America may have combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bells but I just went to a combination Robert Dyas/Rymans and frankly that is everything a middle aged man needs.

Currently stuck between "A Neo Noir Black and White film set in the 1930s, where the protagonist is a Private Dick played by Nic Cage in full Nic Cage mode" - which is exactly my jam - and "it is a Spiderman movie", which absolutely isn't.

*Checks the date of the episode* 1999 *double checks to make sure neither of the two nines at the end are actually sixes* Huh #totp

Why is Jackie Abbot dressed for #totp whereas Paul Heaton is dressed for hanging around at Waterloo station waiting for a Class 33 that is running on an unusual route?

I have a huge amount of respect for the Sims team for reaching out to cultural experts in crafting Africa and East Asian outfits, but I do wish they would talk to someone (me) about western male formalwear, because, seriously, what the shit is this wank?

I'm not certain what would be funnier, a lot of empty US stadiums during the World Cup, or the inevitable chants from England and Scotland (and other) fans detailing, to the tune of some well known traditional song, all the ways in which the US President is a cunt.

Just a book talking utter tosh, pushed by every bloody bookshop at the time. No sources, no references, and digging around makes it clear that it is largely just the untruthful account of one man trying desperately to get gigs in the 1950s.

My two rules of social media: 1) Never post angry. You won't be rational, you will say something stupid, it'll be misinterpreted, and the response will just make you more angry. 2) Recognise when some else is posting angry. No point commenting, because of the above. Let 'em vent.

"In August 1944 AFO 4538 advised for the duration of the war Officers were not required to provide themselves with a Sun Helmet, and that they could wear a white cap or cap with white cover on all occasions the regulations prescribed a Sun Helmet."

Okay, this ending made the slog through the previous 25 minutes of the episode worth it #totp

Glad everyone else is complaining about effects in this, as I was about to call my internet provider about the dodgy connection #totp

God, 14 year old Cobden thought this was the bees knees. Huge nostalgia for this...fairly terrible song. 14 year old Cobden was an idiot. #totp

I remember 1999. I was at an age when I would have been listening to music. Never heard this song in my life. Though I do think recognise the singer from a Need 4 Speed Carbon live action cutscene #totp

No better Saturday night than playing a simulator game, listening to the incorporated terrible/excellent internet radio station, and putting in a series of requests pseudonymously using the names of Rorke's Drift VC winners.

Who could have guessed when it was renamed from twitter to something that sounds like a porn site, it would become a porn site.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - then and now. Really felt they "got" Indy.

This is a tricky one - I think the then/now is going to be the same, with a tie between BG3 and Cities:Skylines 2. The former is a great game I have no desire to return to, the latter is a (initially very, but thankfully increasingly less) flawed game that I can't stop myself from booting up.

A really interesting year as this must have been the year I moved from being primarily an Amiga user (albeit no new games) to being a PC gamer, and not with the greatest PC. Then: Titanic, an Adventure out of Time* Now: Red Alert *Terrible, but I enjoyed it. I didn't have many PC games yet!

Was invited to a local fish restaurant in Alexandria by the Anglican Bishop of North Africa, which was awkward enough as my father nor I really eat fish (long story, but stems from the Angolan civil war). Anyway, we are polite, eat our fish, despite it being served with the heads on and 1/?

Look, if people are going to misinterpret the article (seemingly without reading it), can people at least misinterpret it as "volunteer at a heritage railway"? It's bloody great fun and they always need volunteers.

Then, the Original GTA. Now: Theme Hospital. (Did have to check about Amiga games, as at this point I was still using one, albeit not as my primary gaming vector)

Honestly, running into a 'bus station. Not a 'bus stop. Not a 'bus shelter. A 'bus STATION. It's presence was not a mystery to me. I was waiting at said 'bus station before running into it. Yet somehow I still managed to run into it. This happened last month.

Oh, lummy, some hard choices here. At the time, Half Life and Grim Fandango. Now Grim Fandango and Railroad Tycoon II

At the time, probably Driver. Now, it has to be Roller Coaster Tycoon.

NOLF then, NOLF now. NOLF forever (except we can't have it now due to legal issues)

Then: Grand Theft Auto and Civilisations III Now: Microsoft Train Simulator. The second best train simulator ever.

Hi! I'm an Egyptian Policeman with a rusty Kalashnikov who cannot tell the difference between a terrorist attempting to blow up the British Consulate-General and a white guy in a suit trying to get in (through the actual entrance - not climbing over a wall).

Then: Mafia anbd GTA Vice City Now: NOLF 2 (God I wish I could play this game again)

Then: CoD Now: Sim City 4

Then: The Movies Now: Psychonauts

Then: Blood Money Now: Blood Money

Then: CoD4 and Portal Now: Mass Effect

At the time, Saints Row 2. Now, Fallout 3

Then: AC2. Now: Empire Total War

At the time, Just Cause 2. Now, a tie between RDR and New Vegas

Then: LA Noire and Portal 2 Now: Honestly, probably Skyrim.

God, this was a good year. At the time, Spec Ops or Far Cry 3. Now Dishonored. Spec Ops has only fallen off as it is a game that only worked in 2012, imo. Needed to exist in that zeitgeist.

Awful lot of songs by groups I know - some I even like - that I have never heard before, despite apparently charting highly #totp

youtu.be/4_3oU-Z4Vxo?... #totp

I must have missed Ace of Bass's motown phase #totp

Only decent song by a former Spice Girl (or to use the more formal term, Bene Gesserit) #totp

Then: Bioshock:Infinite or AC Black Flag. Now: Papers Please.

Wolfenstein: The New Order at the time. Now? Probably the Sims 4 - my enthusiasm for it has waned somewhat, but hard to see what would replace it.

Isonzo and Isonzo. An odd year for me - not too many games bought and a few I did by I still haven't played. Vic 3 didn't gel with me, Pentiment is on the "must get round to" list, and I couldn't play stray because I was worried their might be a scene where a cat is sad.

"He would play these wee bottles as percussion". I have never been so relieved when it turns out a quote is from a Scot.

Valheim on both counts. A genuinely fun game in which you and your mates have both a goal and the freedom for nonsense. Accidentally recreating The Terror is one of my great all time gaming memories

At the time, probably CK3 Now, it really depends on where the mood takes me - either CK3 or, oddly, Watch Dogs Legion (despite the fact that made the very peculiar design decision to have a really hate-able villain, but one that one can entire missed).

Cathedral City clearly has an oversupply problem, right? I mean, what with the adverts and the aggressively cheesy ready meals, it seems a sound conclusion. I am just curious: how does one end up with too much cheese and find oneself unable to get rid of it at sodding Christmas?

This is a genuinely tricky one - not certain if "released into early access" counts, but if so Derail Valley and Derail Valley (best train sim of all time). If not, Transport Fever 2 might take it for both. I don't seem to have played a lot of games from 2019, for some reason.

At the time, RDR2. Now Obra Dinn.