Best. Star Trek. Ever.

Just got back from the midnight preview showing of Star Trek, and it was well worth the late night. Easily the best Star Trek film and I'm already looking forward to watching it again!

Star Trek!

I can't wait to see the new Star Trek film! Hence the embedded widget thingy at the top... :-)

Never really watched the original series, but I loved Next Generation and have watched every series since. The movies, though, always seemed like a missed opportunity and I'm really hopeful that this one will live up to all my totally unrealistic expectations.

The curse of bad training courses

So, I've been on a training course this week. It's a little further away than my normal trip to work, which means I've been on the train instead of driving. Which is good. Sadly it's not far enough away to warrant a hotel stay (but I'm a sucker for free hotels!).

Overall it's been a bit of a shambles though: the instructor keeps arriving late (by over an hour on the first day), remote connectivity to the test machines keeps dropping out, the material isn't quite what I hoped it would be and the training delivery has been bland to say the least.

But the real problem is with the course content. Too many different concepts are presented in a short space of time, the examples alternate between being irrelevant or too simple to provide any benefit, and there is no 'real-world' context to help you understand how this stuff would actually be used.

Over the years I've found that IT training courses all suffer to varying degrees from these same issues. This week's just seems to be a really prime example.

Maybe I should write my own training courses?

When is double not double....?

When it's used by football commentators talking about two leg ties, such as tonight's Champion's League quarter finals!

This has irritated me for a long time - I've lost track of the number of times a commentator has used the phrase "away goals count double" when it's incorrect, mis-leading and downright lazy to do so.

For example, Chelsea are playing Liverpool tonight holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg at Anfield. If Liverpool were to win at 5-4 at Stamford Bridge they would go out 7-6 on aggregate. If away goals actually did count double they would go through 11-10.

I wish they'd get it right.

How much is too much?

I've been to see U2 in concert 7 or 8 times over the years, and I've been a member of their fan club or mailing list for a long time now. My worst experience of a U2 concert was during the last tour (Vertigo, 2005); the fan club ticket pre-sale was poorly planned, plagued with login problems, and actually gave the loyal fans the worst seats in the City of Manchester Stadium: right at the back, costing £75 each! After giving those seats up to a friend and getting better seats during the 'normal' sale period I was hopeful that the show would make up for that, and justify the very high price of the tickets.

Leading up to the gig I was as excited as I always was for a U2 concert - the last one I'd been to (Elevation Tour, Manchester M.E.N in 2001) was superb and I was interested to see what they had planned to justfify the near 100% increase in ticket price between the shows.

Sadly I was to be bitterly disappointed - the show was bland and certainly not on a par with previous open air gigs I've seen them perform. Given the problems with ticketing and the price paid I vowed not to go and see them again unless the ticket prices dropped.

Fast forward to the latest album being released (the excellent No Line On The Horizon) and I found myself looking forward to the tour dates being announced and forgetting the vow I'd made over 3 years before. Given the economic crash, and the fact that even now very few artists charge anywhere near £70 a ticket I was hopeful prices would be more reasonable.

So I was more than shocked to see the best seats priced at £150 each! It became very easy to remember my vow as soon as I saw that - to pay for two people to go, including travel, merchandise, food....well, that would be a £400 night out!
I love U2, but that's just a ridiculous price to pay for a concert ticket.

I hope the people who have paid that amount won't be left as disappointed as I was in 2005.

Tragic death of Angels pitcher

LA Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart tragically lost his life on Wednesday night, hours after pitching his first game of the season. He was only 22.

It probably shouldn't be this way, but there always seems to be something more tragic about the death of a young sports star or celebrity. Maybe because we (as in the 'general public') spend so much of our time celebrating and revelling in the lives of those people with natural ability and talent?

Despite losing his life at such a young age, I hope the fact that he realised his dream of becoming a Major League pitcher brings some comfort to those who were close to him. In the end all of us are some guy running a red light away from not being around to realise our own dreams....

Bad start for the Yankees

Oh well.

