RyanPartington.com - Universal Diplomat

Bike Boy

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:28:21 GMT

Game Set and Match

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 15:39:33 GMT

I've finished blogging on this site. It's been a very valuable experience and one I've really enjoyed. I'm getting involved with another project that will eat up all my spare time. I wont take the site down as there are some popular articles which many still read, and I want to keep my e-mail address so the domain name will remain registered.

Who knows, in 6 months time when my personality swings I may use this site for something else. But for now, thanks for visiting and drop me an e-mail if you need to get in touch. You can find my address by hitting the 'contact' button at the top.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

So where we going?

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:51:37 GMT

We've got topics on stocks and shares, online web based games and technology. So where exactly is this site going, and how come we've not had many updates recently?

Over the coming twelve months I'll primarily be concentrating on the stock market. I'm currently reading a number of books on investing and trading and have written a few articles based around my new found understanding. And yet when I come to do the actual research I find the advice is pretty useless and therefore the articles go in the bin. Much of what I'm reading is either lacking in evidence or not strong enough to post on this site.

Another one close to my heart at the moment is Kingdoms Galactica which is a web based space game written by Michael Pagan who I've known since I was 'YAY' big. We enjoyed many rounds of another famous space game a few years back and always threatened to write our own version once we had the skills. Although I can put together a basic PHP application, Michael truly is gifted in this area. And more importantly, he's happy to dedicate a substantial amount of time to ensuring the success of the project. As a result I've concentrated on ensuring the Linux box running the game is capable, locked down and offered general direction to keep the game true to our initial ideas.

The reason for a lack of updates recently is simple, I'll only write when I feel it adds value to the site. As I stated above, even if I do write something but conclude it lacks substance it goes in the bin.

So stay tuned and as always I welcome your e-mails and thank you all for the support you've shown the site so far.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Watto, bye bye

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:20:53 GMT

Watto was getting too big in Kingdoms Galactica, we had to take him down.

;)

Kingdoms Galactica LIVE

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:22:46 GMT

After a long time in the making Kingdoms Galactica BETA is ready and open for sign ups!

The plan is to keep BETA running for between 6-8 weeks, enough time to gather a substantial player pool and leave enough time for some serious battles! Also by then most if not all of the major bugs will have been identified and corrected.

Now as this game in brand spanking new we literally have no forum or game administrators, so there are a wealth of positions available, if you'd like to become a part the this growing gaming community please email me @ michael@michaelpagan.co.uk, of course being a registered/active player is a prerequisite to any of these positions.

This is the Kingdoms Galactica team wishing a lot of fun in the coming round and happy hunting!

Website announced

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:19:40 GMT

You can find the official Kingdoms Galactica website right here. Signups are not open yet but I can tell you we're really close. I've just got off the phone to Michael who can confirm we're 2-3 weeks away, max. So get over to the site and say hello on the forum, we're happy to give out beta accounts to a select few who are keen to see an early edition of the game.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Where. we. at.

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:27:00 GMT

Well let me start by announcing the official game name, Kingdoms Galactica! The game, as promised will be delivered early next month and Michael is doing everything he can to complete the final elements. For those of you who have been keeping an eye on the forum you will be aware how close we are to launching the beta. The vast majority is in the bag, leaving only a couple of elements which need completing. I have been making full use of my astropods, taking the top spot in the universe! Granted that was against a small beta team and plenty of bots, time will tell if I can maintain the top spot when the game's reset and the beta opens.

Anyway, we promised you an exclusive interview with Michael Pagan, lead developer on the project, and here it is. Enjoy

Q: Do you use any frameworks whilst coding in PHP. If so, which one, if not, why not?
I don't use any frameworks as I believe I'm a more efficient developer writing my framework as I build the application or in this case, the game.

Q: How long have you been coding, and how did you first get into it?
I started coding in college back in 2001, then continued when I went to University in Liverpool. In February 2008 I got a job developing professionally and since then it's become second nature.

Q: If someone was interested in writing a PHP based game, but had limited experience, are there any books, or methods that could help get them started?
I use the PHP manual which basically summarise all the php functions in great depth. Initially it can be overwhelming but once you get used to how the manual is structured it can become a very powerful tool in rapid development. Another excellent site for those new to PHP is the w3schools website, clear examples with easy to understand english. If I come up against an error in the code I've not seen before, it's a case of copy+paste into google, you're always going to get a better understanding and even a resolution within the first few links.

Q: Do you need to be good at Maths, to be good at coding?
No necessarily, if you're coding something mathematical you have to get the maths right, but you always have access to a calculator on your machine ;)

Q: Where did the idea come from for GK?
Initially I was looking at how to get a user base on any web application, first I looked at setting up a forum, but it was hard to build up a community from scratch. I've always enjoyed playing web based games so it just felt right to do something based around my own experience.

Q: How long will rounds last and what how is the winner decided?
The winner is the player with the highest coefficient between score and size. I'm not sure how long the rounds will last at the moment, hopefully the beta which opens early next month will help us decide.

