Not long ago I wrote about my death in The End and how I lost all my lovely stuff. Clearly this is in my Minecraft world and I had spent ages trying to find the End Portal. Once I had opened the portal I decided to pop through to see what it looked like. This was a silly mistake as the only way back was to kill the Ender Dragon, which wasn’t going to happen or die. So, I died. I lost my kit.
Then, one day, while musing this loss, I figured I could sneak through to the end with an Ender Chest. If I could get all my kit and dump it in the Ender Chest it should appear in the Overworld chests that I have already used to transport stuff. There’s a time limit to objects that have been dropped and that is five minutes of render time. I hadn’t been back to the End so everything had existed for a very short time. If I could get through the portal and collect my stuff and dump it in a chest before the five minute time limit then I would be a happy person again and not have to grind to get all my stuff.
I built an Ender Chest and loaded just enough kit for me to survive in the End for a few minutes. All the good stuff was stored back at my spawn point. With bravery I headed through the portal and into the End. I managed to find my kit, place the ender chest, pick up some things and die. I dropped all the stuff again.
Once more I headed through the portal and found my kit. This time I managed to place the remaining bits into the Ender Chest and then I died, happy in the knowledge that my kit was safe and there for me once I respawned in the Overworld. I was happy once more.
I was recently wandering around one of the largest shopping centres in this area with the wonderful Legend when I spotted a dispenser of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I had noticed this shop in the past but hadn’t been bothered to take a photograph. Not this time though. I managed to use my phone to collect the lovely information on their sign.
To Be Honest The Answer Is “Nope”
I think I was drawn to the sign because of the very opaque tape over some of the health claims and I was tempted to look further into what had been once claimed. But let’s have a brief about the things that are problematic. This would be ALL OF IT.
Traditional Chinese Medicine – TCM – is absolutely not a thing that works. During the post WWII period China sent doctors out to the countryside to look after people. Well aware that some places would not have drugs or suitable medicine (defined as stuff that works) the government sent the doctors out with a book that also had a load of stuff that didn’t work. This book had a list of medicine and, for the worst case scenario of no kit, a list of not-medicine that might keep the locals thinking they were being helped. So most of this traditional “medicine” is not.
A Barefoot Doctor’s Manual instead showed what the worst equipped Chinese medics would have to resort to under the worst circumstances.
Dunning, B. “Mao’s Barefoot Doctors: The Secret History of Chinese Medicine.” Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, 24 May 2011. Web. 16 Nov 2023. <https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4259>
So, Traditional Chinese Medicine does not work. I am quite concerned about a number of the conditions that the shop claims they can help with; infertility and miscarriage seem to be playing on the emotions of people going through tough situations. A lot of the others are of a similar vein. I’ve looked at their website to gain a better understanding of what they claim but the website just seems to sell boring things and cleverly makes no actual medical claims. They sell; tea, soups, capsules of some various herbs and stuff. It’s all pretty boring “boost your immunity” stuff. The website does have a blog page but the most recent post was 2021.
I do find it amusing and worrisome that people will pay money for this and that practitioners have probably paid money to get “trained” in this stuff. Just think of all that effort and resource that could be put to use in something that actually works.
One of the things I’ve been doing in Minecraft is searching for the End Portal. I don’t have any real ambition to kill the dragon but it is something within the game that can be done and so why not? I started the other day using Eyes Of Ender and throwing them into the sky. I found the stronghold and then got stuck. The entire area I had searched didn’t have the End Portal, none of the corridors went to the special room. I used a few more Eyes Of Ender when I was in the stronghold but I couldn’t find the room.
This led to me looking for another mapping software. I had used Bedrock-viz because it allowed me to make a web searchable page and I could see the map without being on the gaming PC. For some reason though, the recent Minecraft updates have messed this up and bedrock-viz ends after ten seconds and doesn’t produce a new map. I did the googles thing and I found uNmINeD which produces a lovely looking map from the data files.