After all that build up and excitement the Yankees got turned over 10-5 by the Orioles last night in their season opener.

CC Sabathia struggled from the start, failing to strike out a batter for only the fifth time in his career! Even so the Yankees managed to keep it close at 6-5 until a questionable home run in the 8th broke it open for Baltimore. I think there was a strong case for Johnny Damon arguing that he would have caught the ball without the obvious fan interference, but it was never reviewed.

At least the beauty of baseball is that you haven't got long to wait until the next game! :)

It's nearly time!

I haven't posted for a while, mainly because of work being so busy at the moment but I've also been playing around with a few other ideas for blogs.

But I'm now getting really excited because the baseball season starts this weekend! The Yankees play two exhibition games at New Yankee Stadium tomorrow and Saturday, with their first official game of the season being on the road at Baltimore on Monday. Bizarrely enough their home opener isn't until 16th April.

Can't wait, PLAY BALL! :)

Oracle SQL date values

Found some really useful information on SQL date values at the excellent SQL FAQ. I've added a couple of 'real world' examples at the bottom that I used in some recent development work:

The SYSDATE pseudo-column shows the current system date and time. Adding 1 to SYSDATE will advance the date by 1 day. Use fractions to add hours, minutes or seconds to the date.

Look at these examples:

SQL> select sysdate, sysdate+1/24, sysdate +1/1440, sysdate + 1/86400 from dual;
SYSDATE              SYSDATE+1/24         SYSDATE+1/1440       SYSDATE+1/86400
-------------------- -------------------- -------------------- --------------------
03-Jul-2002 08:32:12 03-Jul-2002 09:32:12 03-Jul-2002 08:33:12 03-Jul-2002 08:32:13

The following format is frequently used with Oracle Replication:

select sysdate NOW, sysdate+30/(24*60*60) NOW_PLUS_30_SECS from dual;
NOW                  NOW_PLUS_30_SECS
-------------------- --------------------
03-JUL-2005 16:47:23 03-JUL-2005 16:47:53

Here are a couple of examples:

Description	Date Expression
Now	SYSDATE
Tomorow/ next day	SYSDATE + 1
Seven days from now	SYSDATE + 7
One hour from now	SYSDATE + 1/24
Three hours from now	SYSDATE + 3/24
An half hour from now	SYSDATE + 1/48
10 minutes from now	SYSDATE + 10/1440
30 seconds from now	SYSDATE + 30/86400
Tomorrow at 12 midnight	TRUNC(SYSDATE + 1)
Tomorrow at 8 AM	TRUNC(SYSDATE + 1) + 8/24
Next Monday at 12:00 noon	NEXT_DAY(TRUNC(SYSDATE), 'MONDAY') + 12/24
First day of the month at 12 midnight	TRUNC(LAST_DAY(SYSDATE ) + 1)
The next Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 9 a.m	TRUNC(LEAST(NEXT_DAY(sysdate,MONDAY' ' ),NEXT_DAY(sysdate,WEDNESDAY), NEXT_DAY(sysdate,FRIDAY ))) + (9/24)

Real world examples:

(i) This first one sets the date to be the 1st of the month (by using the last_day function to get the end of the current month, then add 1 day) and the time to be 7am (7/24):

update mc_jobs set scheduledtime=TRUNC(LAST_DAY(SYSDATE ) + 1) + 7/24 where jobid=3596

(ii) And this one uses next_day to set the date to be the next Monday after today, at 6am (6/24):

update mc_jobs set scheduledtime=NEXT_DAY(TRUNC(SYSDATE), 'MONDAY') + 6/24 where jobid=3536

Best. Offseason. Ever.

