Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas 2008 in the passive voice
We experienced a casual morning of hanging around, prior to the arrival of Jill's dad from Iowa City. Early dinner preparations were undertaken, courtesy of Jill and Gwen. Soon, the present-opening ritual was initiated. In time, the present-opening had concluded. Children were made happy, as were grownups. I received one (1) fleece, one (1) ID/card/money holder that is intended for front-pocket use, one (1) copy of Galaxy Trucker (joint gift), one (1) copy of Zooloretto (joint gift), and one (1) set of graphic novels -- the complete Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. I was made happy. Dinner was served, and (I believed) was enjoyed by all. Reminiscences and a reading from some Johnsen family Civil War letters transpired in the small moments between chewing and sighs. A bottle of Conundrum and another bottle of Festive Ale were consumed. The dishwashing was accomplished by a crew of two sturdy men, helmed by yours truly. Sleep happened to us all, almost without warning.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Holiday = Holly Day
Happy Christmas, Hannukah, or non-specified Happy Family Day! I know which one I'm celebrating...
OK, to conclude:
It snowed, it rained, it snowed again.
The roads remained crappy, but games made me happy.
On to other things.
I've had an awesome week of gaming, although I've just been playing the same 3 games over and over. I picked up Ticket to Ride - Nordic Countries a few weeks ago, and it is a really quick and fun 2-3 player version. Yspahan is still getting heavy play. The biggest winner has to be Dominion, the new It game for the cognoscenti.
In Dominion, you essentially build a deck of cards as you play. You start with a mix of 10 Treasure cards and Victory cards, worth 1 each. On the table, there are Treasure and Victory cards of different denominations, as well as Action cards. These may be bought on your turn. You simply deal yourself five cards out of your deck, play an Action card (if you have one), and then purchase any available card that you can afford with the Treasure you have in your hand. Then, your entire hand (including all of the Treasure you just spent) and your newly purchased card go into your discard pile. When your deck is depleted, you shuffle your discard pile (now containing new cards), and deal from that deck. Thus, you don't lose the Treasure that you spend, and your deck gets larger and larger throughout the game.
You don't want to start buying Victory cards too early, since they are worthless until the end of the game. Since you get only five cards in any hand, you want mostly Treasure and Action cards in any given deal. Some cards let you draw more cards into your hand, give you additional Treasure to spend, or add to the number of action cards you can play, or otherwise allow you to alter the hand that you're dealt. It's incredibly addictive, and plays well with 2, 3 or 4.
Anyway, play it if you get a chance. It's the real deal. There's also a Zombie re-theme available on Boardgamegeek. I gotta go, as the whole Bradley family has appeared at the table here, and I'm being rude. Christmas rude. It's the worst kind.\
It's a very special Christmas photo with E, Stephen, and Christine
Be nice to each other. We miss you.
OK, to conclude:
It snowed, it rained, it snowed again.
The roads remained crappy, but games made me happy.
On to other things.
I've had an awesome week of gaming, although I've just been playing the same 3 games over and over. I picked up Ticket to Ride - Nordic Countries a few weeks ago, and it is a really quick and fun 2-3 player version. Yspahan is still getting heavy play. The biggest winner has to be Dominion, the new It game for the cognoscenti.
In Dominion, you essentially build a deck of cards as you play. You start with a mix of 10 Treasure cards and Victory cards, worth 1 each. On the table, there are Treasure and Victory cards of different denominations, as well as Action cards. These may be bought on your turn. You simply deal yourself five cards out of your deck, play an Action card (if you have one), and then purchase any available card that you can afford with the Treasure you have in your hand. Then, your entire hand (including all of the Treasure you just spent) and your newly purchased card go into your discard pile. When your deck is depleted, you shuffle your discard pile (now containing new cards), and deal from that deck. Thus, you don't lose the Treasure that you spend, and your deck gets larger and larger throughout the game.
You don't want to start buying Victory cards too early, since they are worthless until the end of the game. Since you get only five cards in any hand, you want mostly Treasure and Action cards in any given deal. Some cards let you draw more cards into your hand, give you additional Treasure to spend, or add to the number of action cards you can play, or otherwise allow you to alter the hand that you're dealt. It's incredibly addictive, and plays well with 2, 3 or 4.
