FCHouse

Alea Iacta Est: RPG Again!

Posted by Carlo - 30/06/06 at 09:06:00 am

Yesterday evening Fabiana and I got ourselves out of our “Home Sweet Home“, and we went to the Role Playing Games Club we found on the net. The Phoenix Game Club is quite far from home, but with two underground trains we reached it in less than thirty minutes!

After a very long break we have decided that it’s time to start again with the RPGs, and it is for more than one reason. First of all playing has always been our hobby (we met in one of Trieste game clubs the first time) and it’s something we like a lot! Then it will be a good way of going deeper into the language. Of course it will not be easy!

We have choosed that specific club for more than one reason… fchouse logo is a Phoenix, and they are the Phoenix Game Club… the location was quite near, so optimal for us… from their website we have seen that they are quite serious, not a bunch of rumorous kids interested in the D&D Hit’n'Run (Ok, probably for more than one of you this would resemble Arabic language, I know, sorry)…

What did we find yesterday evening?

Continue reading Alea Iacta Est: RPG Again!…

Role Playing Games and d20…

Posted by Carlo - 29/06/06 at 09:06:00 am

It’s too many time since my last real Role Playing Game (RPG) campaign.
In these days I’ve watched Star Wars again (Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back) and as always I want to dress the clothings of the Storyteller (or master) once again.

Some years ago I bough the new version of Star Wars Roleplaying Game because I thought that there shouldn’t have been worst rules than the older D6 version from West End Games.
I was wrong!

The new d20 system that is conquering the world of the RPGs and that is beloved from thousands of players is something I do not believe in. I don’t believe in such rigorous classes and dice rolling, I don’t believe in the stupidest ideas that has always penalized Dungeons&Dragons and Advanced Dungeons&Dragons under my eyes: the level system.

What is my vision of a good Rople Playing Game?
Continue reading Role Playing Games and d20……

Tablatures: another “Major” blindness confirmation!

Posted by Carlo - 28/06/06 at 09:06:40 am

In these days the site Mxtabs, a great repository of music tablatures, has decided to close down.

Born seven years ago from a single man job, Mxtabs has grown bigger and bigger, becoming one of the reference point for the tablatures, the cords and the lyrics over the net. Now, even after an attempt to create a dialog with the Major, the site has decided to close in order to avoid any legal attack by MPA.

Another time the complete blindness of the majors is clear to everyone! I’m not telling that everyone should download the tablatures for free, but when the site asked for a mediation they didn’t reply!

Lauren Keiser, president of the MPA, told that “a little bit of jail would be a solution…”

Continue reading Tablatures: another “Major” blindness confirmation!…

Is the future of .Net in danger?

Posted by Carlo - 27/06/06 at 10:06:26 am

Installing Windows 2003 Server (also called Windows .Net 2003) you find the .Net framework already installed.

“Obvious” you can think, because the .Net environment is the framework that should support all the MS development. But looking through the Windows Vista specification I wasn’t able to see the native .Net Framework. Mumble…

The first question that comes on my mind was: Why Microsoft should not natively support .Net on its new Operating System?

Good Question, isn’t it? Why should MS should avoid helping the .Net Framework development on Vista? Are there any problems on the .Net environment we are not aware of? As a .Net developer I am a little scared about it, mainly because my thought goes to the newly released development environment (Visual Studio 2005) and the version 2 of the framework.

Continue reading Is the future of .Net in danger?…

NO del referendum: “Gli italiani fanno schifo”

Posted by Carlo - 26/06/06 at 06:06:37 pm

Quando gli italiani non votano come alcuni nostri politici ritengono corretto ecco che il Popolo d’Italia diventa “Coglione” oppure, come nel caso del secco NO del referendum odierno “Fa schifo“.

Sono questi i Politici dell’Italia del 2006?

Bossi dice prima dice “Se vince il NO andremo in Svizzera“, poi ritratta e avverte: “Riproveremo Ancora!“. Le cose sono due a questo punto: o non sa cos’e’ la coerenza, oppure ha ricevuto troppi biglietti di sola andata per una nazione straniera…

Arriva secco il commento del leghista Speroni: “Gli Italiani fanno schifo“… beh, detto da uno che vorrebbe una nazione a se stante solo per il nord non mi fa paura, mi fa semplicemente schifo lui.

Dovrebbero essere i rappresentanti d’Italia, invece sembrabo rappresentare solo il marciume del “Bel Paese”.