I've only been following the Yankees closely since '96 so my frame of reference is pretty small, but the news that Mark Teixeira has agreed to an 8 year $180m deal catapults this offseason into a class all of it's own.
The Yankees have now mopped up 3 of the top 4 free agents available, after previously agreeing to deals for CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett to address the urgent need for quality pitching at the top of their rotation.
Now, by signing Teixeira, they have added a quality bat (combined .308 with 33 homers and 121 RBI for the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels last season), ensured there will be protection for A-Rod in the middle of the lineup, and instantly upgraded the defence.
All of this has been achieved without dismantling the farm system that Brian Cashman has worked so hard to rebuild over the last few seasons.
Personally I'm also hoping that this means Brett Gardner will get a chance to start the season as the centre fielder, as there isn't such a pressing need for offensive output from that position now.
I'm in awe of Cashman, the financial might of the Yankees....and I can't wait for Opening Day to come round!

CC and AJ

The New York Yankees officially announced the signings of free agent pitchers CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett today.
CC in particular is an exciting signing, although he hasn't come cheaply at $161m over 7 years (and an opt-out clause after 3 years) - the richest deal for a pitcher in MLB history. The American League CY Young winner in 2007, he gives the Yankees a true ace at the top of their rotation.
AJ is a different proposition though. On his day he has incredible stuff, but his track record with injuries is worrying to say the least (particularly given that the contract runs for 5 years, meaning he'll be a Yankee until age 37). He was dominant against the Yankees last year though, going 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts. He's also 5-0 lifetime against the Red Sox, which is always welcome. :-)
Check out CC's site for more info, and the great coverage over at River Ave. Blues.

FM2009 - Genie arrives!

The rather excellent FM Genie Scout 2009 has been released for download, either from the Genie site (which is down as I write this) or from the equally excellent FM Scout site.

The interface has been completely re-designed, and bears more than a few similarities with the latest version of Microsoft Office. Not necessarily a bad thing, and it seems to work fine against the saved game I have to hand. I have noticed one or two glitches and it disappointingly doesn't seem to provide the option of viewing or searching on a player's current/potential rating, instead focusing on the calculated effectiveness percentage. In theory this is a more accurate reflection of ability, but I must admit I prefer using the rating allocated within the game as a starting point.

But if you're after the most effective way of scouting new players you should definitely give it a try.

Fallout 3 extended?

One of my friends pointed me in the direction of an interview on IGN with the lead designer of Fallout 3, Jeff Gardiner. The key thing for me was at the end:

"IGN: Not to spoil the end of Fallout 3, but extending the story in the Broken Steel download might be a bit tricky. Will the main character still continue through for that storyline? Will he or she be usable in the other downloads?

Gardiner: Based on a lot of feedback, we're going to allow the player to continue on after the main quest ends in the Broken Steel DLC. While a lot of details still have to be sorted, this will allow the player to continue on and play in the Wasteland enjoying the side and freeform quests, along with any new downloadable content we have planned in the future."

Not only is it great news that there is going to be more content for Fallout 3, but opening up the end of the game is awesome. Obviously a lot of people felt the same way I did about how the main quest plays out, and it's really nice to see that Bethesda have listened.

The Friends Problem

I love xkcd, but the latest strip is one of the best. Also poignant as I've been in the same situation, and it worked out just as well! If only I'd had xkcd back then....

RTFM!

You know how you get used to something that always works the same way? It feels comfortable, safe almost. You understand what's going on and that brings with it a sense of order.

Of course, when that certain something suddenly stops working it brings with it a sense of extreme frustration and key bashing anger!

Which is what I've been experiencing with FM09 and the tactics editor.

Editing tactics comprises creating a basic positional picture of the formation, providing overall team instructions, and then modifying individual settings to suit particular players. To a certain extent the positional and individual elements have been independent; the former used to indicate where on the field your players will start and move when your team has possession or not, and the latter to tweak how certain players may deviate from the norm for your team tactics.

With FM09 these two are now linked a lot more closely, a change I was unaware of and didn't pick up from my cursory 3 second scan of the manual.

In previous FM versions you could add a forward or backward arrow (farrow or barrow) to a player to indicate that they may run forward when you have possession of the ball or drop back when you don't. In this version that arrow is directly linked to the "Forward Runs" setting on the individual instructions screen. Which probably makes more sense.

