Happy 500th to me!

As enumerated here and here, I have logged my 500th game on Boardgamegeek. That's a hell of a lot of fun and laughs with a lot of great people. Check it out.

The dam breaks

Guess who got to play some games recently?

It was ME!

Holidays have proven, over the past few years, to be boom times for boardgames. My game playing spikes every November and December, and I hope this year is no different. Last weekend, Jill's friend Kathy came for the night, and we got in several games of both Ticket to Ride Europe (my #1 gateway game) and Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers.

Yesterday, Gwen, Clint and their kids came for a belated Thanksgiving, in which Our Hero attempts his first turkey. Dinner was awesome, and was followed by much boardgaming. First, Clint taught me Blokus, and we played two games. We both played poorly in the first game, and improved in the second, but Clint beat me both times. Then I taught Clint Mr. Jack. He hung on as the killer with only two suspects for 4 rounds, forcing me to accuse one of them in the final round. I was wrong. He really played very well, thinking through every possibility. While it slowed the game down to a glacial pace, it was a great effort, and it payed off for him.

Then Clint played Stephen, fresh off of a string of Hey! That's My Fish! victories against Christine, at Mr. Jack. After all the youngsters were in bed, Jill and Gwen went head to head at Blokus. It was tense, tense, tense. Those are two competitive sisters right there.

Finally, we all played a game of Citadels. We played one rule wrong, in which an upturned King card should be shuffled back in to the character deck at the start of each round. I won pretty easily, having no trouble finding gold or maintaining useful cards in my hand. I was assassinated once, and one of my buildings was destroyed, but the rest of the game was smooth sailing.

Finally, I played a "goodbye" game of Blokus with Clint this morning. I'm really going to miss all of them. It's so nice when you get along with your spouse's family so well, and I love that we share this craze for boardgames. Their kids are really cool, too.

So, Blokus. You've seen it at Target and other mainstream stores. It's one of the few success stories from the "indie" gaming world. Blokus is an abstract strategy game played on a grid. In the 2-player game, each player has two piles of colored pieces. I played blue and red against Clint's green and yellow. Each set of colors has the same pieces as all the other sets. Within a set, however, all of the pieces are different (straights, ells, crosses, like Tetris). The game has two rules: When placing a piece, you must connect diagonally to a piece of the same color, and you must not connect orthogonally to a piece of the same color. In other words, blue pieces may only be placed where they contact with the corner of an existing blue piece, and cannot ever be alongside another blue piece. This creates gaps between blue pieces. There is no restriction on placing pieces next to a different color, as long as the placement is connected to the same color diagonally.

So you begin placing pieces from the corners of the board, in the order blue, yellow, red, green. Most people quickly make for the center of the board and attempt to carve out a zone of control. Once you are butting up against opposing colors, you have to decide whether to defend gaps or to invade the opponent's areas of the board. It is very hard to keep someone out of your area, as there is often more than one site to worm in. The game is over when no one can place any pieces, and is won by the player who has the least "area" of pieces left over (if a piece takes up 5 squares of grid, it's worth 5).

Close to midgame-- strangely, I don't remember the board this way. Usually, blue and red start on my side, and green and yellow on Clint's. Not sure how this happened.



I really liked this, as did Jill. I'm normally not big on pure abstracts, and I had initial concerns that every game would play out basically the same, but now I think that this could have some decent shelf life. The original version can play either 2 or 4 players, and there's a travel version that is 2p only. My BGG score is 7 out of 10.

Christine, Elaine, and Senor Froggy Buddy

Please choose from the following list of options...

I recently found out that I have a still-open derogatory item on my credit report from two of the three main reporting agencies. I found this out when my mortgage agent received our combined credit statement. After obtaining evidence that the debt has been satisfied for over 11 years, I contacted the credit agencies by phone. I spoke with a nice woman at Trans Union who was very helpful and who clearly explained the process.

Then I called Experian. It was the phone tree from hell, and there was absolutely no way of talking to a human. The website was even less help, with no other means of contact. Eventually, it turned out that Experian will not allow any dispute to their reporting if you, personally, have not purchased a report from them in the past 60 days. There's a special phone number on the personal report that allows you access to the dispute process.

