It’s been 65 years since allied forces launched the biggest invasion force ever known, in an attempt at breaking the German hold on Europe. Tomorrow will mark the official day that everyone remembers as it was the 6th of June 1944 that saw brave men from the allied forces fight on the beaches and in the fields of France.

It is the 5th of June that stands out for me though. If not for the weather, the allied forces would have already launched. Bad weather meant that our troops faced a long wait at a time when fear and aprehension were already at extremely high levels. These brave men had to wait, some cooped up on boats, others on airfields, all waiting for the final order to go.

I can’t imagine what was going through men’s minds at that time, though I have read transcripts and seen interviews, it is something I have never experienced and so cannot fathom. Just when you may have resigned yourself to whatever may come, you are told to just wait and wait… and wait… All that extra time to think and wonder and worry.

At just after midnight on the 6th of June, the first allied troops to land in Normandy as part of the invasion stepped onto Pegasus bridge the waiting was over, the battle had begun. Omaha, Uta, Gold Juno and Sword - the beaches that we all know from the history books, were to be the places where lives were immesurably changed forever.

I have visited the fields of battle that cover 2 World Wars, and read numerous accounts of the battles and biographies of soldiers involved. I have seen the graves of the fallen and spoken to those that survived. I’m no expert on the subject, and I’ve never been a soldier. I am, however, imesurably grateful to all those men who fought, sarificed and ultimately overcame in situations where victory often looked impossible. Your character and tenacity is an inspiration whether you meant it to be or not.

Unfortunately man’s inhumanity to man seems to know no restraint despite the horror and loss of two world wars.  Battles have been fought since, and we now have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting, what seems to me, an impossible battle against a determined enemy hell bent on the destruction of the free world.

I can’t begin to understand the reasons behind the conflict, though many observers have tried to explain it. Nor can I begin to understand what it takes to be a soldier in todays arena of war. I know that our freedom is under threat today as much as it was 65 years ago, and once again brave men fight and kill to preserve my freedom and to somehow keep death and destruction far away from me so that I may enjoy that freedom.

I am grateful to the brave men and women who fought 65 years ago and I’m grateful to those that fight today.

To those who have travelled to Normandy in rememberance of the fallen it is a difficult time, full of memories that often surface much pain and feelings of great loss, I hope that comfort somehow finds you.

To all troops past and present… Thank You.

According to this article on Ajaxian today, Google have released a new plug-in, called Page Speed, for Firebug which is aimed at improving the performance of websites.  The features look excellent and I imagine everyone will benefit from using it especially web designers.

It looks like targeted, smart performance improvements can be easily identified and in some cases the plug-in does the work for you which is awesome!

Well done Google.

If you’ve used or end up using the plugin I’d be interested in hearing from you.  Leave a comment on this post and let others know about your experience.

Start your engines!

Details are out on the android developers blog. Looks like this time consumers get to play a part in judging too with a downloadable judging app being made available, nice touch.

I for one hope that we get some more inventive stuff this time round, Android 1.5 will be a good base and hopefully developers have seen what works, and what doesn’t. One gripe I had after ADC1 was the lack of apps like decent RSS/Podcast apps.

I sincerely hope we don’t end up with hundreds of home replacement and skinning apps, I’m sure there are some smart and inventive folks out there, I’m looking forward to seeing what you produce :0)

Valve released a statement on Monday giving details of the sequal to the best selling Left 4 Dead that released last year. Left 4 Dead is an all action Zombie shooter with several twists that have had gamers raving for some time now. You can play in solo mode with 3 AI characters to support you, or LAN up and have your mates join in the carnage with AI taking up the spare seats.

The action is unrelenting but the graphics and gameplay leave you having about as much fun as you can have in a game. You play throught the story in a kind of movie fashion and the AI Director in the game controls things like weather objects and pathways as well as tailoring the enemy population to each situation. Each game ends up being tailored to your skill level, something that allows everyone to get a fantastic experience. As with most things on the STEAM network, you have a set of achievements to reach and the online play allows you to step into the rotting carcass of a zombie and play the bad guy :0)

Gabe Newell said in the press release:

A large part of how Left 4 Dead became 2008’s top-selling new IP on Xbox 360 and the PC was the custom-tailored gameplay made possible by the AI Director, With the knowledge gained from creating the original, new technology, and a passionate team, L4D2 will set a new benchmark for cooperative action games.

Left 4 Dead 2 is set to improve on this awesome game and should release on PC and Xbox 360 on Nov 17th 2009. Look out for cover features on PC Gamer and Xbox 360 magazines this month.

I dunno how he does it! Today and tomorrow is 1 on 1 meetings with the boss for performance reviews! It’s freaky how Scott Adams does it!