Anyway, play it if you get a chance. It's the real deal. There's also a Zombie re-theme available on Boardgamegeek. I gotta go, as the whole Bradley family has appeared at the table here, and I'm being rude. Christmas rude. It's the worst kind.\
It's a very special Christmas photo with E, Stephen, and Christine
Be nice to each other. We miss you.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
OMG, Look Outside, You Guys, It's SNOWING!!!
Insert angry face here. More later.
Later...
It's 7:00 PM. Still snowing. I'm starting to be less angry, but only because it's probably healthy. More later.
Later...
9:51 PM. Still snowing. I'm coming to a sort of peace with the whole thing, since it's clear that it's not going anywhere for a long time. Jill's dad and his Debbie got stuck in Denver, and it's not clear if they're going to make it at all. They're planning to go back to Iowa City if they can't get a flight in a reasonable amount of time.
I'm not looking forward to the trip to and from work tomorrow. Blasted bloody buses. Why can't we have a nice, integrated rail system?
Later...
It's 7:00 PM. Still snowing. I'm starting to be less angry, but only because it's probably healthy. More later.
Later...
9:51 PM. Still snowing. I'm coming to a sort of peace with the whole thing, since it's clear that it's not going anywhere for a long time. Jill's dad and his Debbie got stuck in Denver, and it's not clear if they're going to make it at all. They're planning to go back to Iowa City if they can't get a flight in a reasonable amount of time.
I'm not looking forward to the trip to and from work tomorrow. Blasted bloody buses. Why can't we have a nice, integrated rail system?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Daddy's little soldier
Much like the first steps and the first cuss word, the first trip to the ER ranks among the milestones of parenting. Fortunately, our trip was relatively quick (in and out in 150 minutes), and we knew that she was OK.
For posterity...we were at a brunch that was hosted by my new boss, Larry. Elaine was playing contentedly with a toy on the floor, seemingly oblivious to all of the people milling about and the food that, quite honestly, was in easy nabbing distance for her little grappling hooks. I was standing nearby with a plate of food, and Jill was on the other side of the room, filling her plate. Abruptly, Elaine stood up and dashed forward, beginning to babble about something. I moved to put my plate down, keeping an eye on which way she went. She didn't get far. I guess she planned on just blowing past a group of three people standing to my right, but she ran into the back of someone's hand. I think that he was swinging it, as if to gesture, as she ran into it. He says that he was holding a plate.
He bent down and took Elaine by the shoulders, and then looked up at me and said, "I wounded her." I made him repeat himself, because I didn't see a plate or anything; I just saw her stop cold. He turned her around and then I saw the blood. She had a vertical gash in the middle of her forehead, about 1.5 cm long. By this time, her internal clock that gauges the appropriate interval between the instance of pain and the explosion of tears had expired, and we all heard her side of the story. By this time, Jill had arrived at the scene. We zipped her off to the bathroom, and Jill cleaned up the wound. Jill said that she saw subcutaneous fat, which meant that Elaine probably needed stitches. I knew that she was going to be fine, but we were worried about scarring.
Checking in
We disappeared pretty quickly for the UW Medical Center. Elaine had long since forgotten about the incident by the time we got registered in the ER waiting room. Once we finally saw a doctor, and confirmed that she did require a couple of stitches, both Jill and I started to get anxious. Suddenly! Two nurses came in and swaddled Elaine, pinning her arms. The doctor applied a topical anesthetic, waited a few minutes, and then injected a local anesthetic. Then he deftly sewed two stitches, applied some antiseptic, and slapped a bandage on. Through all of this, Elaine made a horrible, gutteral crying sound, her eyes bulging and darting between the unfamiliar faces that were hovering overhead. Tears ran out of her eyes, snot came out her nose, and she drooled so much, she was choking. When they finally released her, she practically peeled off of the bed, she was so soaked in sweat. Needless to say, it took a while to calm her down, and she pretty much just passed out for awhile. Jill and I? Yeah, basically traumatized.
When Elaine woke up, she was just fine. We went to Josh and Megan's place, and Elaine played with Madeleine and the other kids that were there. No problems. We changed her bandage this morning, and she just sat there in my lap, totally unconcerned. I wonder what, if anything, she remembers of the incident.