*sound of hair being ripped out*

So, because of their bad data, not only is my pending loan and good name thrown into question, but I have to do the legwork to lay this to rest, AND I have to give them $10 and wait for a report to come in the mail in order to fix it. They have the nerve to call dispute resolution a "service". It's their DUTY, given the power they wield!

I get that it's my responsibility to pay my bills, and that the credit reporting companies are not going to keep calling my debtors to see whether I've paid them yet, but I don't understand the policy of requiring payment to fix an erroneous report. More than that, I become apoplectic when a company arranges matters so that you can never actually speak to a human, or even email a personally worded message. Worse, the list of options they offer doesn't include "Dispute a credit report", which, aside from "I'd like to purchase a credit report", HAS to be the most common reason that people call these companies!

*deep breath*

Fortunately, our mortgage agent now has the documents that I obtained from the York County Clerk of Courts (who were VERY helpful and kind), and he is well-positioned to take care of this for me. So a happy holiday season to Courtney at Trans Union, Debbie in York County, SC, and Michael at WaMu. A very sad and guilt-ridden holiday season to the people who set customer service policy at Experian.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a pretty good holiday, all around. Getting together with family, eating huge portions, football on TV...I can't think of many bad Thanksgivings. Thanksgiving is also the busiest bar night of the year, as college kids from out of town return home and go drinking with their high school buddies after dinner. I know that I used to do that.

We went, as usual, to the Bavarian House Inn in lovely Frankenmuth, Michigan. For those unfamiliar with Frankenmuth, it was settled by Germans way back in a previous century, and they never lost the old German swagger. Most restaurants in Frankenmuth are attended by lederhosen-clad wait staffery. The facade of the main streets is supposed to recollect a Disney version of a quaint Bavarian village.


When we sat down for dinner (I will digress here to explain that it is a buffet-style Thanksgiving feast, and my dad's side of my family has been coming here for years since it's centrally-located in Michigan) the waiter took our drink orders. I asked for a hefeweizen, and he looked at me strangely. So I slowly repeated, "He-fe-vite-zen". Again, the blank stare. The booze list only included wine, but I had ordered beer here in years past. Finally I tried, "Wheat beer? Hofbrauhaus?" That did it. With a look of relief, he asked, "Light or dark?". My eyes narrowed, and I dryly replied, "Light." He apologetically admitted that he didn't really know much German. I threw up on his shoes in tacit protest of his ignorance. A few minutes later, a bottle appeared in front of me with a label that read, "Hefeweizen". However, there was no yeast settled on the bottom of the beer ("mit hefe" = with yeast), and the glass was better suited to a Pilsener of inferior quality. Somehow, I made do. It's hard out there for a snob, y'all.

The major attractions at Frankenmuth are as follows:

1)the faux-Bavarian atmosphere,

2)Chicken dinners! (see the 500 billboards before you arrive at Frankenmuth. When I was a kid, if we ever drove within 25 miles of Frankenmuth, we would be pulled in by the chicken dinner tractor beam. Honestly? I've had better.)

3)Bronner's. Theres a gigantic store called Bronner's just outside of town that is "Christmastime 365 days a year!". I'm talking 10 acres of Christmas. Hey, now!



Thanks, Germany!

So, I'm having a bit of blogger guilt over the shameful neglect of the past week. I'll keep up the posting a little better for the next week or so, but then expect it to die altogether for a month as the Great Cross-Country Move takes place. I'll email all 4-5 of you when I'm back up and running.

Gee, thanks. Another lame link.

I'm racing against the clock to get this out before Elaine wakes and my free time ends. I can hear her rustling around through the monitor.

I just erased a rambly paragraph that is supposed to lead into my pathetic excuse for content, which is simply a link to a YouTube video. Shorter lead-in: There's a writers' strike underway, and so there have been no new Daily Shows or Colbert Reports lately.

So here's a small treat for anyone who's been missing their dose of leftist humor...

Oh, and in personal news, there is currently a SOLD sticker on a sign in front of a house in Seattle, and this situation is directly related to our current state of pennilessness. So don't hold your breath for a Christmas present, blog nation.

