a plus. If you love to play offline bingo then you will be in for a treat with online bingo. UK bingo sites offer you what you would expect from bingo but they make it more convenient. Travel is virtually none existent. With many households having an internet connecting you are able to play bingo in the comfort of your own home rather than venturing out in the cold waiting for a bus. Prizes/jackpots are much bigger and you have more variety to choose from. You even have better odds when playing online bingo.

Enticing us In

As a nation, we love free things. When bingo advertisements advertise the ability to play free bingo and still win money the offer is worth having looking at if nothing else. The bonuses advertised are another head turner. The idea of depositing £10 and receiving £30 sounds like a fantastic deal. Then once the bingo sites draw us in, the more likely we will stay.

Online bingo is growing at a phenomenal rate which shows that more and more people are getting into the game. This alone would show that the UK bingo TV adverts are working to an extent. The only problem is, we are not all bingo players. Infact a portion of the population with think that bingo is too soft-core when it comes to gambling and a portion will even frown on gambling altogether. If you fall into one of these groups then TV adverts must annoy the hell out of you. There should be a law where only one bingo site can advertise at one time. Then again, if it is not bingo adverts that are hogging the breaks, money lenders and cash for gold adverts will.

The Web Orchard 2012 Brochure

Pete — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:39:57 +0000

Read more on The Web Orchard or call 01743 343411.