Fa ancora una volta ridere il commento della destra italiana: “Irregolarita’ all’estero“… eccheppalle con sti brogli: ne abbiamo piene le scatole!!!!

Personalmente non ho potuto votare, in quanto non ho ancora la residenza a Londra, ma il mio voto sarebbe stato un NO secco e deciso per una modifica costituzionale che va letta in 80 pagine, una riforma che incasina le cose e fa danni. (Ovviamente a mio modesto parere). La Costituzione DEVE rimanere semplice e senza articoli che creano riferimenti circolari!
Si ad uno snellimento generale dei “Rappresentanti”, si ad uno smaltimento dei rifiuti Politici, ma fatto con testa, intervenendo con una logica bipartisan: se si vuole cambiare la Costituzione non bastano cinque anni di Governo, serve un punto di vista comune. Ha vinto il NO e sono contento, esulto dall’Inghilterra, ma adesso spero che delle modifiche giuste si facciano,ma Seriamente.

Socceroos eliminated by a sad Italy!

Posted by Carlo - 26/06/06 at 06:06:48 pm

Italy goes on on the quarterfinals, sadly beating 1-0 Australia.

Sad game because Materazzi continues his personal recors of red cards, leaving Italy in 10 for 40 minutes. The “Azzurri” played badly for 38 minutes, defending and throwing the ball away from their area. Then 2 minutes of good football, a good descend first from Totti, and then another one from Grosso, that fell down in the middle of the Socceroos area… penalty!

PENALTY?

Mumble, I didn’t see a clear penalty at minute 94, but the refree hasn’t been a good one since the beginning…

…another gray game from the “Azzurri”! Don’t misread me: I’m Happy about Italy, but if they will not change their mentality the World Cup will end VERY SOON for them!

Microsoft buries WinFS!

Posted by Carlo - 26/06/06 at 09:06:38 am

In the end, the Big challenge in Windows Vista, the new super performant file system, WinFS will never see the light!

In this post Quentin Clarke, the lead program manager of the WinFS project, has confirmed that the file system will not be part of the new MS operating system. The first problems on FS has been unveiled some months ago, when Microsoft released the first beta of Windows Vista, leaving out that particular feature. It was told that it would have been added later, probably in the beta 2. Following this Microsoft delayed it once more, telling that WinFS would have been available only after the definitive release of Vista, probably with the first Service Pack, but today the troubled story of WinFS ends forever.

Continue reading Microsoft buries WinFS!…

“Damned Fever” and Books!

Posted by Carlo - 24/06/06 at 03:06:15 pm

Today in London the weather is Great! The sun shines and the temperature is quite perfect!

The idea, in these days, was to get out the first weekend like this one, but…

…but I get a fever that doesn’t want to get away! :(

So the day will be linked to the words “relax“, “home“, “sofa” and other indoor things! I will try to clean up the remaining lines of fever for tomorrow, hoping for a beautiful weather like today!

The book I’m reading is “The Historian” from Elizabeth Kostova. It deals with Bram Stoker’s Dracula and it’s quite a good reading, so I think I will be able to read some hundreds of pages more… Even if I will not be able to go out with this sun, at least I will get some relef reading this book and passing my time with my Fabiana, returned yesterday from Italy!!!! :)

Development editor compared… Visual Studio and Eclipse!

Posted by Carlo - 24/06/06 at 10:06:52 am

In these days I’m using both Visual Studio and Eclipse for some developments, and I am comparing these two editors.

First of all I have to think exactly what I think, before any other discussions: Visual Studio ROCKS, easily beating Eclipse!

Ok, now that I’ve given you the bad news I can start dealing with the facts…

Please, take you time to stand again after the shock, because not all that glitters is gold… and Visual Studio glitters too much to be pure gold!

Continue reading Development editor compared… Visual Studio and Eclipse!…

Win a trip to .htaccess!

Posted by Carlo - 23/06/06 at 12:06:04 pm

FCHOUSE is proud to present the new competition “Win a trip to .htaccess“!

Playing is very easy! You just need to be ballbreaker enough to spam this blog from a fixed IP address, stupid not to understand that the two installed wordpress plugin, Bad Behaviour and Spam Karma 2, are blocking their fake comments and you do your dirty job from a fixed ip… you’re in!

Entering the competition will allow you to have your personal space in fchouse .htaccess…

…in the Deny From directive!

We already have the first two winners:

Ps: I did find a cute image for this article… but it is copyrighted and the author want to be payed for it. Just take a look at it because it’s cute… but No violation of Copyright!

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Carlo Nicora is at home in London.