Minecraft World New Map
I found that the End Portal was hidden just a few blocks of digging through a wall. I had enough Eyes Of Ender or whatever they are called once I found the room so I thought, why not, let’s open the portal. I did and then thought, well I might as well go through and see what it’s like. So, I did that. I was NOT aware that I couldn’t get back without killing the Ender Dragon. This caused a bit of a problem because my load out wasn’t set up to kill the Ender Dragon, it was just my roaming around the countryside loadout.
I DIED.
I lost all my lovely kit as I respawned over 1000 blocks away because, like an idiot, I forgot to set my respawn point when I got to the village with the portal. What an absolute idiot. I had really nice stuff. I’m gutted. I just stared at the screen for a few minutes once it happened. Bollocks.
Nope, this communication isn’t about how I would like the government to make changes to improve peoples’ lives. I almost wish it was but then I don’t think I have the space for all the things I think government should be doing. If you know me then you also know I’m a raging lefty who is all for social progress, self determination and people paying taxes. This communication is about Minecraft and the current project.
Minecraft Mountain Shenanigans Part One
The above picture shows the very first steps of this project. I think you can see a staircase and that’s about it. This was in September and I’ve been messing around since then. Here is what the mountain looks like at the moment:
Minecraft – The Project
A lot of the work that has gone on is actually hidden from view and so I’m hoping I might get a short video together to show the stupid amount of mining I have actually completed. At the top of the picture is a mob-spawner that’s working quite well. Towards the bottom of the picture there is a slice of mountain that I have cut out and I am planning to cut out more slices. I’m not sure what it is going to look like but I’m having fun. I am also thinking of surrounding each slice with some precious blocks to make them stand out.
Yesterday I spent time trying to find an End Portal and although I’ve found a stronghold I haven’t yet managed to locate the portal inside that and I’ve found that quite frustrating. I guess I need to learn about stongholds and their generation. Anyway, the Minecraft world is far nicer that the actual real world, even with mobs that try and kill you.
I was looking through this site to see if there were any current pictures of the Flight Sim setup and I couldn’t find any. So this communication aims to correct for that.
Current Flight Sim Setup
In this picture you can see the PC, desk, three monitors, and the HOTAS bits and pieces. In this flight I had just landed at Stansted in the fog, which was interesting! Maybe I need to get some rudder pedals, but then I also fancy getting the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS bundle so I’m not sure what to do. I know! I’ll set myself a target of things to learn before I reward myself with these luxury items.
So, I’ve been playing Fortnite for a while and I generally have fun and enjoy it. But, I have noticed that I get annoyed at what I consider poor behaviour while on spawn island. Once spawned I would be standing there minding my own business, normally, and then there would be blaring music from someone expressing themselves with emotes. Shortly after first playing the game I would instantly run away to a quiet corner of the island and sit down and wait for the game to begin. I wasn’t initially aware of the bigger social problem that this indicated.
Have you ever been on a train or somewhere public and found yourself irritated at tinny noise coming from someone’s phone? Have you ever been in a nice mental reverie and been brutally made aware of the real world by someone’s phone making shitty noises of some influencer playing a prank? Have you ever had your ears assaulted by loud music being played in a car as it drove past or even someone walking through town carrying an outsized music player polluting an area roughly equivalent to Manhattan with music as they walk along the street.
The reason all of these situations are irritating is that you, dear reader, have not consented to the noise. If you are playing music at home then that’s up to you. If you have earbuds in and are playing music then that’s up to you. If you go to a concert or gig and there’s noise then you, by definition, have consented to that. What you have not probably consented to is other people making unusual noises in situations that socially do not normally have that level of noise. Imagine you are in an art gallery and someone is walking around with music playing out loud. This situation would be an obvious social faux-pas. We would expect that person to be escorted out of the gallery. The same is true for walking down the high street, being on a train or standing on spawn island.
I like some of the worst music out there, but when I listen it’s a consensual activity. I think that’s why I get so irritated with all the noise in Fortnite or elsewhere in the real world. Perhaps I’m old and grumpy. But also, by talking about consent to noise, perhaps the noise-makers will understand and be considerate.