So don't get annoyed or frustrated when your carefully crafted tactics seem to alter themselves while you're still creating them. Like I did. Grrr.

Oh, and RTFM. :-)

Falling out with Fallout 3

What on earth happened with Fallout 3?!

I read the reviews that made it sound like an improved Oblivion (one of my all time fav's), but that turned out to be a totally invalid comparison. Sure they're created by the same studio and are essentially the same genre, but it's like comparing raisins and sultanas and asking which is the best dried grape.

So I'm disappointed to start with. I'm wandering round a bleak landscape, I don't understand why I'm earning XP and 'perks' as it doesn't really seem to fit with the game. Surely this is closer to something like Half Life 2, a superior FPS with a great storyline?

But then I get further into the main quest and I'm getting really engrossed. I'm higher up the levels, I'm looking forward to the level 20 perks being available to me, I've found cool new weapons that I'm itching to try out.

And then....

WTF?!

Well; then that was it. I'd completed the main quest almost by accident. I'd watched the end sequence play and I'd started to get a little worried when the credits rolled. And then I was at the main menu with an option to continue from my last saved game.

So I went back and played out the ending a different way. Same result. Game over, no gaining my level 20 perks, no discovering all the locations I'd yet to find. No using my cool new weapons! Nothing.

I don't think I've ever felt such bitter disappointment when I've actually finished a game!

Which leads me back to my main reservation when I started playing - XP and levelling up. Why? What was the whole point in developing my character's skills, just for the game to end and not allow me to explore the rest of the environment?

I honestly cannot believe that any RPG designer would think this was the right way to end the main quest. By ending he game completely? Are you serious?!

Still, even with all that, my advice would be to buy the game. It's a beautifully realised world and worth investing time in. But, please, when following the main quest leads you to a place called Raven Rock, STOP! Save your game, put the main quest to one side and go do all the things you fancy doing in the rest of the Wasteland. Your Bobblehead collection demands it! :-)

FM2009 - second impressions

What I like to call my 'testing phase' is nearly done. What this usually means is that I've started a game, brought in loads of players that were ultimately rubbish, lost a few games and decided I'd rather start from scratch and 'do it right'. :-)

I'm still pretty happy with how the game is playing, just a few minor niggles:
- 2D match engine seems slow and doesn't always re-draw properly.
- Press conferences do get tiresome. While it obviously attempts to mirror real-life, it doesn't really add anything to the game having to answer multiple questions before and after every match. Would be nice to be able to switch this off.
- I can't decide whether the Assistant Manager feedback is useful or irritating. Probably a little of both. Telling me that my goalkeeper is mis-placing too many passes every game when I deliberately want him to kick it long is not overly helpful.
- I can't find the option to stop masking player attributes. This has always been configurable in the past, but it doesn't seem to be in this version. I don't think the way the game masks attributes is particularly realistic and I've never used it - it's a shame this version appears to be fixed in this regard.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment. I'll be starting a new game tonight, so I may post more things as I come across them.

EDIT: Looks like they've moved the attribute masking to only be configurable when you create a new game, I'm sure it was under Preferences before. Maybe I've got that wrong.

FM2009 - first impressions

So, I've been playing with FM2009 over the weekend - not in too much depth as I haven't had the time, but I've gone through sorting out my squad and playing all of my pre-season games.

And my first impressions:

The 3D match engine could have been a gimic, but it seems to work very well and does give a better feel for how your players are dealing with certain situations than watching them in 2D.
The widescreen support is welcome, and looks gorgeous at high resolution....but I still find myself switching back to running in a window, having that much screen available just isn't necessary!
The new format press conferences are interesting the first couple of times, but I'm guessing they could get a little tiresome after a while.

I haven't been able to delve into the tactics properly yet, and that was the area that had most problems in FM2008. So I'll reserve overall judgement until I've set that up properly and played a few league games.

Other than that, I'll eventually need to switch off the 3D engine as my laptop really struggles to display it; but I'm pretty impressed so far.

