Cool stuff is just around the corner

Recently I came across something cool, something I always wanted to find. It is Pascal/Delphi/Lazarus cross-platform free 2D game library: ZenGL. It is quite easy and has nice functionalities. I mean: I do recomend it. I really do!

Ever since I had my old ZX Spectrum I always wanted to write games. But back then it was difficult because of lack of proper tools (especially for creating/converting graphics, and also for debugging). Also writting in assembler is not the easiest thing (back then I didn't even know C).
Then later games became more and more complicated (to create). All this fancy 3D, DirectX, OpenGL, AI-s... textures, human voices, phisics... And this support for multiple weird and expensive hardware... One needed a team of actors, another of graphics designers and another of 3D engine coders to write a game. Almost harder that making a movie!
Then I had to do my work, things my boss requires from me like another boring stupid database, another nasty importer of weird-formatted invoices into some crazy business software.

But now I see it differently, there seems to be a light in the tunnel. There are also so called 'casual games', games for kids, educational games. And what's new - all those just-computerized people in their 60-s and 70-s, who never had a chance to play games before and are now crazy about them and exchange tips how to better play a given game... Also the multitude of available platforms: Windows/MacOSX/Andorid/iPhone/iPad/Linux... it's almost overwhelming! :) And all those game-hungry gamers out there!

But going back to ZenGL: It is crossplatform, which is really cool. I have already succesfully compiled stuff both for Windows and for Android. Unfortunatelly a friend of mine failed to create Lazarus environment for MacOSX / iPhone, but I hope it's only a temporary setback.

I'm ending with an anouncement: I'm going to write games! Lots of them. And I do hope they will be cool.

p.s.
I'm currently working on 3 game titles (simple, just for starters, to learn more and to do some reconnaissance). I have literally a hundred ideas for nice and cool games.
I hope to write more later on my progress and experiences.

Project "Mirages"

In my spare time I'm finishng code for art project Project Mirages.

Impressions on polish healthcare IT

Well... it is damn sad and painfuly true that polish healthcare IT in XXI century (both staff, infrastructure and management) is still pretty lame...

The IT staff

Form my work experience in Poland the IT guys in hospitals are the most incompenent and most unpleasant kind of people. That is provided there are any, because there is often networking/database infrastructure that runs there by itself without much care or supervision (apart from some less ignorant doctors, who at least do backups (sometimes)).

Medical systems (databases)

Form my obsevation (however I'm not that much of an insider) there are almost as many different systems (like databases + applications) as there are hospitals * their departments. There is no consistency and no interoperability. These systems often don't even talk to each other despite standards like HL7, DICOM or even good old plain CSV. And a lot is "stored" on paper only (not also but only).

(Even more) Painful reality

Recently I've spent 7h waiting just to have a simple medical procedure performed on me.
They said it was going to be up to 4h wait, finally it took 7h, while the procedure itself took only 15 min.
Of which good several minutes was simply filling the paperwork. And it was filled on paper!
Also I was told I can't have the procedure performed by laryngologist without first having referral from first contact doctor. Why would I need a doctor to tell me that my ear is deaf? I know it alredy because I can't hear... Guess what? The only way to get help "quickly" was to go to the ER.

What a load of crap!

I think

I'd be scared to live in a world where I do not understand how the computer works...