For posterity...we were at a brunch that was hosted by my new boss, Larry. Elaine was playing contentedly with a toy on the floor, seemingly oblivious to all of the people milling about and the food that, quite honestly, was in easy nabbing distance for her little grappling hooks. I was standing nearby with a plate of food, and Jill was on the other side of the room, filling her plate. Abruptly, Elaine stood up and dashed forward, beginning to babble about something. I moved to put my plate down, keeping an eye on which way she went. She didn't get far. I guess she planned on just blowing past a group of three people standing to my right, but she ran into the back of someone's hand. I think that he was swinging it, as if to gesture, as she ran into it. He says that he was holding a plate.
He bent down and took Elaine by the shoulders, and then looked up at me and said, "I wounded her." I made him repeat himself, because I didn't see a plate or anything; I just saw her stop cold. He turned her around and then I saw the blood. She had a vertical gash in the middle of her forehead, about 1.5 cm long. By this time, her internal clock that gauges the appropriate interval between the instance of pain and the explosion of tears had expired, and we all heard her side of the story. By this time, Jill had arrived at the scene. We zipped her off to the bathroom, and Jill cleaned up the wound. Jill said that she saw subcutaneous fat, which meant that Elaine probably needed stitches. I knew that she was going to be fine, but we were worried about scarring.
Checking in
We disappeared pretty quickly for the UW Medical Center. Elaine had long since forgotten about the incident by the time we got registered in the ER waiting room. Once we finally saw a doctor, and confirmed that she did require a couple of stitches, both Jill and I started to get anxious. Suddenly! Two nurses came in and swaddled Elaine, pinning her arms. The doctor applied a topical anesthetic, waited a few minutes, and then injected a local anesthetic. Then he deftly sewed two stitches, applied some antiseptic, and slapped a bandage on. Through all of this, Elaine made a horrible, gutteral crying sound, her eyes bulging and darting between the unfamiliar faces that were hovering overhead. Tears ran out of her eyes, snot came out her nose, and she drooled so much, she was choking. When they finally released her, she practically peeled off of the bed, she was so soaked in sweat. Needless to say, it took a while to calm her down, and she pretty much just passed out for awhile. Jill and I? Yeah, basically traumatized.
When Elaine woke up, she was just fine. We went to Josh and Megan's place, and Elaine played with Madeleine and the other kids that were there. No problems. We changed her bandage this morning, and she just sat there in my lap, totally unconcerned. I wonder what, if anything, she remembers of the incident.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Random -vs- Chaos
An observation
When playing boardgames, I often run up against the rough side of luck. Perhaps the person to my left is taking all my s#!t, perhaps the dice are unfriendly, perhaps I only pick the bad cards...in any case, I am clearly the victim of circumstance. Obviously, the opposite is true when I do well at a boardgame. In this instance, bad luck has failed to impede my brilliant plans. I gain respect, and rise in the minds of my competitors. I smell different, and the ladies want my number. Too bad, ladies.
An emotional reaction
Hey, unexploded cluster bomblets of the world's wars, lying dormant but deadly in the countryside of Europe and Asia...you suck. Hey USA and Russia, nice going on NOT SIGNING THE STUPID TREATY TO STOP MAKING GOSHDARNED CLUSTER BOMBS.
I'm shaking my head in disbelief...
...at this editorial in the NYT. I mean, seriously, we haven't shared the most basic medical knowledge with these people? "This is sa-aa-alt with magical no-swollen-neck, no-retarded powder. Boogah woogah!"
(Zed)
Cluster bombs can GO SUCK AN EGG.
When playing boardgames, I often run up against the rough side of luck. Perhaps the person to my left is taking all my s#!t, perhaps the dice are unfriendly, perhaps I only pick the bad cards...in any case, I am clearly the victim of circumstance. Obviously, the opposite is true when I do well at a boardgame. In this instance, bad luck has failed to impede my brilliant plans. I gain respect, and rise in the minds of my competitors. I smell different, and the ladies want my number. Too bad, ladies.
An emotional reaction
Hey, unexploded cluster bomblets of the world's wars, lying dormant but deadly in the countryside of Europe and Asia...you suck. Hey USA and Russia, nice going on NOT SIGNING THE STUPID TREATY TO STOP MAKING GOSHDARNED CLUSTER BOMBS.
I'm shaking my head in disbelief...
...at this editorial in the NYT. I mean, seriously, we haven't shared the most basic medical knowledge with these people? "This is sa-aa-alt with magical no-swollen-neck, no-retarded powder. Boogah woogah!"
(Zed)
Cluster bombs can GO SUCK AN EGG.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Torn from yesterday's headlines...
