Personal Blog of Thomas Hampel - Creative Mythbusting in Development and Collaboration

Upcomming Trips

Social Networks

Popular Articles

Winmail.dat

Who am I?

Feeds

 Content
 Comments

Recent Entries

Welcome Domino License An
Available now: HCL Notes/
New HCL Domino Marketplac
Welcome Domino License An
HCL Domino Community Meet
Query results for : Fun

Surviving the next Polar Vortex - Retro Computer Games for Apple iOS (iPhone/iPad)- 22 December 2014 - (0) Comments

Thomas Hampel
 22 December 2014
Warning: This is an off-topic post about retro computer games for Apple iOS (iPhone/iPad) - if you object you may browse elsewhere.

For most kids today play games are probably the first thing they do with computers before learning how to write code
But even experienced developers like John David Head seem to enjoy computer games every once in a while, and so do I. Of course only when time allows.

Personally I dont care much about graphics, I'm more interested in the gameplay, I like clever puzzles, I like funny stories and other things like that. So classic / retro computer games are the perfect fit.
Some people are collecting old hardware, or build their own retro console using a Raspberry PI just to play old games.
The more easy route is to spend time on cold and dark winter nights (like this Sunday) for taking a look into the Apple iTunes Store to see what games can potentially be interesting for people like me.

The following list of classic/retro games and game remakes should provide you with plenty of food for the next polar vortex or whatever excuse you have to play again.
Certainly I have tested a few of those games but not at all everything on that list. Unfortunately some good titles which I wanted to add have already been removed from the AppStore (like SimCity), so if you find a game you like, better buy it asap.

How about you? What are your favorite (retro/classic) Games on iOS or other platforms ? What is missing in the list below? Let me know by leaving a comment...
Note: Comments are moderated, so when you submit your comment it will not show up immediately.

Arcade
Arcade (Beat'em up)
Adventure
Jump'n Run
2D Shooter
3D Shooter
Strategy Sport / Simulation
RPG
Puzzle
Special Games or Collections
Furhter reading & listening...
The author of this post appreciates comments!
Again, comments are moderated, so when you submit your comment it will not show up immediately.

Living a king’s life - Ten things you can (or can’t) do with your Per-Diem earnings in Raleigh/NC- 3 November 2014 - (1) Comments

Thomas Hampel
 3 November 2014
The joy of business travel is a tough business these days. Beside messing around with airport security, save big bucks for your company who forces you to fly wood class (aka 'Economy') and fighting jetlag within meeting rooms that don't even have windows nor serve free beer, traveling will at least make you rich, ...well almost.
Image:Living a king’s life - Ten things you can (or can’t) do with your Per-Diem earnings in Raleigh/NC
Large enterprises pay employees an extra per-diem amount of incredible ~50 USD per day which you can spend on your luxury business-man lifestyle as follows:
1.        Rent a car, at max. you can go with category "B", they're cheap but...crap.
2.        Buy a pair of shoes in a mall, same as for cars they look good at first but probably wont survive your flight back home.
3.        Get fat on Fastfood, at least for a day. Easy as a pie: taking an extra 1000 calories just requires half a kids burger.
4.        Buy 'cheap' electronics
Packed and presented in wonderful shape, it turns out to be more expensive than in your home country but lacks the two year warranty offered at home.
5.        Enjoy the nature, there is a lot around Raleigh, hiking tours are a great no-cost idea...if just the recreational area would not have been closed due to winter.
Remark: temperatures below of 70 F qualify for the winter season

Unlike those enjoyable experiences above the wannabe cosmopolitan of today is dreaming of an even better lifestyle that unfortunately the lovely per-diem amount wont ever cover. Some of those are
1.        Get an iPhone 6, eventhough some say it bends, it is an acceptable compensation of an international travel assignment
2.        Taking a helicopter ride to your meeting instead of car pooling.
3.        Rent a muscle car, which sounds like a strange idea when you can have an helicopter ride but being in america its one of those must-have experiences.
Unfortunately you cant really make use of its horsepower because someone invented speed limits over here.
4.        Have a good steak, despite fastfood being cheap, a good steak comes with its exclusive price tag.
Making up a whole dinner for the real man, can easily cost a fortune because of side orders and tips quickly adding to the total.
5.        Find good French wine in a supermarket
For the fate of feeling exclusive, you must spend serious money on foreign products just to predend you can.

Conclusion : Living from per-diem is fast, good and cheap... just pick any two.
If thats not enough the bonus air miles collected on your journey is seeding the dream of flying business class once upon the time
What are you spending your per-diem earnings on? Share your thoughts with me on Linkedin , Twitter or Facebook, or leave a comment to this blog post.

PS: Special thanks to Bruno, Catalin, Shiva, Daitoku, Fabio, Saumil, Hans-Juergen, Holger, Mari, Michal N, Michael S, Thomas A, Kurt and Simon for this creative week.

Dont bug me with XLS- 6 August 2012 - (0) Comments

Thomas Hampel
 6 August 2012
Lots of new communication methods came up the last couple of years. Social business is considered to be the next big thing, offering even more cool & trendy features to your day in a life to provide more productivity and flexibility.
Why are some people still sticking with old fashioned thinking and keep sending files via mail?
Especially files of type XLS which -as some might know- I dont like to work with.

Information is static - you never know if the file you've got is the latest one or if there's a new template with updated macro's or updated content available.
For sure people could share this file via IBM Connections files or other products like QuickR, but thats not the point.

In a fast living IT business, its simply not acceptable for putting dynamic information into a static XLS file.
One example I've received today, where someone requested to put the DB size (of one single Domino application) into an XLS file.

The following template was used, listing one row that shows an example - since the NSF file had 10 Gbyte, I've entered a rounded number 10.000 assuming the example would clearly indicate that the column value must be MB(yte).
Image:Dont bug me with XLS
I had to return the file in a mail - actually I proposed uploading it to IBM Connections, but my counterpart did not accept any other form of delivery other than mail.
Unfortunately my assumption about the DB size wasnt correct. The recipient of the file turned back to me and asked...
"Current DB size - 10000 what? KB, MB?"

Just returning the clarification "MByte" which is 5 characters via mail or chat was not an acceptable form of reply. I was told the only allowed method would be an (updated) file, with an updated file name. And you know how this is supposed to look like..."Version XYZ from DATE.xls". Since I was already fed up with the originators bureaucracy, I couldnt stop myself submitting this:
Image:Dont bug me with XLS
...so what :)

Next time: Please read the email netiquette leave me alone with boring XLS files and either use an apropriate workflow application (Hint: Domino is an excellent platform for rapid application development) or at least put files into a central repository like IBM Connections, Quickr or if you really have no other option even use other products, but DONT send XLS files in a mail!!

Windows Error Messages --- again- 4 May 2012 - (0) Comments

Thomas Hampel
 4 May 2012
Sometimes I wonder what Microsoft is trying to tell me.
Image:Windows Error Messages --- again

Next Level Guitar- 13 November 2010 - (0) Comments

Thomas Hampel
 13 November 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Zad5_eWVA
Go ElsewhereSubscribe to RSSAboutStay ConnectedAnd More
Thomas Hampel, All rights reserved.