I’m spending time in Minecraft these days because all of the events around the world keep doing their best to remind me what a shit species we are. We have ongoing events in Ukraine, Gaza. Also the Covid inquiry allowing anger to resurface from 2020 as we hear the evidence of just how utterly shit and awful the government were in the early days of covid. Johnson turns out to be an utter prick? Quelle surprise. Minecraft is a happier place and that’s even including the zombies and creepers that try to kill you.
This first video was one that I was aiming for. On the Playstation you can see what trophies you haven’t got and then aim to get them done. I was fed up of jump-running through the Nether to get to my faraway base so I build a railway. Yes, I know a boat would be quicker but the railway I can jump on and then go and get a drink, controller input is not needed.
The next trophy was one that I wasn’t sure how to get. Some you have to work at and some just kinda happen as part of the game play. I had to kill a skeleton from further than 50 metres. Now, I’d like to think that in real life I could do this no problem, I’m pretty good with a L98A2 so I expect I could handle a bow.
My next challenge is to get the Platinum trophy for Gran Turismo. It would be my first platinum and probably the game I am most likely to achieve it. I need to complete 50 online races – seems easy – but I also need to buy three cars that are “legends”. The problem with this is that they are really expensive. I did think I could buy some in-game currency with real money, I’d happily pay up to about £20 for that, but looking at the amount I’d have to spend it is more like £200 and I’d rather grind. So, that’s what I’ll be doing. Grinding on Gran Turismo. I’ve got races to win . . . .
Now that I’m back in the UK after having flown around the world it’s time to start learning how to fly. I’m going to spend time in the T-7 now that it’s X-Plane 12 compatible and start assigning shortcut keys and learning how to navigate. But, because that all seems like a lot of effort here are some pictures of London taken this morning.
Greenwich Peninsular – X-Plane
Westminster – X-Plane
I think I need to assign some new keys to the trim controls along with changing views etc. Let’s see what happens.
The other day part of Squad Legend went to Battle in the south east of England to watch a re-enactment of the Battle Of Hastings. Battle is the name of the village that grew around the abbey supposedly built by King William to atone for the death and slaughter on the day of the battle. Plenty of people travelled to the grounds of the original battle and watched intrepid people dressed in wool and leather fight it out on the fields.
Horses At The Battle Of Hastings
Before Great Britain was conquered [mostly] by the Romans there were tribes from northern Europe mainland who had settled in various parts of the island. The Romans ruled for 400 or so years and when they left there was space for the Angles and Saxons to invade and rule. Then the Vikings did their thing and the island was covered in lots of little Kingdoms. England itself, named for the Anglos, became unified in around 950CE or so. The people living in the island were descendants of Belgian, Roman, German, Danish, Scandinavian and French people. This is hardly a “pure breed” race. They spoke something that was not English.
This small history lesson is given because the commentary of the Battle of Hastings was full of inflammatory language and stereotypes. “Are you cheering for the English or the FOREIGNERS?”. It’s as if the Battle is trying to settle that the English were pure bred. They were a race of people with a right to live on the island. The accents of the spoken voices as part of the show were lovely and clear super English and also sneery French. William was referred to as The Bastard, which was his nickname, but it was used a lot, mainly when talking about the “invaders”.
A Band Of Brothers
It’s funny how the crowd cheered or booed the various state actors on the day. My mind was set on the idea that this country wouldn’t be as it is if the Normans [not French] hadn’t won and changed our culture and language. Talking to one of the re-enactors it turns out that these events do bring out the racists. Someone in the crowd behind us was shouting abuse at the Normans and calling for the English to be victorious. This person might have been having fun but they also called out cheering on “Saxony” which I wanted to tell him was in fucking Germany but I didn’t want to be stabbed.
At one point Harold asks if God as forsaken England, why does he allow this to happen? It’s amusing because Harold goes on to lose. God must have been on the invaders side. God cares not for the people living in England at that time. Remember, everyone should shout for “England”, whatever the fuck that means. I guess it’s a privilege I have to be nonchalant about my “country”. I have the freedom to express my distaste for what this country stands for and I won’t be strung up at the Tower. I should think myself lucky I’m a SUBJECT OF THE KING in a country where I can disagree so loudly. I don’t even know what being English means.
It was a really pleasant day and lovely to see the fights. I enjoyed it. It was just a shame about the jingoism but maybe I’m too sensitive??
