Ping

Greetings, #TaLkiNg is still alive and will remain online for the forseable future. I will be maintaining low-effort upkeep in the channel until one day fading away.

See you online

-Maylay

How to clean a keyboard

In this post I will go over a couple of ways to clean a dirty keyboard. The methods we will cover should be simple yet effective. While it is possible to damage a keyboard with water it is often safe to use after drying completely. Waiting for a keyboard to dry is probably the most time consuming part as water tends to get trapped in the crevices deep inside. At any rate, if the keyboard was so dirty to the point of being discarded then there is nothing to lose by performing risky cleansing procedures to eke out some life from it.

Method #1: Dishwasher

This method is easy and will work on most cheap rubber membrane keyboards. In this process we will simply take the entire keyboard and place it upside-down on the highest rack in your dishwasher. A quick run through the most gentle cycle should quickly power through most of the grime and leave it sparkling clean. This is the most time effective method and well worth it if you don't mind losing the keyboard.

Method #2: Partial dismantle

If you've managed to keep your keyboard fairly clean but can't stand the few crumbs and hairs hanging out below the keys you may be able to clean a little deeper. In this case you can pop off all the keys and pass a vacuum attachment or damp cloth. In my experience even the most aggressive cleaning detergents don't seem to do any damage, but if you are unsure you can test a spot on the bottom side of the keyboard. Dish soap can be effective but a bathroom disinfectant does a more satisfying job.

Method #3: Full dismantlement

So you've bought that keyboard from the thrift shop. Yes, that grimey Model M that's been caked in cigarette ash and cola. Your only option in this case is to break out the screw driver and start taking it apart. Pop off all the keys and keep all the plastic bits separate so you can bathe them. Take a large bowl or tub and fill it with warm water and a few cap-fulls of bleach and let everything sit for an hour or so. In the mean time you can wipe down the internals with a disinfectant cloth. After you've got the internals smelling fresh, go over each of the plastic bits with a disinfecting wipe. 

The small plastic films and crevices inside of a keyboard can take up to a week to dry completely. Be sure to leave everything in a well ventilated area to speed up the process. Give the parts a good shake before you put everything back together to make sure there is not water left inside.

Time to chat

Once you have finally dried your keyboard, you can finally relax. The only thing you can do next is plug it into your computer and hope for the best. If it doesn't work on the first try do not give up hope. It is possible that there is a loose cable or some humidity. If you get frustrated it is better to try again the next day. If your keyboard is working fine then rejoice! Test all of the keys to be absolutely sure you are done. Then come and join us in the #TaLKiNg chat channel on Rizon.

See you there!

Recommended IRC Clients (Spring 2016)

Windows:

HexChat

AdiIRC

Linux:

irssi

WeeChat

HexChat

iOS:

LimeChat
IRC999A

DANGER: HEAVY CARTOONS

Copyright Liam 2015

TAXT ADVENTURE

<`-`> asm for the low level workings
<maywork> maybe over the weekend I can start a small project, a taxt adventure or something
<maywork> text
<`-`> taxt
<maywork> TAX ADVENTURE
<`-`> HOW DO I TAXT?
<`-`> You play the lowly asian account at mcbigdoucherito corp
<`-`> fighting through corp paper work and tax laws
<maywork> You've been employed at Sysco Data Enterprises as lead accountant, little do you know, the company has been laundering money for its 29 years of service
<`-`> you can level up your math, accounting, law, etc skills
<`-`> even the get money fuck bitches skill
<maywork> its up to you to fake the costs and balance the checkbooks to keep the feds off your trail
<`-`> yus

IRC Client Poll

The #TaLKiNg staff invite you to vote on your IRC client of choice. Choose your client(s) from the poll, or leave a comment denoting your favorite. If you haven't got one, you can always join us in the webchat.

Results:
There was no clear winner, but the top four were XChat, mIRC, HexChat, and LimeChat.

Seems like everyone uses a different client, which is not surprising seeing as IRC has been around since the 1980s and there are several clients available. Have a favorite client that you're sure nobody has heard about? Leave it in the comments so we can check it out.

Sound Roundup

Yesterday I came across some music that was being offered though SoundCloud. I've known SoundCloud as a decent service to share tunes online with, but unfortunately it never caught on with me. Today I decided to finally make an account. After saving the song I wanted, I went on to browsing around for more. What I have found has been pretty great so far.

The website looks like it's been redesigned, and is really nice to use. The iOS apps follow in those footsteps functioning very smoothly, even while on mobile internet. The apps work so well, in fact, that I even feel inclined to throw out some of my own sounds. In the mean time I would rather share some of the Artists that I've found interesting.