"German Freezer Baby Mother Guilty"
First of all, I think that they could have afforded a few prepositions and perhaps a verb to make that actually work as a coherent phrase. Second, that's just not an image that I want in my mind at 7AM. I mean, it's an isolated incident, they caught her, case closed. Had there been a rash of baby freezer mother incidents, perhaps that would qualify as breaking through the filter to join the ranks of news items dealing with global recession, major political restructuring, genocide, anything to do with Michael Jackson, and skateboarding guinea pigs.
I'm sure that I'm leaving a few things out.
First of all, I think that they could have afforded a few prepositions and perhaps a verb to make that actually work as a coherent phrase. Second, that's just not an image that I want in my mind at 7AM. I mean, it's an isolated incident, they caught her, case closed. Had there been a rash of baby freezer mother incidents, perhaps that would qualify as breaking through the filter to join the ranks of news items dealing with global recession, major political restructuring, genocide, anything to do with Michael Jackson, and skateboarding guinea pigs.
I'm sure that I'm leaving a few things out.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
About my day
Started off benignly enough. Well, Elaine got up at 3:40, but Jill mostly took care of that incident. I got my coffee and internetting done before she got up for good. I was showered and dressed in plenty of time, and I did NOT have to run for the bus stop. The bacteria that I'd been struggling with at work grew nicely, and I had a semi-productive day of recording results, making plans, and carving out bench space. My sandwich was excellent, and I had an afternoon latte and a nice, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie.
Later, I texted Jill to find out when we would be going to the oncologist for her follow up after Monday's scan. She said that the early word was that she might have a clot in her leg, so she was sent to a hospital to have an MRI performed. I had a bit of a debacle with the busing/shuttle system here, and ended up standing outside on a rather yucky day for the better part of an hour. After making it to the appointment, we received some great news: Jill's scan was really good. No visible cancer, just like last time. This means that we can move on to the next step, which is exploratory surgery and peritoneal therapy.
While at the oncologist's office, we found out that Jill did indeed have a clot in her leg. She received a prescription for 6 months of a really expensive medicine (our health plan is awesome for inpatient stuff, but very crappy for co-pay). By the time we got all of this taken care of, it was getting pretty late. We picked up some Ethiopian food and headed home. Upon entering the house, my nostrils were assaulted with a very strong gas odor. I turned off the furnace and called the gas company. After a few hours, they determined that the cause was in our service line, somewhere under the front lawn.
I'm currently waiting for the diggers to come and install a new line. It is 11:15PM. It is likely to be a long night.
Bleh.
UPDATE: They finished up around 1AM. Turns out the leak was near the meter, so there was no need to dig a trench. The furnace is now cranking away, and all is well. I'm raising a glass to those fine men and women of the gas company for coming out on a chilly night and getting the job done. Now I can enjoy my holiday beer with peace of mind before I slip into a prewarmed bed.
Later, I texted Jill to find out when we would be going to the oncologist for her follow up after Monday's scan. She said that the early word was that she might have a clot in her leg, so she was sent to a hospital to have an MRI performed. I had a bit of a debacle with the busing/shuttle system here, and ended up standing outside on a rather yucky day for the better part of an hour. After making it to the appointment, we received some great news: Jill's scan was really good. No visible cancer, just like last time. This means that we can move on to the next step, which is exploratory surgery and peritoneal therapy.
While at the oncologist's office, we found out that Jill did indeed have a clot in her leg. She received a prescription for 6 months of a really expensive medicine (our health plan is awesome for inpatient stuff, but very crappy for co-pay). By the time we got all of this taken care of, it was getting pretty late. We picked up some Ethiopian food and headed home. Upon entering the house, my nostrils were assaulted with a very strong gas odor. I turned off the furnace and called the gas company. After a few hours, they determined that the cause was in our service line, somewhere under the front lawn.
I'm currently waiting for the diggers to come and install a new line. It is 11:15PM. It is likely to be a long night.
Bleh.
UPDATE: They finished up around 1AM. Turns out the leak was near the meter, so there was no need to dig a trench. The furnace is now cranking away, and all is well. I'm raising a glass to those fine men and women of the gas company for coming out on a chilly night and getting the job done. Now I can enjoy my holiday beer with peace of mind before I slip into a prewarmed bed.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thinking about Thanking
We Yanks have a little thing we like to call Thanksgiving coming up. It's where we look back on our year and reflect on the things that we are glad of. It's especially poignant at this time of year, as the last bales of whatever are brought into the barns and such. It's a real capper on the year's hard work.