Q: Will there be adverts on the page, and if not, do you have to pay for the game?
No adverts and totally free to play. No added credits or anything needed, just login and steal some roids

Big thanks to Michael Pagan for giving up his time this evening. Next time I hope it's an in game chat we're having ;)

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Only as good as...

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:25:45 GMT

Tonight I was reading a book about beating the recession. Various sales techniques and methods to help overall business efficiency, but one paragraph really caught my attention. You're only as strong as your communication. You may be the smartest person in the world, but if you can't get your message across, you're doomed. Like everything, the more you practice, the better you get. Just acknowledge the importance of effective communication and you're naturally grow in time.

I remember reading once "Business success is judged on the number of awkward conversations you have." Just because you don't know how to address a certain situation doesn't mean you shouldn't try, actually by the very fact you're unsure means you lack experience. So open your mouth and make a tit of yourself, you'll thank me in the long run.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Sneak Peek 2

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:54:09 GMT

Here's another sneak preview at Galactic Kingdoms. We buy some asteroid scans, scan for roids and initiate them. Once resources are taken care of, it's time to launch an attack, against Bigtime.

Enjoy
Ryan Partington

Sneak Preview

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:44:04 GMT

Yesterday alone I received 50+ emails asking questions about the imminent release of Galactic Kingdoms. Remember you can find all the latest developments here.

Here's a little look at the game so far, still a bit that needs to be complete, like the scoring system. But take a look and let us know what you think..

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Beta Open March 1st

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:55:08 GMT

The Galactic Kingdoms beta sign ups will open March 1st. All that is left to do now is create the battle simulator and decided on the specifics of the scoring system. I've been testing out the code so far and I can tell you this, we are all in for a real nice surprise. It's easy to get the grips with and the action is immediately accessible.

I'm hoping to get an interview setup with Bigtime this Friday so keep your questions coming. You can find my contact details at the top of the page, just hit the 'contact' button. I'll try to get as many questions as possible asked Friday and post the results Saturday.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

heh

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:47:38 GMT

Liverpool beat Chealsea 2-0 and everyone is talking about Robbie Kean going back to Spurs. From what I've heard, Kean's staying.

edit: ermmm, I meant going...

A week or so

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:48:54 GMT

Well, well, well... Michael Pagan has been crunching some serious numbers. As early as this weekend, Galactic Kingdoms could be ready for beta testing. For those of you who've not heard, it's a space game based on Planetarion but in the early rounds. That means newbie bashing is in, excessive growth is in and most importantly, it's all free. No need to buy credits to help your growth, the key is start early and assimilate the weak.

Michael aka Bigtime crunching the big ones

Check out the development forum for progress updates.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Liverpool One

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:02:40 GMT

Here are some snaps from Liverpool One.

This is the latest addition to Liverpool One. Grab yourself a flamed grilled burger or hotdog, can be found on top by the park.

Ummmmm Yummeh!

This is the entrance to Liverpool One, just off Lord Street.

Looking down from the park towards the Albert Dock

This is the main shopping area. Shot taken from the top floor, to the right is the park, to the left the snazzy indoor area which contains a massive cinema and some nice restaurants.

The view to the right of the last picture. This is the little park on top. If you were to look left of this snap, you'd see the flamed grill burger bar, first picture.

L - I - V, - E - R - P, - Double O - L, LIVERPOOL FC!!!!12

Another snap from the top, if you look to the top left of this picture, you can see a nice outdoor area where you can grab a coffee.

That's only a taster, there's plenty more to see and do, but you'll have to visit the big city (Liverpool!) ;)

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Understand by Christina Aguilera

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 09:24:29 GMT

I'm not the biggest Christina Aguilera fan, but I when this came on TMF, I was blown away. See what you think.

Mijas, Spain

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:47:24 GMT

July 9, 2007
Me and Shay, my nephew, taking in the sites a small walk from the villa we were staying. Mijas is high up in the moutains above Fuengirola on the Costa Del Sol.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Southport

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:46:16 GMT

August 24, 2008
Myself and Galactic Kingdoms guru, Michael Pagan. Parked the car a little too far from the pier.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Keswick

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:09:13 GMT

March 4, 2006
Me and Lee Walker, brother in law. For once rather than talking about walking we actually got in the car a spent a couple of days in Keswick. Can't remember the name of the route we took, not that we followed it. Ended up taking a couple a wrong turns to keep things interesing ;)

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Library driver installation

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:58:44 GMT

When setting up an IBM tape library with TSM, download the relevant device driver from here. Run install.exe and select the exclusive driver, which is designed to work with Tivoli Storage Manager. If you try to update the medium changer and tape drive via device manager, you will experience issues and the library will malfunction within TSM. Also please be aware, that the removable storage service must be disabled, otherwise it can cause intermittent communication issues between TSM and the library.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Extend Recovery Log

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:54:02 GMT

Over the weekend I ran out of space during a TSM DR exercise. Just before the service stopped the following message was displayed: ANR9999D Log space has been overcommitted (no empty segment found)

To fix this you must first format a new log file:
dsmfmt -log "C:\instance\log\log2.dsm" 1000

And then extend the log file:
dsmserv extend log "C:\instance\log\log2.dsm" 1000

Once complete you'll need to start dsmserv.exe and I recommend running a DB backup to help clear up the logfile, and run expiration.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Publicise your success

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:22:23 GMT

Check this out which I read over@Techrepublic. I've put the best bits below.