Electronic:
BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD
pauldateh

Synth:
yazhuenchuman

Trance:
Helion

Rock:
Magazine Society

Folk/Acoustic:
Imaginary Friend

So maybe you'll find some of them interesting too, or maybe not. At any rate, I'm really enjoying SoundCloud and I look forward to finding some other interesting artists. For a more up to date list of who I'm keeping track of you can check out my profile (StarlightMaylay).

Getting started with goals

The first step is always the most difficult one, so take it and don't stop. If you think you aren't good enough for a huge leap, take smaller steps. In the end it will add up to the whole. It's not easy to accept, more of a paradox of beliefs actually. The worst time to take a break is after an accomplishment, so never stop. Always keep going. I think I'm talking to myself. Good talk. Keep it up.

Quick List: Android Visual Novels - Revisited

It has been about a year since the last venture into visual novels, so time to look and see what is new in the Android VN world. Surprisingly, there are a few decent new titles. Many of them have the added bonus of being cross-platform, so you aren't quite stuck on a mobile if you're interested in playing.

Nanolife (53M) by Circle Pegasi

If you've ever liked the idea of a pseudo-online world like the .hack series, Nanolife is definitely a must play. The visuals are rich and diverse, plus there are many characters and environments keeping things fresh throughout. This game also shows some real creativity by simulating an online world while still sticking to a VN style of game-play.
(Official Website)

a2 ~a due~ (50M) by Navigame

With the crazy story that it had there didn't seem like much to expect from this title, but it turned out to be quite amusing. Not only did the dialogue become rather engaging after a short period of time, there was also a good amount of anticipation for extra music and doodles to keep things rolling. Just like what most gamers would expect from a full VN there are tons of goodies to unlock as you progress through the story. The UI is a little tough to navigate especially on smaller screens, but not intolerable. As unique and polished as it turned out, this is a highly recommended game on the list.

(Thread)

Days of the Divine (123M) by Circle Pegasi

Days of the Divine is one of the largest games on the list, but worth every byte of space. It is another fantastic title by Circle Pegasi created for NaNoRenO 2013. The visuals are smooth and pleasant, really giving off a quality impression. In-game music is wonderful and doesn't get annoying or repetitive, and the story seems just as good and rich as the music and graphics. This game is a great piece of work overall.
(Thread) 

Duty (44M) & Magus Opus (13M)

Here we have a couple of extra-short games built with the Ren'Py engine. They're both based on personality tests and give you a result at the end of completion. They seem good enough to satiate some boredom and curiosity.
(Thread - Duty)
(Thread - Magus Opus)

Love Academy (42M) by Koyonplete

While not entirely free, this stands as one of the fullest VN experiences you can get on Android without spending a penny. Love Academy has a rich and diverse story. Thanks to the limit imposed by its freemium model, you can only play so much of the story each day at a time before you need to buy in-game points to progress to the next stage.
(Official Website)

NaNoRenO has made a hugely positive impact on the VN community bringing out some shining stars on mobile platforms. Circle Pegasi and Navigame are definitely worth keeping an eye on, hopefully we can look forward to more releases from them in the future.

Non-free Mentions
By roseVeRte
East Tower (Paid for by character story, req. Adobe Air)
CAFE 0 ~The Drowned Mermaid~ (Full game IAP, req. Adobe Air)
dUpLicity ~Beyond the Lies~ (Full game purchase)

By Koyonplete
Pure Love (Freemium - Energy recovered every 24 hours)
Love Academy -YAOI- (Freemium - Energy recovered daily at 4AM)

By Voltage
Be My Princess (Paid for by story)
A Knight's Devotion (Paid for by story)

By Circle Pegasi
Firefly (Full game purchase)

ITP Windows

This is becoming a photoblog of sorts... Here's a view outside my room, pretty boring in my opinion. Located in Miami, FL, USA. -Maylay

Downham Market, Norfolk, England -liamlifeless

Summer Is Over!

So summer has finally come to an end. A few new faces have emerged, and we're welcomed to have you. Hopefully this Fall will lead to great new things. Also, I haven't seen Dewy in a while, I wonder what's up with him.

Quick List: Android Visual Novels

Recently I've had a hampering for some Visual Novel goodness, so I scoured vndb for ones on Android. Many of the games were paid and Japanese only, but I discovered a few decent looking English titles that were free. Here is a quick rundown of what I found.

Almight

Almight is described by the official site as a cross-platform Adventure Game Engine built in HTML5. It comes bundled with two okay games: Maid Detectives Dille & Elle and Play Time. they don't look great but should be entertaining. The engine is still being developed on so expect some bugs. The launcher app with both games currently takes up about 60 MB.

