nosilleg's blog

Christchurch earthquake: buildings set for demolition, partial demolition or make safe

2011-04-22T21:46:00.002+01:00

The Canterbury Earthquake website publishes details about buildings set for demolition, partial demolition or make safe. I've taken their data and turned it into a map giving geographical reference to the destruction that has hit the city of Christchurch.

The data here is from the 27 April 2011 update, showing 362 buildings set for demolish, partial demolish or make safe. See the official list for a complete listing by heritage type.

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The process of identifying buildings is ongoing and I'll try to keep this map updated. If you notice it's gotten out of date then leave a comment as a reminder for me. With the updates, links to old maps may stop working, so come back here for the latest.

Setting up Darkstone on Windows 7 x64

2011-04-06T00:39:00.000+01:00

Darkstone is an Action RPG released in 1999 that I still play from time to time. The Darkstone installer fails on newer versions of Windows with the error Cannot launch install. Thankfully this is only a problem with the installer and the game works fine when manually installed. Here are the instructions for installing Darkstone on Windows 7 x64.

In the following instructions the drive for the CD is D. If your drive is a different letter, please use that instead.

Create the folder
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\
Copy everything from
D:\Data\
into
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\
Copy
D:\music.MTF
into
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\
Copy
D:\voices1.MTF
into
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\
Copy everything from
D:\mdata\
into
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\mdata\
Go back to
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\
and right click on Darkstone.exe and click Properties. On the Compatibility tab check the box next to "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select "Windows 98 / Windows Me" from the dropdown.
In RegEdit create the following key chain
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Wow6432Node\ DelphineSoft\ Darkstone\ CurrentVersion\ Darkstone
and make sure you're in that key before creating the following values.
Create a string value of DataPath and set the value to
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\
Create a string value of Language and set the value to
ENGLISH
Create a string value of SavingPath and set the value to
C:\Program Files (x86)\Delphine Software\Darkstone\

This should get Darkstone up and running and allow you update with all the patches.

There are some minor glitches, like parts of speech being skipped very occasionally, but I can't be sure those weren't bugs back in 1999. My original post covering installing Darkstone on Windows XP x64 has comments from readers about Windows Vista and networking issues, which I haven't tested. The instructions above are the only ones that I can vouch for.

Folder structure

Compatibility tab

Registry entries

A map of Belsize Walk

2010-11-07T15:23:00.000Z

Belsize Walk links Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill with an architectural walk passing through the Belsize conservation area. Belsize House, which stood near Belsize Village until the 1850s, gives the whole area its name. The route provides a tour through two centuries of London's architectural history. A number of well-known figures appear along the way, ranging from Karl Marx and his collaborator Friedrich Engels to Bloomsbury author Lytton Strachey. The Belsize Walk takes around two and a half hours, and discreet footway discs have been provided to mark the route.

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Rugby World Cup 2011 Match Schedule Calendar

2010-09-16T02:46:00.004+01:00

The kick-off times for the Rugby World Cup 2011, to be hosted in New Zealand, have been announced.
There are 48 matches happening between Friday 9 September and Sunday 23 October 2011. To keep track of the games and see which teams are playing on which days and times; I have created the Rugby World Cup 2011 Match Schedule calendar.

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Top Gear Test Track - Dunsfold

2010-05-10T22:20:00.000+01:00

The Top Gear test track is used by the BBC automotive television programme Top Gear. It is located at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, United Kingdom. The track was designed by Lotus Cars. It is used to test both cars and drivers seen on the programme in three segments of the show - Power Laps, Star in a Reasonably Priced Car and Challenges.

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I made this map in the middle of last year, but never promoted it. It's since had a good number of views and ranks very high in maps search results, but not in the main Google search. I'm hoping a bit of promotion here will change that.

A map of the The London Wall Walk

2010-04-18T11:54:00.003+01:00

The London Wall walk is a walk established by the Museum of London in 1984. The walk consists of 21 marker panels which not only provide a bit of history, but also the location of the next panel. However, the majority of panels are missing, so I've created this map to show the full path for the walk. Panels that still exist are marked in blue, those that are missing are marked in purple.

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Photo Day - 85 - Waterloo Green

2009-10-30T20:00:00.000Z

This photo was taken in Waterloo Green, a small park near London Waterloo station.

Visible in this photo are London Waterloo station, the London Eye, and Shell Centre.

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Photo Day - 84 - Waterloo Bridge view Eastward

2009-10-23T13:00:00.002+01:00

This is a view of the Thames looking to the East from Waterloo Bridge. The river is at low tide in this photo, compared to high tide in last week's photo.

In addition to St Paul's Cathedral, Tower 42 and the Gherkin which were visible in last week's photo, this week Blackfriars Bridge, One Canada Square, OXO Tower and Royal National Theatre are also among this visible sights.

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Photo Day - 83 - Square Mile over the Thames

2009-10-16T13:00:00.003+01:00

A few days after last weeks photo of a Thames oil slick there was a much more scenic day. This photo was taken in front of the Tate Modern looking over the Thames at the "Square Mile". I always appreciate the Thames more at full tide.

The Millennium Bridge is in the foreground with the City of London School on the left of it, with St Paul's Cathedral behind that. Tower 42 and the Gherkin are visible over the right pier of the bridge.

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Photo Day - 82 - Thames Oil Slick

2009-10-09T13:00:00.007+01:00

A few weeks after returning to London I was crossing the Thames on the Millennium Bridge and spotted this rainbow in the water.