Failing to self promote – Bragging is one thing, but ensuring that others throughout your company are aware of what you’re contributing is simply a smart practice. Losers often fail to recognize the importance of letting others know about their successes, or go about it in entirely the wrong way.

Make certain that people in your company and elsewhere in your industry know of your success through whatever means available. Don’t put your future in the hands of others who are going to be preoccupied with their own long-term success.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Galactic Kingdoms update

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:11:39 GMT

I've had hundreds of e-mails asking about the progress of Galactic Kingdoms, the PHP game Bigtime (Michael Pagan) is writing. Well I'm pleased to say we had a pretty solid concept day yesterday working on the technology tree. As you're all aware, Bigtime can code in his sleep, we had however stumbled when it came to unique ideas for the story of the game. We've managed to get plenty of ideas down on paper and hope to have another session this week. After which, we'll have a good idea of the direction and our main man will be hitting the code hard. Anticipated time for BETA is before the close of January. I'll keep you updated, and thanks for the e-mails.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

The Solitude of Thomas Cave

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:03:05 GMT

It was he thought the way a man feels when he has been gone so long from the point of departure that the purpose of the journey is lost and with it all sense of the possibility of arrival

Georgina Hardening

MySQL Find and Replace

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:55:39 GMT

update TABLE set COLUMN = replace(COLUMN,"FIND","REPLACE");

Capitals are to be replaced with your environmental variables.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Hits from Webalizer

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:11:07 GMT

I've been trying for some time to pull the hits logged by webalizer out so I can disaply them on the right hand menu ---------------------->

I put a post on our very own development forum and my main man Michael Pagan gave a great reponse within hours. The post was so good, I'm not going to retype anything, but simply provide a link, enjoy.

Cheers, and thanks again to Michael Pagan

Groove Review

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:42:35 GMT

Microsoft Groove 2007 can automatically synchronise your data with another computer whilst you’re online. I just want to focus on the Groove client which can work ad-hoc. There is also a server version of Groove which is not required to achieve online replication.

How it works

You install the client on two computers which are connected to the internet
Create a workspace within Groove to manage your files
When any changes are made, Groove automatically replicates them to your other computer

They’re the good aspects of Groove. The bad are, you have to buy it and it’s really difficult to troubleshoot connection issues. I’d take this software if you’re company offer it to you, but I’d not spend my own hard earned cash on it just yet. Please be aware this is not Grooves only functionality, it also acts as a messenger client and much more, but I wanted to concentrate on replication functionality.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

RAID LEVEL GUIDE

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:44:11 GMT

I always forget which RAID level is best for read/writes/rebuild etc in certain setups, and always find an article on the internet that over complicates the answer. I've just created a quick and easy guide that you can view by clicking 'View Page' below. Originally ripped from here

Project Management

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:10:55 GMT

Recently read an article about project managers, and here’s an example of someone who thinks he’s done his job right.

Developer says “we can do it this way to meet the timeline, but this feature won’t be available” and the project manager says “we need that feature and the deadline is immovable.” Therefore, something in the middle occurs. The product is released on schedule, but fizzles. $xx million is not realized and the project is a failure. The project manager did his job. It was released on time and within budget, so where’s the problem?

What should have happened: If something is more difficult than anticipated, the project manager should speak with the business manager and fully explain the benefits of a delay or the impact of adding the feature or function in a follow-up release.

It's easy to be an asshole and demand deadlines, but realise anyone can do this. Your true value comes from understanding the situation from everyone's perspective and the true impact on the business. Don't take the easy option, and remember the end game. There's no point finishing something on target and on budget if it means compromising the overall objective.

Read the full article here

Open Source Software

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:13:41 GMT

I've used Windows XP and Ubuntu for PHP development over the last year. Each with their unique tools, community, look and feel. Today I conclude that Windows XP is best. For testing I used VMware and the latest version of the OS plus updates and service packs. Initially I favored Ubuntu and slagged off Microsoft at every opportunity, but as time passed by I slowly realised, you get what you pay for.

Ubuntu performs much slower than XP on my x86 chipset, applications lack stability and often crash without an explanation why. FileZilla for example, was the best GUI FTP client on Ubuntu, and even that was a port from Windows. When trying to transfer more than 500 files via SFTP the application would terminate unexpectedly. Wireless support was poor which made it difficult to roam between locations and troubleshoot any connectivity issues. If working behind a proxy you would need to make text based configuration changes, line by line, to get SVN working.

With Windows XP, Notepad++, Tortoise SVN, xAMP and WinSCP I found a stable and speedy development platform. I wanted to be special, I wanted to be different than my Windows colleagues, but the bottom line is, Windows XP rocks.

Cheers
Ryan Partington

Alive

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:14:55 GMT

I am still alive, I've just had nothing to write about recently. Stay tuned.

Cheers
Ryan Partington