Almight (English Website)
Almight App (Android Market)

HIGURASHI WhenTheyCry Onikakushi (Ep1) by SEAMS

The Higurashi series debuts on Android with this first episode and it looks quite promising. The visuals are quite nice, and the sound effects and music are good too. Hopefully the next episodes come out soon. This game can only be downloaded via the Amazon app store and takes about 200 MB of storage once it downloads all the files it needs.

Higurashi Client (Amazon App Store)

Moonlight Walks

Moonlight Walks is a bit of a basic game. The visuals are okay, the sounds is somewhat mediocre from what I've played. Either way there seems to be quite a few different endings so it seems alright. It is one of the smallest games at just over 20 MB.

Official Website
Moonlight Walks App (Android Market)

Sugar's Delight by Neko ☆ Soft

One of the best looking out of all of these is Sugar's Delight. The game looks great on my tablet and has been pretty fun so far. The music is good and the controls are perfect. It takes up about 65 MB and it is totally worth it. It's an 18+ game so probably not a good idea for that crowded bus ride unless maybe you want to make people uncomfortable.

Official Website
Sugar's Delight (Downloadable APK- Box.com)

Wintertale

One of the most polished games out of all of these is Wintertale. The game looks great, lots of good visuals. Music is nice, it should be pretty good. Despite the premium quality feel of this game, it takes up less than 35 MB.

Wintertale App (Android Marketplace)

Update (Aug. 8, 2013): Quick List: Android Visual Novels - Revisited

The MiniDisc Throwback

A few days ago while browsing youtube for videos featuring my favorite Japanese band, I stumbled across a commercial for a MiniDisc player. A couple of eBay transactions later and I have a NetMD recorder and five colourful 80-minute discs. While the audio quality is a bit lacking, I simply adore the style of these tiny diskettes. They have a retro quality that is accompanied by a sort of mystique due to the format's short lived lifespan.

New to the blog

My name is Dylan, and i just started on this blog thanks to Maylay. I used to know Rei-sama from the IRC channel he created. My IRC nickname is normally MountainDew and if you knew me before that it would be Snafoo.

Cheers. MD

Because, yeah.

I got my tablet from Asus and yea it still has problems but whatever. Don't buy a TF101. Hi. Also I don't like my job but what else is new. Some one else needs to post something, blah blah blah.

Out in the Town: Miami

So for anyone visiting Miami, it's not a bad place to visit but living here has a few downsides. It's always nice to get a refresher and go out to see what's there, just to regain some appreciation. I went out with some friends and snapped some photos of the bay, so I thought I'd share them here.

Quick Gift - Panda Socks

The other day I had to go gift shopping for some one that I didn't know to well personally. So after some frustration walking around the mall and finding nothing that fit this person's niche interests, I came across some peculiar looking socks. I think socks are a pretty decent gift to give some one if you only know some basic stuff about them. Socks are cheap enough that it's okay if the recipient end's up not liking them, and they likely won't feel too much pressure to gift anything back to you; a personal plus because I hate being in a gift war. Socks wear out and are needed to be replaced all the time. There are also different kinds of socks, if you know the person just a little bit it's easy to guess what type and design to get them.

Conclusion of a Moment of Silence

A time of silence is over, and now it's time to start up again. The biggest news has been about Rei_Sama who passed away late January from a chest infection. The loss was huge but the channel is still alive. For those who don't know, Rei is the original founder of #TaLKiNg. He was incredibly nice and easy to get along with (for most people, anyway) and was always there to chat with you whenever you needed anything. He'll be missed, but not easily forgotten. #TaLKiNg will remain online indefinitely despite the loss, so I hope to continue seeing familiar nicks as well as new ones in the future.

For any questions, concerns, clarifications, or whatever, feel free to drop by the channel or leave a comment.

See you around!

- RIP Rei_Sama -

post from inside new interesting game.

Hello again. Sorry I haven't been on IRC much. That's because I found this slightly fun and interesting game. It's called There.com. I've been a member of it since 2004. It closed about a year ago, but it has since reopened. and I like it. If I could classify it it's more of a social game if anything, but it is not a facebook game. It is its own virtual world. Right now it doesn't have that many members (700) but it is growing a lot.

1 year

Last year On this Same Day, #TaLKiNg channel was born.

it was all started when I wanted to make a channel on Rizon, a channel that people would like And join, to consider it like an IRC Home, meeting new people, making friends, etc etc...

And now, After one whole year, And with the help of a great people I met on Rizon, #TaLKiNg is now famous and well known on Rizon and many other IRC Networks.

So Congratulations for all of us, and I hope the #TaLKiNg Project will be more than just a channel on IRC.


Happy birthday to you #TaLKiNg!!!