Also on a personal note, I'm getting sick and damn tired of not playing any boardgames over here. All the Boardgamegeeks are at the BGG.Con in Dallas this week, and I'm just as jealous as I can be. I'm not talking about a leisurely game of Ticket to Ride Europe, either. I want the whole Saturday marathon, starting at 8am and concluding with an into-the-wee-hours long player like History of the World or Here I Stand (my current Grail). SIGH!!!

















Uh, oh...she wakes. "Ayyyyy...eeeyeee...ayyyy...aiiii...".

Have a great weekend!

---BONUS "CONTENT"---

Following Jim's advice, I employed the Random Comic button at Achewood and came up with this classic:

This is not review of the latest Radiohead

Most folks have probably heard about the most recent Radiohead release, In Rainbows, and the revolutionary manner in which it was released. I heard a few tracks off of it when wandering through a game store the other day, and it sounds really good.

As mentioned previously, I have had the tendency to be a bit of a fanboy when it comes to music. In the past, I've gone for long stretches where I fixate on a few bands, purchasing any material that I can find, and listening almost exclusively to them. There have been times where the same cassette or CD has gone around and around in my car for a week or more.

It probably started when I was a kid, and my brother got all of these KISS albums. Although I listened to the radio quite a bit, and heard some great songs, I had this internal resistance to seeking any further, unless it was by KISS. Then in middle school and high school, my focus shifted to Iron Maiden and Rush. When I burned out on those, it became Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, and later the Rolling Stones.
Variously, for the next twenty years, I got totally into the Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, the Tragically Hip, Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Sublime, Outkast, Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and, finally, Radiohead. I was turned on to Radiohead when OK Computer came out. I quickly scarfed up the previous two albums, The Bends and Pablo Honey, as well as the OK Computer B-sides, How's my Driving?.

When I moved to Michigan, I bought the next two Radiohead CDs that came down the line, Kid A and Amnesiac. Same deal--listened to them incessantly. But one thing changed: I wasn't driving nearly as much, so my time to blast music began to diminish. I didn't listen to rock music at work, because I find lyrics too distracting, and I don't tend to rock out in my room. So when Hail to the Thief came out, I was less than motivated to pick it up. Plus, the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions really seemed to be the boundary of sustainable experimentation for this group. Like the supposed "heat death of the universe" theory, the sound had expanded so far beyond The Bends pure pop rock that further expansion would probably yield something that I wasn't interested in listening to (see the latest Bjork), and a step back towards OK Computer would be a shame. Somehow, despite the genius of Kid A/Amnesiac, I didn't trust them to pull off a follow-up.

I still haven't listened to Hail to the Thief. I'm not avoiding it or anything, but that sense that it was too soon after their best work pervades. I do look forward to picking up In Rainbows, however, as the tracks that I heard indicate that they have found their way back to more widespread accessibility with a sound that has evolved nicely. After spending the past few years actively expanding my palette of new music, it's kind of nice to look forward to something by a previously beloved artist.

Oh, Bolly!

A quick one today...

Back in fifth grade, a teacher told my class how we would all have to take a foreign language in high school. We would even be required to write essays in that language. I remember thinking that other languages were like a code. For example, garden would still be garden in Latin, but you just substitute the Latin letters in for the English. I had no idea that there would be totally different structures of speech, and completely unrelated words that meant the same thing. Needless to say, I was very disappointed in my first Latin class.

Anyone who regularly reads Neat-o-Rama or spends a lot of time on YouTube has probably seen some hilarious Indian versions of things, like the Indian Beatles or the Thriller knockoff. The latest hilarity comes in the form of a YouTube member named Buffalax who adds homophonic English subtitles to these videos. It's a new spin on making fun of people who regularly butcher lyrics in English songs--let's put embarrassing words in the mouth of foreigners!!!

I think that both of these were taken from Bollywood musicals (I know the first one was). I found these to be as funny for the dancing as for the lyrics:

The Benny Lava Song

and the newly subtitled Indian Thriller...

Let's explore the finer points of beardery

This is an oldie to some of you, but I felt that I needed to put it out there. I occasionally decide to grow a beard, which lasts exactly as long as it takes for me to recognize the significant amount of gray hair on my chin. Sometimes, though, I wonder what life would be like if I was one of the select group of mustache-sporting individuals. The mustache is a funny thing...either it looks completely foreign on your face, or it is impossible to imagine you without it.

