Well, there's a few interesting things in development, recently I've been looking at Growl, a notification based technology that works on both Mac and Windows based platforms.
The benefits of this little bit of C# coding is that it has numerous applications. I'm a C++ coder by trade and training, so I guess I could work my way through it. The idea was recently inspired by Respawn LAN's notifier application, it lets the admins notify individual users on the network (after they use their respawn site login of course) with alerts, be it for competitions etc.
A lot of you may also remember CupCake, it was an EMS that I was writing specifically tailored towards LAN parties - fear not, it's still around! I just might be moving it to Ruby on Rails is all 
Anyhoo, lots of interesting things. Oh, and http://www.tteal.com.au/
Well, the new version of WordPress 3.0 is out, and it promptly broke my Events Calendar plugin. Joy!
Just so you guys aren't too worried
This post is a little bit more candid than others - and for the first time in my blog, I'll be talking about another LAN Party - if only to stem some of the questions people email me (surprisingly, I get 3 or 4 questions a week through email, which shocks me). The other day, I had reached an interesting conclusion about my feelings regarding Sydney Gamers League (SGL). A lot of people have mentioned to me, that they are competitors and that we should be all out to take them head on and so forth -- I don't personally view it that way. SGL is a brand, that has a long history. A very long and colourful one, and a history that I was a part of (in some shape or form) since its foundation way back in 97-ish. It is this same colourful history that built up both a fiercely loyal (and swift moving) client base, and a recognisable brand both on an international, and local level.
Jackson's purchase of the SGL brand was a very good move, and in fact he successfully bid over me for the sale of SGL. Admittedly, I don't think previous owners CBN Media decided to take my bid seriously.
He has a strong desire to continue SGL - it's a great event, and the evidence is there in the large numbers that attend SGL events, but in the end, he is there to make a buck. I wish SGL all the best, it is possible to make a profitable LAN event, don't get me wrong - but I'd like to return to the questions/observations that solicit this blog post. SGL is not competition - not out of any arrogance or hubris, but rather because they started off far larger than SOGC, and credit where it's due - they run an excellent event. We don't try to do things their way, although they certainly do stuff our way a few times - I'm not the only LAN organiser who's had SGL staff attend and take notes (literally haha). It's extremely flattering, and I have no problem with it (or I would have said something long ago).
SGL caters to a slightly different crowd to SOGC. Our gamers on average have a median age of 25, which is considerably older than the discernable crowd at both Fragfest (according to their MarchLAN survey - is 15 - 18 with their largest age bracket) or SGL which shares a similar age bracket. They aim to be more competitive, the sheer number of competitions that they run is a marvel in scheduling in and of itself, with them all coordinated by one (poor) chap - Rocky. And their prizes! Every event they are literally giving away a small sedan ($20,000).
No, the SOGC can clearly recognise shaky ground for itself - and knows its own limitations- we don't consider SGL competition, simply because we cannot compete with their resources.
We will continue to focus on our own events, and continue to grow steadily as we have for every single event for the last 10 months. We will diversify, and we will improve. The SOGC isn't going away, but we aren't going to grow leaps and bounds ahead of ourselves either. We're a community - we don't do this to turn huge profits or make giant spectacles, we're here to grow together as friends, gamers, and tech enthusiasts.
Could this be construed as admitting defeat? Hardly.
I'd like to announce the creation of the COGC - Canberra Online Gaming Community, it is the sister event of the SOGC, already geared up and ready to go, we're also deploying ourselves over to Tasmania shortly too. We are growing, and we're ready to start building something really special. This is the first of quite a few announcements that we're making in the near future, and definitely -- the Online Gaming Communities are here for the long haul.
Well I'm not entirely gone, I've just been extremely busy - to the point where I have been neglecting the SOGC a little bit - which in itself, is an incredible tragedy! I'm currently involved in a corporate project that will (I hope) change the way eSports is perceived within Sydney (for now). It's a great coup for the OGC, as it's an exclusive to SOGC from an organisational sense.
Much to my joy and entertainment, I've got this long weekend entirely to myself, and here I am spending it coding up on a private project (for something exciting in September), and burning my cash on the PSN.
I fired up my Playstation 3 for the first time in quite a while (find me on the PSN: jaytwitch) and I've got heaps to see and do on there! I'm quite amazed, the PSN is a little bit more exciting than XBOX live - probably because of a sleeker interface, and well, it's just so different! Haha, there's great content on both networks, and I've got the good fortune to be on both (xbox live: jaytwitc -- yes, a missing 'h').
So I've got a crazy amount of games I just purchased, including Final Fantasy 8, 9, the new prince of persia remake, and After Burner Climax. The backlog is becoming massive, alongside some new PS3 games (on disc) that I picked up: Red Dead Redemption, God of War 3, Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Valkyria Chronicles and Lost Planet 2.
Yep, plenty of gaming to be had.