FM2009 - shortlist file

I've created a shortlist file, which includes all of the players listed in my previous post, as well as all of the under 21 players rated -9 (150-180 on the scale).

To use the file follow these easy instructions:

1. Download the file and save it locally in your shortlist folder (should be here: \My Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2009\shortlists).
2. Start FM2009
3. Manager -> Search -> Shortlist
4. Using the Shortlists button in the bottom right hand corner, select "Import Shortlist...".
5. Highlight "young_players" and click Select.
   

The shortlist contains 293 players in total, but you may want to manually add "Mark Beevers, Sheffield Wednesday" to complete it - as I'm managing that team I couldn't add him.

FM2009 - best young players

This list covers all players 21 and under at the start of a Football Manager 2009 game in the given potential ability range:

191-200
Fabregas, Cesc - Arsenal
Messi, Lionel - Barcelona

181-190
Nasri, Samir - Arsenal
Walcott, Theo - Arsenal
Aguero, Sergio - Atletico Madrid
Guardado, Andres - Deportivo
Obertan, Gabriel - FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Giovinco, Sebastian - Juventus
De Silvestri, Lorenzo - Lazio
Hamisk, Marek - Napoli
Ben Arfa, Hatem - Olympique Lyonnais
Benzema, Karim - Olympique Lyonnais
Lloris, Hugo - Olympique Lyonnais
Zapata, Cristian - Udinese
(Arsenal and Lyon seem well set - 6 out of the top 14 youngsters in the game between them!)

171-180
Gourcuff, Yoann - AC Milan
Aissati, Ismail - Ajax
Denilson - Arsenal
Bendtner, Niklas - Arsenal
Javi Martinez - Athletic
Henrique - Barcelona
Caceres, Martin - Barcelona
Pique, Gerard - Barcelona
Assulin, Gai - Barcelona B
Adu, Freddy - Benfica
David Luiz - Benfica
Mikel, John Obi - Chelsea
Guilherme - Cruzeiro
Breno - FC Bayern
de Guzman, Jonathan - Feyenoord
Jovetic, Stevan - Fiorentina
Kuzmanovic, Zdravko - Fiorentina
Eder - Frosinone
Turan, Arda - Galatasary
Granero, Esteban - Getafe
Marin, Marko - Gladbach
Corradini, Eros - Grosseto
Carlos Eduardo - Hoffenheim
Fatic, Ivan - Inter
Destro, Mattia - Inter
Acquafresca, Robert - Inter
Tremolada, Luca - Inter
De Ceglie, Paolo - Juventus
Radu, Stefan - Lazio
Renato Augusto - Leverkusen
Babel, Ryan - Liverpool
Bozaglo, Maor - M. Tel-Aviv
Richards, Micah - Man City
Nani - Man Utd
Marquinhos - Palmeiras
Hulk - Porto
Higuain, Gonzalo - R. Madrid
Garay, Ezequiel - R. Madrid
Marcelo - R. Madrid
Cerci, Alessio - Roma
Menez, Jeremy - Roma
Fornaroli, Bruno - Sampdoria
Rakitic, Ivan - Schalke
Capel, Diego - Sevilla
Sanchez, Alexis - Udinese
Mazzarani, Andrea - Udinese
Rossi, Guiseppe - Villarreal

-10 (170-200)
Pato - AC Milan
Vela, Carlos - Arsenal
Bojan - Barcelona
Galvan, Martin - Cruz Azul
Kroos, Toni - FC Bayern
Saivet, Henri - FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Balotelli, Mario - Inter
Anderson - Man Utd
Pjanic, Miralem - Olympique Lyonnais
Sakho, Mamadou - Paris Saint-Germain
Fiorillo, Vincenzo - Sampdoria
dos Santo, Giovani - Tottenham

If I get round to it I'll post a shortlist file with these players on that can be uploaded directly into the game.

UPDATE: if you click on the 'FM09' label you'll be able to see all my related posts, including an explanation of the ability ratings and how to download a shortlist file containing all of the above players (and more!).