In the 18th century there was an eccentric fitness fanatic named Simeon Ellerton from Craike in the county of Durham. So why is he viewed as one of the most eccentric people ever to have lived? And why is his name now part of history? Here are the strange facts.
He loved walking and would often undertake errands for the local village or act as a courier to deliver items far and wide. However, he had an ulterior motive when he was out on many of his long walks . . . he would look for and collect stones that matched his specs and then carry them home on his head.
So what was the reason for carrying these stones back on his head after every long walk? Well, he had a grand plan . . . to build his own house with these stones. Not being a rich man, this way he would be able to have the building materials for free.
To keep anyone from commenting or interfering with his plans, if anyone asked him the reason for the stones loaded on top of his head, he would simply reply, “Tis to keep on my hat.”
Strange facts about Simeon were building up.
Simeon Ellerton eventually collected and stored so many stones that he had enough building material to build his very own cottage. He built the cottage himself, free from the costs of materials and builders’ fees.
So was Simeon Ellerton slightly mad or eccentric? After all, he built himself a house for free whilst keeping fit at the same time. With the above information I would have to say that he was a smart guy with a single goal in mind.
However, when the cottage was completed, he felt very uncomfortable walking around without any stones on his head, so he used to walk around with a bag of stones on his head just for the heck of it. This fact, together with the fact that there are easier ways to transport stones, such as a bag slung over his shoulder or tied to his waist for example, points out the fact that Simeon Ellerton was definitely eccentric without a doubt.
To prove how his fitness benefited him, he lived to the very respectable age of 104 when he died in 1799. Bear in mind that in the eighteenth century health and medical care was very undeveloped, which makes this feat of living a long life back then even more impressive.
If you are having a new conservatory built, maybe it would be a smart move to get your walking shoes out and consider a stone version? You’d get fit in the process too, which would be killing two birds with one stone, if you’ll excuse the pun. So, amongst the strange facts about Simeon, pehaps there was a strange logic at work.
A great iOS download choice is ‘Wooden Labyrinth 3D’ Â with labyrinths of wooden maze levels awaiting your precision metal ball or marble rolling skills . . .
Wooden Labyrinth 3D is a realistic game, based on the old-fashioned style metal ball in a wooden maze type games that I used to buy when I was younger. There is a free version and also a paid version under $1.
The trouble with buying those old-fashioned style, guide the metal ball around the box type games is that you are limited to just one layout. This game has endless levels, with a different layout every time.
The graphics are spot on, with the game viewed from above as if really playing the real physical game. Even the sound effects and the physics seem like the real thing.
If you are not happy with the sensitivity of the graphics, you can alter the settings and tailor the roll behaviour to your liking.
One new feature on this game that appeared on this game since I downloaded Labyrinth 3D is the ability to make the ball jump. This is done by jolting the device, so that you can jump over difficult spots. However, I prefer never to use this feature personally, as I like the challenge of not doing this.
The free option is very popular in the app store. An addictive and simple little game. You can even try and beat your own record for the average level clearance time.
If you upgrade to the full game, you can customise your marbles and create your own levels.
This won the best the best game design award in the students category in 2009. The game has also backed up with a barrage of positive reviews from iOS game players.
I can’t fault this game. But as a suggestion to the developer, a spin off variation of this game could be made with obstacles and different physics objects incorporated. For example, you could have springs, bombs and switches perhaps.
This is a review of my own app ‘PowerPenguins’, so I asked ‘Crazy Mike’ to do an independent review for me, as it seemed a bit odd doing a review for my own app.
There is also a ‘PowerPenguins Lite’ version for free with 6 taster levels. This is not just a ‘knock the structure down’ game, although there are fun ‘knock down’ levels included. There are also many interactive objects in the game, such as magnets, lasers, guns, TNT, balloons, moving tyres, falling trees and switches. The crazy storyline to the game is that aliens have chosen to invade the world and start by invading Antarctica with a plan for harvesting penguins to use as penguin burgers. However, they fail to realise that there is an elite penguin special forces unit in place in Antarctica – the ‘PowerPenguins’. In this game you join the PowerPenguins in their fight against the invaders.
Following them from country to country as the aliens flee in fear from these cute but fearless warriors. There are many beautiful backgrounds used in the game. On average, a background is used only twice in the game, 3 times at the most. The game has beautiful particle effects such as snow, rain, bubbles, falling leaves and lightning. There are hilarious cut scenes – about 2 cut scenes per country (each country has 10 levels). In this game you don’t have to wait for the last physics object to stop moving like in some other ‘knock the structure down’ type games, as soon as you eliminate the last alien you can move on to the next level. This game is not easy! I have deliberately made this game more of a challenge than other similar games. Are you up for the PowerPenguins challenge?
Andre’s Review Of PowerPenguins . . .
Launching penguins and going into unknown territory has never been more fun than with PowerPenguins. PowerPenguins is my new favorite game and will defiantly maintain the crown for a long time.
The gameâ??s concept is very original and pushes the user to keep trying, even through the most difficult levels. The main objective is for the user to sling the penguins available to destroy the aliens on the map. Its two dimensional view makes it very easy to follow up on what is happening. What makes PowerPenguins unique from the other games is the level of control and planning throughout the game. People usually compare this game to Angry Birds, but PowerPenguins has a totally different feel, theme, and gameplay style overall.
During gameplay, the user has to account for objects throughout the map. The user also might get to a point where trial and error is necessary to find out how to win a level. The beauty of this game is that the levels get extremely challenging but are not imposable to pass. Be warned, PowerPenguins is extremely addictive and you might find yourself playing it all day. Also note that with experience your gameplay style will start to change and will fit the game better. For newcomers, it might be a habit to use full power. With time, you will slowly start to realize that using less power might be more convenient and flexible.
The game features six level groups which are all showcased as countries. For each group of levels or country there are ten levels. Thus, there are 60 levels throughout the app. You wonâ??t be getting bored for a very long time.
To conclude, I would like to say that this is the best application I have ever played. The mixture of creative ideas and simplicity is amazing.I recommend this game because there is nothing like it!
This review is for the ‘Jungle Jewels HD’ version on the iPad, however, there is a version for the iPhone also. Jungle Jewels is a puzzle game with sharp graphics and is well laid out.
The object of the game is to match 3 or more of the same jewel type in a row. On the left side of the screen you are given a challenge in the form of a set of jewels that you should aim to require. When you pass a challenge you are given a gold coin which you aim to bring to the bottom of the screen, in order to complete a mask to clear the level.
Special jewel types and jokers are also included in the game play. The price at the time of this review for the iPad version is 2 pounds 99 and 1 pound 99 for the iPhone version. Jungle Jewels is a fun game which can be played with a time limit. However, if you just want to chill out and play, there is a ‘relaxation’ mode and an ‘endless’ mode with no time limit. All in all I was impressed with the clear and simple interface and ‘How to play’ feature which clearly lays out the rules of play. This game gets very challenging past the 2nd level in ‘Classic’ mode.
App Name: Wooden Labyrinth 3D
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