Smith and I went to see perennial favourites Combichrist play at The Garage in Highbury last night. I’ve seen this band loads and really enjoy their gigs. The last one was in the Assembly Rooms in Islington and I wasn’t in the right place to enjoy the gig [and there was an annoying person in the pit]. It does feel like I see Combi about once a year which is nice. I drove and parked on someone’s drive near the venue while Smith got the trains [there’s an overtime strike on at the moment. I believe that if your system requires people to work beyond their standard contract hours to be efficient then your system has a problem]. After applying makeup we had a drink in a pub and then went to the venue.
The first band/artist on was Janosch Moldau. They were a singer/songwriter who played guitar while singing along to electronic music. It was ok as a starting act but I don’t really feel the need to see them again.
Janosch Moldau
The next band were Megaherz. This is a German band who I’ve seen a few times at M’era Luna in the past. In this August I saw their entire set and my comments were:
Megaherz – main stage – good German rock. Enjoyed it. Proper rain shower. Heavy rain.
Parish – this website
Their gig at The Garage was good fun. They put on the best show they could on the tiny stage. Having seen them play to 20,000 on a massive stage made the small stage seem really incongruous. They wore Kiss type make-up which meant they had black crosses of various types on their faces and white all around that. I’d made myself up with a “joker” type smile but in black.
Megaherz at The Garage
The headliners were amazing. I stood a couple of rows back in the middle at the front. I knew that at some point there would be a pit and I wanted to be on the edge of it. I wasn’t in the mood for full pitness but the odd bounce here and there I knew would be fun. Combichrist played well and they sang a number of crowd pleasers and I think there were two new songs, at least I didn’t recognise them. I’m still not sure about the whole move into a metal sound but it works and adds a little to some of the songs. Their Old School gig was the best I’ve been to.
Combichrist at The Garage
According to a website somewhere this was their setlist:
Blut Royale
Maggots at the Party
Modern Demon
Scarred
Get Your Body Beat
Can’t Control
Denial
Compliance
Heads Off
Fuck That Shit
Hate Like Me
Not My Enemy
Never Surrender
Encore – My Life My Rules
So, I had good fun and enjoyed the music. Somehow, a few days after now, I think I preferred the Megaherz set but that may be because I’ve seen Combichrist so many times. I think it’s nine times now. To give you some context there are bands I’ve seen once and am not that fussed about seeing again because, I’ve seen them, they don’t offer anything new.
Because I’ve seen Aesthetic Perfection a lot and also I’ve seen Combichrist a lot it turns out that members of those bands I have seen more than any other. Especially when the drummer from Combi moves to AP and the keyboardist for AP moves to Combi. I don’t know who I’ve seen most and to figure it out would require some hardcore research so I won’t really bother. I nice part of the gig was Elliot Berlin [formerly of AP] being carried by the audience to the bar at the back of the venue.
This is, I think, the collection I am proudest of. I have some AviationTags which are actual parts of aircraft skin that have been cut up to look pretty and be luggage tags so you can spot your suitcase on the carousel. I’m not going to use these as tags. They are going to stay in the display cabinet because I think they are pretty and I don’t want them ruined.
The first tag I got was the P180. They used to fly over my house a lot pre-Brexit. There were people who would fly from Biggin Hill to Frankfurt and the gorgeous sound of these planes would draw me out of the house or workplace. They are very good looking planes. The aircraft registration of this one was D-IZZY and I have sat in their sister D-IPPY. The next skin I bought was the Super Guppy, such an iconic aircraft. Then came my fafourite:
The SU35S. This is part of a Russian plane that was shot down over Ukraine as part of the war there. A company in Kiev managed to get some of the skin and create these tags. While it was expensive it was worth every penny as the profits have been used to help fund the land war. It’s pretty cool to own part of a Sukhoi.
Actual Aircraft Skins
The last piece of skin I purchased was the A320. I bought this at Hannover airport as part of the return journey from the M’era Luna festival of 2023. The aircraft that flew me out and returned was an A320 so it seemed appropriate.