I was going to make a list of the things for which I am glad, but I changed my mind. This will be a list of things that spontaneously pop into my head that annoy me. You may then interpret the opposite to be things which make me happy. Let's get started...
-I hate it when able-bodied people press the wheelchair button outside of a building instead of just opening the freaking door.
-Cats
Well, that's all I have for now. Gobble gobble!
I was going to make a list of the things for which I am glad, but I changed my mind. This will be a list of things that spontaneously pop into my head that annoy me. You may then interpret the opposite to be things which make me happy. Let's get started...
-I hate it when able-bodied people press the wheelchair button outside of a building instead of just opening the freaking door.
-Cats
Well, that's all I have for now. Gobble gobble!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
In the can
Just put the vapor lock on a fresh batch of Munich-style Helles. Here's the plan: allow fermentation to get underway (hopefully within 24 hours), then move the carboy to the garage. Hopefully, the temperature outside will hold its 45-55 degrees F pattern that we've seen for weeks. I'll rack it to secondary after 9-10 days, and mature it for another 10 days before bottling. Sometime between the third week of December and the second week of January, we will have a weekend game day. We'll try to get as many people as possible, and the goal will be to kill the whole batch. It will be Decemberfest (or Januaryfest). It will be awesome. I will be mostly naked by the end of the day, in all likelihood, so folks should plan for that.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Who's afraid of the little old lady who lived in a shoe?
Elaine, probably. She's shown remarkably few hangups in the past. The bath is the only exception, where she screams terribly when her head is being washed or rinsed. I did the same thing as a baby. The terrible thing is that I remember thinking that my mom was going to drown me in the tub...not on purpose, of course, but completely accidentally. It's one of those times when you feel like matters are totally out of your hands, I guess, which is really scary. I hope Elaine doesn't think that about me, though.
The shoes thing started up recently. We had bought her these Robeez knockoffs at Target a few months ago, and she's worn them all summer. Then we got a bunch of clothes from a local friend, and there were some shoes in there. She was obsessed with this pair of white sandals that were too small for her. She still insists on being put into them occasionally. Then there were the Pooh shoes and a pair of blue sneakers with laces. These have both been favorites. The problem is that the blue shoes are the only ones left that really fit her.
Our troubles began with the galoshes. You may have heard that it rains here, and we thought that a pair of galoshes would be a prudent addition to Elaine's wardrobe. Jill found a pair at Nordstrom's, and we presented them to Elaine, confident that she would be instantly transformed into a hooting bundle of galoshes-possessing toddler joy. Instead--Tragedy! Horror! Betrayal! She wouldn't even touch them, and backed away from them like they were a nest of snakes. I basically forced them onto her feet, and she took two steps and just stood screaming at her feet until I pulled them off. After calming her down (no easy task) she decided to join me on the couch. Upon pulling herself up and rolling over, she found herself inches from the dreaded boots and did the same nest-of-snakes hasty retreat, accompanied by another screaming fit.
Jill took them back and exchanged them for another color. We left them in the middle of the basement room without any fanfare or acknowledgement, hoping to just acclimate her to their presence. She will tolerate their presence, but if you pick one up and show it to her, you still get a strong reaction. We found that this newly acquired phobia extends beyond galoshes, however. Today, I pulled out a new set of Fauxbeez (what we call the Target brand Robeez). We had previously purchased the next larger size in different colors, and I figured that those that she'd been wearing were getting a bit tight on her. She freaked. Now, I had put these shoes on her feet before, when they were much too big for her. There was no reaction then, so this is something new. I made her wear them today, and she quickly forgot about them.
Part of our trip out was to go to Target, and Jill wanted to get some larger sneakers for her. Going down the aisle that was full of new shoes was pretty traumatic for her. There was shrieking and hyperventilating. I could picture images of Dora the Explorer pink and white sneakers swirling threateningly around her head as Hannah Montana strappy sandals (with the pink glitter) bared their teeth at her and growled. I left her in the cart and walked about 20 feet away. I reached over and picked up an perfectly nice white slipper and showed it to her. Same reaction. I told Jill to just pick something out without us, and pushed the cart to the next section. It was like turning off a faucet. She was totally fine.
Humans are weird.