I warn you, the images below are graphic. I am keeping this as a reminder to never grow a mustache. I do believe that I could probably pull off a 'stache if I had patience, and let it grow over my lip a little bit. However, hair actually overhanging my lip is a tickly dealbreaker.

Without further ado...

Really?

And the winner is...
Jim and Sonja! They were the only participants, so their answer is naturally closer to the correct answer than the collective "whatever" of the rest of you deadbeats. Jim and Sonja will be awarded the 1500 Blogpoints at a special ceremony on the banks of the roaring Huron.

The correct answer is (get ready to slap your forehead BECAUSE IT WAS SO OBVIOUS)
God did it.

Thanks for playing, everyone! I feel like we really made this a thing, with community sauce!

A Devious Mystery

I vacuum our living room area once a week on average. Many a visitor has rested his or her kiester on our faux Klimt rug, replete with those puffed wheat symbols that represent...well, puffed wheat, of course. It is a large, heavy rug, of excellent construction, and it is arrayed upon wall to wall "cranberry" colored carpeting. First, I vacuum the rug, then I work my way around it, folding over each end in turn to get access to the irregular areas of the room. Finally, I return the rug to its original position. You cannot simply pick up the side of the rug and pull it, as the friction is much too great. Instead, one has to pick up one side until a significant amount of the rug (>30%?) is off the carpeting. Then you can pull it into place.

The point here is that the rug is sitting on the carpet. It's sitting there real good.

So why, every week, do I have to return the rug to it's original position? Sometimes it moves a large amount in a week's time, sometimes a little. Occasionally, one side is curled up against the sofa, as if driven there by a steady, inexorable force. It always moves in the same direction.

I'm stunned, baffled, and kerfloozled.

Won't you help?

The images below are before and after vacuuming this morning. The line in Exhibit A represents the original placement. I welcome any suggestions that do not involve leprechauns or other tiny little bipeds.

NOTE! The person who responds with the correct answer will be awarded 15 blogpoints. So get crackin'!

Exhibit A
















Exhibit B

Driving around Seattle noting pub locations

Well, we're here! It's 5am, but that's 8am to Elaine, so we're up.

We spent a solid day looking at houses yesterday. For those who haven't been here, Seattle is kind of shaped like a knee joint, with Lake Union separating the two halves.



Downtown, where Jill is going to be working, is on the western side, facing the Sound, south of Lake Union. North of Lake Union, you have Ballard to the West, Ravenna and the University area to the east, and Green Lake in the middle. Ballard is a really cute neighborhood, with narrow streets and old homes that are typically on hills above the street. It feels very cramped and "neighborhoody", which appeals to me. The Green Lake area feels more happening, as it includes a huge park that goes around the lake, a zoo, and a lot of shopping and eateries. Ravenna feels like Ballard, but somehow has less personality or coziness. Maybe it's somewhat less hilly. There is easy access to the best features of Green Lake and University, however. The University area is pretty built up with businesses, apartments, and the usual college stuff, and there is a dedicated campus area that is on a peninsula adjacent to Lake Washington and Union Bay.

One of the interesting things about the residential areas in Seattle is that there are very few stop signs. Most of the neighborhoods that we looked in were grids with an easy address numbering scheme (8018 20th St would be very close to 20th and 80th). So most intersections are 4 ways, but with no stop or even yield signs. So you just kind of slow down and scope out the situation before you go through. Many of these intersections have a circular garden area in the middle of the intersection, creating a makeshift roundabout that functions as speed control in the neighborhood.

The Huskies have a puny little stadium. It's not a bowl, like the mighty Big House. It's not even a half bowl, like the Evil Empire's horseshoe. It's two slabs of bleachers facing each other, with rain protection over the top 50 rows or so. I looked upon it with scorn and disdain. They need to turn that "W" upside down and add some proper ends onto their stadium.

There really is a coffee shop every damn where you look. If it's not a coffee shop, it's a tattoo parlor.

Anyways, we may be making progress towards finding a home. Today should be most informative in that regard. If it works out, cool. If not, try try again. We're certainly not desperate, and that's a good place to be.