These two gorgeous little things are compressor blades from a Rolls Royce RB199 engine. These engines powered the Panavia Tornado and it’s an iconic aircraft still currently in use with two air forces around the world, but not the RAF. The large blade is the first of the compressors and it is wood mounted. The little blade is slightly further along towards the combustion end of the engine and has a little hole as it’s a keyring. Do NOT put the little blade in your pocket. It is sharp and will ruin any clothes that you have.
After a little more work the mountain is starting to be adjusted. Still not sure how this will end up but I am working on the idea of a floating mountain over my cave. I did think that I might have made a mistake as my cave is around level -50 and that’s an awful lot of stuff to remove. I’ll cope.
I have a nice cave base in Minecraft and I’ve been thinking about doing some landscaping around it. Or more accurately above it. To find the cave I travelled far in the Nether and built a new portal. This took me into a nice cave and I’ve built a little house along with some prettification inside the cave to make it look more homely. The next issue, I think, is sunlight. So I’ve started to remove the mountain from above the cave.
Minecraft – Mountain Shenanigans Before
In the above picture you can see my staircase to the top of the mountain and to the right of that at the base you can see the entrance to my cave. I’ve started small as you can see in the next picture. I think my current plan is to remove a lot of the levels and leave the mountain there but dangling in the sky. I’m not sure, we’ll have to see how it progresses.
Minecraft Mountain Shenanigans Part One
The first part of this had me digging a 2×2 tunnel through the mountain at sea level +1 to see how far I had to go. If you look to the left of my mountain staircase you can just about see the entrance to the small tunnel. I’m hoping this will progress over time to be a complete layer leaving the mountain suspended in the air.
I think the first part of getting this collection was having the chair and seeing someone else hang their aircraft things on their own chair. It seemed a good place for them. So, I have the following on my Secret Lab chair and I think they look rather smart. No, I don’t care what you think.
Game design is generally good these days and I think the makers actually think about the interactive experience of it all. But. I hate Epic for this within the Fortnite game:
The Order Is Irritating
This might look ok at first glance but if you look at the top menu the order goes Combat, Exploration, Challenge. Then, if you look at the bottom menu the order is Challenge, Combat, Exploration. Who the fuck designs something like that? Awful Just awful.
I recently attended an Expo thing and it’s somewhere I’ve been a few times. Whenever I go members of the group I take get a goody bag. While, in the past I have also been given a goody bag I haven’t received a branded Teddy Bear. So, at the most recent event I all-out asked for a teddy bear.
Upon collection it turns out that there are two teddy bears. One dressed in blue and which looks like a standard teddy bear and the other dressed in white with a ribbon in its hair. Apparently the ribbon indicates that the teddy bear is “female”. I didn’t raise a complaint at the time but I do think that teddy bears are literally un-gendered and so can be any gender that the owner wants. It’s a toy. Why does it have to have a gender pre-associated with it. I don’t really understand the idea of making gendered toys. Just make toys for everyone. It’s a bit like Lego releasing pink Lego sets. Lego was already agender. Anyone could play with any of the sets. I suppose if more girls play with Lego and enter traditional male dominated areas of society because of pink Lego then maybe I need to be corrected.
Ever noticed that to describe with images, something as female we ADD to the male image. Male toilets have a stick person, generally, but female toilets have a stick person with extra lines to create a skirt. To show a female character in comics extra is drawn on them to highlight the femaleness [eye lashes, eyebrows, bows, longer hair etc]. It is a sad state of society when signs for female things are only the male with extra. It shows a lack of understanding over the years of designers and artists to match how society has been.
Also, while I’m on the topic of gender, I absolutely do not like “gender reveal” parties. Firstly it’s a sex-reveal and even then it’s very problematic. Biological sex isn’t binary. There are many variations that can, and do, occur. To describe the human species as binary in terms of biological sex is scientifically incorrect and actually incorrect. We have a massive problem with society that is unable to accept the truth of our biology. We know these things now and we should be pushing as a society to change our historical mistakes. Sports shouldn’t be divided into two categories. I’m not sure what the answer is but I definitely think we categorise everything wrongly. We could just have “toilets” instead of male and female categorised toilets. We could change the historical mistakes for the better to be a more inclusive society.