Blackfriars Bridge is visible in the background with the start of the redevelopment work to enhance Blackfriars Station.

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Photo Day - 81 - Christchurch Airport

2009-10-02T13:00:00.002+01:00

This was the last photo I took during my April trip to New Zealand. It was taken at the Christchurch International Airport with a view out to the Canterbury Aero Club and the snow capped Southern Alps beyond.

I probably could have cropped a bit more of the runway out of the shot, but I like the message on the gangway, on the bottom left of the photo, too much to cut it out.

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Photo Day - 80 - Kitesurfing in Christchurch Estuary

2009-09-25T13:00:00.002+01:00

The Christchurch estuary is a popular destination for kitesurfing.

Although designated a windsurfing area, this part of the estuary is much more commonly used for kitesurfing.

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Photo Day - 79 - North New Brighton, Christchurch - Northward

2009-09-23T09:09:00.000+01:00

This photo was taken from North New Brighton beach looking towards the North in Christchurch, New Zealand.

This photo was taken in the same general area as last week's photo of the pier and Port Hills.

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Photo Day - 78 - North New Brighton, Christchurch

2009-09-11T13:00:00.003+01:00

This photo was taken from North New Brighton beach looking towards New Brighton Pier in Christchurch, New Zealand.

In addition to the Port Hills visible in last weeks photo, there is a lot more of Banks Peninsula visible in this photo.

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Photo Day - 77 - Port Hills, Christchurch

2009-09-04T13:00:00.004+01:00

The Port Hills separate the city of Christchurch from the port town of Lyttelton. This photo was taken from the North side of the Estuary and includes Scarborough Hill to Mount Vernon.

Also visible in the photo are Mount Pleasant, the Christchurch Gondola, the Castle Rock and Rapaki climbing crags, as well as the Ferrymead shops.

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Photo Day - 76 - Bridle Path, Christchurch

2009-08-28T13:00:00.004+01:00

The Bridle Path in Christchurch, New Zealand was built in 1851 and was the main transport path to Lyttelton. This photo was taken from Castle Rock; with the Northern section of the path and the monument to pioneer women visible in the photo.

The Bridle Path is often mistakenly called the "Bridal Path", however the path is named for the method of leading horses over the path and is not related to weddings.

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Photo Day - 75 - Castle Rock, Christchurch

2009-08-21T13:00:00.003+01:00

Castle Rock is one of the many popular climbing crags in Christchurch, New Zealand. As with the other recent photos of New Zealand, this photo was taken in early April, 2009.

This photo is looks like it could have been taken on the same day as a previous photo of Castle Rock. In fact, the photos were taken almost four and half years apart. With a bit of keen observation it's possible to see some of the larger additions to the city.

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Photo Day - 74 - New Brighton Pier

2009-08-14T13:00:00.007+01:00

The New Brighton Pier is located in New Brighton, Christchurch, New Zealand. This photo is looking South-West to the Port Hills.

The New Brighton Pier was reopened in 1997 with the original pier having been demolished in 1964.

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Photo Day - 73 - Cranmer Square

2009-08-07T13:00:00.005+01:00

Cranmer Square is one of the main inner city squares of Christchurch, New Zealand. Cranmer Square is designated a Special Amenity Area and has a number of protected buildings. The building in the right of the photo is the formal Normal School built in 1876, while the oldest existing building in the Square was built in 1863.

Cranmer Square has featured on the Canterbury Heritage blog. I also spotted a few photos of Cranmer Square on the Christchurch Daily Photo blog, which has very frequent photo posting schedule.

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Photo Day - 72 - Park Terrace

2009-07-31T13:00:00.002+01:00

Park Terrace is divided from East side of North Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand by the river Avon.

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Photo Day - 71 - Victoria Lake, Hagley Park - North Side

2009-07-24T22:35:00.000+01:00

This photo is taken on the South side of Victoria Lake, looking North. This is the same lake as last week, in Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand.

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Photo Day - 70 - Victoria Lake, Hagley Park

2009-07-17T13:00:00.002+01:00

This photo is of Victoria Lake in Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand. Victoria Lake is used as a model yacht lake, and has done so since at least 1899.

This photo was taken exactly two months after the London snow photos during my April trip to New Zealand. I spent most of my time there soaking in the sun, which the next few photos in the series should demonstrate.

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Photo Day - 69 - St George's Gardens

2009-07-10T13:00:00.002+01:00

This photo of St George's Gardens, in Bloomsbury, was taken on the second day of snow in London, back in February.

St George's Gardens is two former cemetery's that were opened in 1746 and heavily used until closing in 1855. It is known as one of the first graveyards built away from a church. At the turn of the 20th century the two cemeteries were converted into the St George's Gardens, and have been used and renovated as such since.

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Photo Day - 68 - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

2009-07-03T13:00:00.002+01:00

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is a recreation of Shakespeare's original Globe theatre, who ruins lay around the corner from the new theatre.

This photo concludes the series of photos taken on the snowy 2 February 2009 in London. Next week will conclude all the snow photos with a shot taken on the next mornings walk. All going to plan, the week after will be a New Zealand shot from my April trip back there.

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Photo Day - 67 - Cardinal Cap Alley

2009-06-26T13:00:00.004+01:00

The history of Cardinal Cap Alley isn't widely known, but it often gets a bit of attention for being "cute" from tourists visiting the Globe Theatre next door in Bankside, London.

Also visible across the river is Tower 42 and the Gherkin .

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