The shoes thing started up recently. We had bought her these Robeez knockoffs at Target a few months ago, and she's worn them all summer. Then we got a bunch of clothes from a local friend, and there were some shoes in there. She was obsessed with this pair of white sandals that were too small for her. She still insists on being put into them occasionally. Then there were the Pooh shoes and a pair of blue sneakers with laces. These have both been favorites. The problem is that the blue shoes are the only ones left that really fit her.
Our troubles began with the galoshes. You may have heard that it rains here, and we thought that a pair of galoshes would be a prudent addition to Elaine's wardrobe. Jill found a pair at Nordstrom's, and we presented them to Elaine, confident that she would be instantly transformed into a hooting bundle of galoshes-possessing toddler joy. Instead--Tragedy! Horror! Betrayal! She wouldn't even touch them, and backed away from them like they were a nest of snakes. I basically forced them onto her feet, and she took two steps and just stood screaming at her feet until I pulled them off. After calming her down (no easy task) she decided to join me on the couch. Upon pulling herself up and rolling over, she found herself inches from the dreaded boots and did the same nest-of-snakes hasty retreat, accompanied by another screaming fit.
Jill took them back and exchanged them for another color. We left them in the middle of the basement room without any fanfare or acknowledgement, hoping to just acclimate her to their presence. She will tolerate their presence, but if you pick one up and show it to her, you still get a strong reaction. We found that this newly acquired phobia extends beyond galoshes, however. Today, I pulled out a new set of Fauxbeez (what we call the Target brand Robeez). We had previously purchased the next larger size in different colors, and I figured that those that she'd been wearing were getting a bit tight on her. She freaked. Now, I had put these shoes on her feet before, when they were much too big for her. There was no reaction then, so this is something new. I made her wear them today, and she quickly forgot about them.
Part of our trip out was to go to Target, and Jill wanted to get some larger sneakers for her. Going down the aisle that was full of new shoes was pretty traumatic for her. There was shrieking and hyperventilating. I could picture images of Dora the Explorer pink and white sneakers swirling threateningly around her head as Hannah Montana strappy sandals (with the pink glitter) bared their teeth at her and growled. I left her in the cart and walked about 20 feet away. I reached over and picked up an perfectly nice white slipper and showed it to her. Same reaction. I told Jill to just pick something out without us, and pushed the cart to the next section. It was like turning off a faucet. She was totally fine.
Humans are weird.
Friday, November 21, 2008
transport motorways and tramlines
As I proclaimed in the last post, it's been nice to get back into a workday schedule. I jump the bus at 8:30-ish and again around 5:00. Eventually, I'll get a bike for non-rainy days, which should cut down on my transit time. I'm also considering running to or from work. It's flat and then downhill going to work, so I won't get too tired, and there is also a mini locker room/shower attached to the bathroom closest to my lab, if I find that I get too sweaty. On the other hand, I can run home and get more of a workout. Two of the guys that I work with occasionally run home, and their route goes near my house. Also, Megan works nearby, and she's offered to run home with me. This makes sense, since her daughter will usually be at my house if she's at work that late.
I find that I'm not much of a bus person. I appreciate that so many people use the public transportation here, and it's usually pretty convenient. It's just that I use the bus at the busiest times of day, and I go right through the university district. This means surly drivers, lots of cell phone gabble, and jockeying for the few available seats. I pass the trip reading the news on my phone (or reading journal articles) and listening to music. Most of the time, there's no interaction with anyone, which feels somehow simultaneously right and wrong. I want my personal space, so I respect others' personal space, but it feels kind of pathetic and lonely at the same time. It's the Western world way, I suppose. I do try to exchange a minimum of pleasantries if someone sits next to me, or if my seatmate is getting up to leave. I figure that it's better than shifting my eyes away and leaning to one side as if a ghost just passed on one side.
Leaving work the other day, I hurried to the bus stop, not wearing my headphones. A man at the bus stop struck up a conversation about the crossing light, and I gamely participated. I thought that he worked in my building. Then he said, "Well, since we're being social...are you worried about global warming?" Sensing a trap, I said "I'm not exactly worried about it, no." Of course, once he had started, there was no dignified way for him to abandon ship, so he handed me a business card-sized piece of paper with a website address on it, and harangued me about his idea of an alternative energy solution for the next five minutes. He got more animated and louder as he went on, and I struggled to tie off the conversation by summarizing what he had said and promising to look into it. I got the distinct feeling that he was using me to broadcast to the bystanders at the bus stop. I tried to use body language cues to signal my desire to bring it to a close (avoiding eye contact, laughing inappropriately, doing jumping jacks, etc), but he was having none of it.