Gender is a problematic term for the reveal parties because who the fuck are parents to describe the gender of their child? Firstly, using a penis or lack thereof to define biological sex is ultimately flawed. Secondly, gender is about how people identify themselves. You can’t reveal gender because you don’t know how your child will be. It is up to the child to define who they want to be. Not you. I won’t go into sexuality in this communication because that is another separate issue although media and people in power don’t seem to realise that all these things are exclusive. We have such a long way to go as a society and the last ten years have seen us move backwards into a more divisive unaccepting society. I hope the future is less bleak than I imagine it.
For a long time I’ve had some Apple Airpods. They are first generation Apple things and I got them after some people at work suggested that they are quite good. I’d been in the market for some wireless music ear things for a while and thought these would be good for running and general wearing around the house/work. Until this point I’d always used wired headphones because wires are good – wireless is trouble. I have a pair of wired Bose noise cancelling headphones that I bought in 2013 and I love them. They are excellent quality and the noise cancelling is great. I don’t want to wear them all the time around the house and most definitely not when I’m running.
I got some airpods, which seemed expensive at the time for small tiny things. I think I’d rate the sound as just-about-ok. I preferred the wired sound but in the balance of things these were pretty good and they didn’t isolate me from the world. The areas where I run require a certain amount of situational awareness or you get surprised. While running I did use a plastic strap thing to save losing individual ear things. This was fortunate as on my first run with them one ear-thing got pulled out by a branch and rather than losing it in the grass it stuck out with the plastic attachment with the other ear-thing.
At some point I went back to using wired headphones while running. They just seemed less hassle. They were also a lot cheaper. I’m not sure when, but my airpods started having battery lasting problems. I remember about a year ago one of them dying before the other and listening to a podcast through one ear only. I was out on a walk and didn’t have any way of charging them. Since that time the internal airpod battery has become un-usable. I might get about twenty minutes before there are warning beeps. So I was in the market for different headphones. I knew I didn’t want Apple though.
I found Shokz. I’d seen these at a shop in the Lake District a few years ago and I liked the idea of bone-conduction for the sound. It allows the headphones to be water resistant and also means that ambient noise gets into the ear canal so it can be heard. I looked at it and decided that because I mostly listen to the spoken word the music level of quality could be sacrificed. So, I ordered some Shokz Open Run. These turned out to be excellent for running and very suitable for my situation. They fit nicely and are comfortable. I was slightly worried that I would find the “rear band” irritating but I don’t think I notice it. They are a good buy and I would recommend.
I was still after something for use at work and around the house. Something as convenient as the airpods and in-ear. I deliberated and finally settled on getting Bose in ear headphones. I’ve always been impressed with Bose speakers and I have some as part of my home cinema system. The over ear headset I have which is wired is really good and perfect for flying [and writing reports]. They block out all the background noise and I get a large sense of relief when they are activated. At work I can’t hear the normal hum-drum background noise as I concentrate on a task and so this is great.
The Bose in ear things were amazing out of the box. The sound is incredible and the noise cancelling technology astounded me. I shouldn’t be this impressed but I think that having used Airpods and then Open Ear Bone Conduction things the level of noise and reproduction from the Bose kit was amazing. The noise cancelling is great – I can’t hear my children – and I can use an “aware” mode when I need to but it is slightly odd as the bypass sound is actually outdoor sound microphoned and piped into your ear. It’s a bit like being in a corporate box at White Hart Lane. There’s little sound but if you want it can be played in over the speaker system.
Overall I have been blown away with these little earphone things. They have reminded me of what good sound sounds like. I don’t often have music out loud at home so to have decent quality piped straight into my ears gives me joy.
There was an X-Plane update and I thought I ought to “test the system”. I also found some scenery for my favourite airport – Hildesheim. I’ve been to this airport about seven times but I’ve never flown from there. When I visit it is the location of a music festival and the whole airport is a campsite. Anyway, I did a circuit. I don’t think there’s any sound, I’ve got to play with OBS settings a bit more. Also, no visuals of me! Who wants to see that!
