Going to be spending the day learning at the Windows 8 Developer Camp and Hackathon this coming Friday and Saturday. Should be entertaining if nothing else. Too bad they aren’t giving away Surfaces!

As I’ve recently gotten back into D&D, I decided to write this small translator as my current class in a Thri’kreen who can also speak Common and will be for the parties sake.

You can download the translator at https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=525746348736F176!2081&authkey=!AAXoNNik11UglfM.

Future updates will probably take into account letter case and such, depending on what users find they need based on comments.

If Tobe Hooper was going to do a movie in the vein of ‘Alien’, I think this might have been one of his possible outcomes.

This 2005 Irish gem has been a favorite of mine ever since I first saw it. Creature features are my favorite type of Horror film and this is one of the better ones. It struck close to home due to the moomoos (cows for all you average laymen) involved, I just hate to see such “gentle” creatures get hurt. …

I’ve had a full day to work with Windows 8 exclusively and have had a few minor observations, some of which might have been different if I didn’t also have a Windows Phone.

1) Email.

I have Yahoo!, Google, and Exchange email accounts but only Google and Exchange are supported natively by Windows 8 CP. As I’m trying to phase out my reliance on Yahoo! Mail (which would phase out my reliance on AT&T internet service since it’s tied to it) this has been a relatively easy loss. This has also shown me just how little I need to be worried about what comes in on that account, when previously I felt it was a big deal. I was tied to this notion that as email came in, I either unsubscribed from it, or updated the email account on the site/service it came from. …

In my start of Windows 8 Metro app and Windows Phone 7 development, I have taken the plunged and moved over entirely to a machine running Windows 8 Consumer Preview. At first glance, the apparent lose of functionality is astounding.

I don’t have my Yahoo! and AIM messengers, no Yahoo! email, and my password file is relegated to the Desktop app. Some of the preview apps I’ve downloaded, like YouVersion, are barely what I’d call barebones and do nothing compared to their normal Windows (or even mobile) counterparts. The Wordpress for Windows app closed on me abruptly so I had to load up Wordpress in Internet Explorer to finish this post. Even the Kindle preview app, although functional, left a lot out. Also there seems to be a big disconnect between the Internet Explorer app and the Internet Explorer windowed app that runs in the Desktop app. …

‘The Ghost Galleon’ (1974) is the third movie in Amando de Ossorio’s Blind Dead series and almost stands up to the previous entries. I reviewed the first movie, ‘Tombs of the Blind Dead’ last May (read that review here) and so was glad to have the opportunity to watch this third installment.

In ‘Horror of the Zombies’ (as this movie is called on various public domain DVD’s) the basic story is a publicity stunt lands two bikini clad models out in the middle of the ocean “stranded” in a boat. The thought is that they would be found by another ship and the rescuing would make headlines. But instead of being found by someone capable of starting this mediafire they are stumbled upon by an ancient galleon carrying the undead Knights Templar. …

What do Nazi’s, zombies, Edvard Grieg’s ‘In The Hall of the Mountain King’, intestinal rope and 450 liters of blood all have in common? They all appear in the 2009 movie ‘Dead Snow’! Let me start out by saying this movie is definitely fun. Unfortunately, despite having Nazi zombies in it, it is not all that fun. But that notwithstanding, let’s look at the film.

‘Dead Snow’, despite it being in Norwegian and requiring the use of subtitles, is an excellent zombie film. Somewhat likeable characters, the obligatory old guy who warms the younger crowd of the danger they are (who dies later in the film), the bathroom and sex scene, decapitations, chainsaws and the like, and almost intelligent Nazi zombies comprise the majority of this film. What isn’t there to love? …

Personally, I liked YellowBrickRoad (2010), however for me to recommend it to someone would almost mean I need to know that persons interests in Horror before I did as it is not for everyone.

There are several things to like in the movie. There’s gore, some decent acting, the photography in some of the scenes is great, and the background and foreground music works well. Basically it all just works.

But there are some aspects that just won’t fly with everyone. Whatever story development takes place it’s mostly in the beginning of the movie which means that nothing real interesting takes place within the first forty minutes of the film. Also this piece can be best described as a slow descent into madness (i.e. The Shining) and that either works for you or it doesn’t, there is no real middle ground. …