Once the bus arrived, I got on and searched in vain for a place where we couldn't carry on the conversation any further, but anyplace that there was only one available seat (on the aisle) was matched by an available seat on the opposite side (on the aisle). I plopped down into one, pulled out my phone, and began pushing buttons and staring furiously at the screen. Somewhere, out there, a bomb was about to go off, and I needed to hack into the mainframe at the evil hideout and disable the device. From my phone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pull out a 3-ring binder and begin flipping through it. Convinced that he was about to show me further evidence of his obsession, I slipped on my headphones and began nodding my head to the silence. Eventually, he either found a different seat or got off. I felt kind of bad about the very obvious (and passive-aggressive) brush-off, but I do hate being solicited in the street (not for money or a sale in this instance, but for positive reinforcement and word-of-mouth support). I feel like both parties are demeaned by the process. In summary, I conclude that headphones are a pretty good idea, even if you have no music playing. Remember, kids: you can stupidly smile and nod your way out of undesirable social situations if you wear your headphones. This includes cologne-drenched 19 year-olds at cell phone kiosks, random people with clipboards, bums with coffee cans, and guys with ideas-so-crazy-they-just-might-work.
Have a great weekend!
I find that I'm not much of a bus person. I appreciate that so many people use the public transportation here, and it's usually pretty convenient. It's just that I use the bus at the busiest times of day, and I go right through the university district. This means surly drivers, lots of cell phone gabble, and jockeying for the few available seats. I pass the trip reading the news on my phone (or reading journal articles) and listening to music. Most of the time, there's no interaction with anyone, which feels somehow simultaneously right and wrong. I want my personal space, so I respect others' personal space, but it feels kind of pathetic and lonely at the same time. It's the Western world way, I suppose. I do try to exchange a minimum of pleasantries if someone sits next to me, or if my seatmate is getting up to leave. I figure that it's better than shifting my eyes away and leaning to one side as if a ghost just passed on one side.
Leaving work the other day, I hurried to the bus stop, not wearing my headphones. A man at the bus stop struck up a conversation about the crossing light, and I gamely participated. I thought that he worked in my building. Then he said, "Well, since we're being social...are you worried about global warming?" Sensing a trap, I said "I'm not exactly worried about it, no." Of course, once he had started, there was no dignified way for him to abandon ship, so he handed me a business card-sized piece of paper with a website address on it, and harangued me about his idea of an alternative energy solution for the next five minutes. He got more animated and louder as he went on, and I struggled to tie off the conversation by summarizing what he had said and promising to look into it. I got the distinct feeling that he was using me to broadcast to the bystanders at the bus stop. I tried to use body language cues to signal my desire to bring it to a close (avoiding eye contact, laughing inappropriately, doing jumping jacks, etc), but he was having none of it.
Once the bus arrived, I got on and searched in vain for a place where we couldn't carry on the conversation any further, but anyplace that there was only one available seat (on the aisle) was matched by an available seat on the opposite side (on the aisle). I plopped down into one, pulled out my phone, and began pushing buttons and staring furiously at the screen. Somewhere, out there, a bomb was about to go off, and I needed to hack into the mainframe at the evil hideout and disable the device. From my phone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pull out a 3-ring binder and begin flipping through it. Convinced that he was about to show me further evidence of his obsession, I slipped on my headphones and began nodding my head to the silence. Eventually, he either found a different seat or got off. I felt kind of bad about the very obvious (and passive-aggressive) brush-off, but I do hate being solicited in the street (not for money or a sale in this instance, but for positive reinforcement and word-of-mouth support). I feel like both parties are demeaned by the process. In summary, I conclude that headphones are a pretty good idea, even if you have no music playing. Remember, kids: you can stupidly smile and nod your way out of undesirable social situations if you wear your headphones. This includes cologne-drenched 19 year-olds at cell phone kiosks, random people with clipboards, bums with coffee cans, and guys with ideas-so-crazy-they-just-might-work.
Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Life of Late
Wow, I haven't posted for a whole week! That's gotta be some kind of record.
It's dark at 5:30PM, now. That feels weird. It's been rather balmy lately, but I believe that's going to change soon. The legendary November rains should be kicking in any time now.
