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All items from December 2015

27 Dec 2015 : Finally, Syberian snow #
Not in real life, but finally I'm getting the snow I feel I deserve in Syberia II. Good work Microïds!

Snowing in Syberia II

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16 Dec 2015 : Let's not Encrypt just yet #
The TLS certificate for Constantia, my home server, ran out this evening. I've been using StartSSL for my certificate for several years now, and given their free automated service I've been very pleased. The downside is you can only generate one certificate at a time, so if you screw it up, there's not much that can be done (apart from ponying up). That always made me nervous as I've been known to screw things up in the past.

With the new Let's Encrypt service I was tempted to try that, but the certificates need renewing every 90 days, so I stuck to what I know. It seems I'm getting better at it though: the new certificate appears to have worked without a hitch.

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14 Dec 2015 : Siberian Odyssey #
After many years of very careful observation, I've discovered I'm worryingly susceptible to advertising. If I see someone drinking a cool beer on TV my thirst will fire up. Technology adverts make me fiddle with my phone. Pizza ads will make my hungry. (Apparently I'm still immune to sports adverts though).

One of the consequences is that at certain times of year I like my games to match the season. Costume Quest at Halloween, A Bird Story in the Spring, Broken Sword in the Summer. It helps me get into the right frame of mind.

Syberia game, but not in Siberia (or even Syberia)

Last Christmas I decided Syberia would be the way to get into the Christmas spirit. Lots of wintry images, ice and snow. I played through the whole game solving the puzzles and waiting for the ice and snow to kick in. Eventually, I thought, the game would have to take me to Siberia. It's the name of the f**cking game!

So, eventually after 13 hours of play I got on a train heading for Syberia, only for the game to abruptly end.

It turns out Benoît Sokal - the game's director - misjudged how long the story was and Syberia (or even Siberia) doesn't happen until game 2.

I've now waited the entire year and it's time to go for a second attempt: my game this Christmas is going to be Syberia II. I enjoyed the first game, so I don't regret having played it, but this one had better take me to Siberia or I'll be contacting trading standards!

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