It's been interesting starting a new project in the lab. I'm enjoying it, so far. My lab mates are an interesting bunch, and the lab dynamic is very different than in my last lab. Everyone here is in his own orbit around the basic theme of the lab, with very little overlap or crossed paths. As a result, the environment is collegial, but not as collaborative. I'm not saying that cross-pollination of projects cannot occur, but the healthy space between projects is definitely by design, and fosters a DIY attitude. I'm pretty happy about my early experiences, since I had some apprehension about going back into the lab. We all went out for beers last Friday, and it turns out that you can order German beer by the liter quite close to where I work. Interesting...
In other news, some stuff happened, I drank some beer (nothing new), played some games (new titles: Terakh and Wealth of Nations), got out for a few runs, and read a whole bunch of science. I got sciences coming out the ying yang, y'all!
It's dark at 5:30PM, now. That feels weird. It's been rather balmy lately, but I believe that's going to change soon. The legendary November rains should be kicking in any time now.
It's been interesting starting a new project in the lab. I'm enjoying it, so far. My lab mates are an interesting bunch, and the lab dynamic is very different than in my last lab. Everyone here is in his own orbit around the basic theme of the lab, with very little overlap or crossed paths. As a result, the environment is collegial, but not as collaborative. I'm not saying that cross-pollination of projects cannot occur, but the healthy space between projects is definitely by design, and fosters a DIY attitude. I'm pretty happy about my early experiences, since I had some apprehension about going back into the lab. We all went out for beers last Friday, and it turns out that you can order German beer by the liter quite close to where I work. Interesting...
In other news, some stuff happened, I drank some beer (nothing new), played some games (new titles: Terakh and Wealth of Nations), got out for a few runs, and read a whole bunch of science. I got sciences coming out the ying yang, y'all!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Bottle reflections
I was listening to A Prairie Home Companion this morning whilst giving Elaine a bottle, and some woman sang Let it Be by The Beatles. I'd heard this song a few thousand times in my life, as a conservative estimate, and had puzzled over the lyrics. Given the popularity of the song, I assumed the lyrics must be rather profound to many people. I think that what had kerfuzzled my understanding was my perception of The Beatles as hippie spiritualists who, while not anti-Christian, were certainly pro-Eastern in their mystology. Yes, I just made up a word there, or at least spell-check thinks I have.
Let It Be mentions Mother Mary, a somewhat divisive figure. To some Christians, she represents the perfect response to God;"...let it be done according to your will.". Catholics, especially, overtly revere Mary for her obedient spirit. The overall concept of stepping out of the way to let God do his work without the interference of your needs and desires is a fairly universal concept in mainstream Christianity today. However, Mary also represents a battleground of sorts among Catholics, Protestants, and non-Christians. Part of the Protestant argument against Catholicism is the claim that Catholics worship Mary, which would be idolatry. This causes some Catholics to get a bit of a persecution complex about the Mary thing, and they claim her as a badge of honor and do whatever possible to flaunt her image. Non-Christians, particularly atheists, sometimes refer mockingly to Mary as a metaphor for blind devotion. I assumed that Lennon/McCartney meant the reference in the third sense, since that (the non-Christian perspective) is how I am used to encountering Mary in pop music.
The thing that struck me when listening to the song today, particularly after having been heavily involved in Catholicism during my last six years, was that they actually managed to get it right. The lyrics describe perfectly and respectfully what the believer gets out of a spiritual relationship with Mary. First, the concept that she's a mother, and so one can turn to her. Second, that she will be there, or come to you, in times of trouble. Third, that her lesson is always the same. Accept what is thrown your way. Live through it as best you can, and take what good you can from it. Finally, there's an affirmation that you will be rewarded for your faith with understanding, but you have to be patient. I found that the song presented these concepts without a sense of irony or judgement, but instead imbued them with beauty and grace.
I'm no longer a believing person, but I haven't lost respect for those I know who devote their hearts and minds to their faith. I know that it's not blind devotion, but rather devotion with intense self-scrutiny, discipline, and an intent to become a better person every day. So, I guess that I was struck by the song, particularly since it was written and recorded in one of the most tumultuous and divisive years in American history, 1969.
The other thing that I noticed while listening was that Let it Be was the musical ancestor to all of those really crappy touchy-feely, change the world anthems from the 80's. As if she was reading my mind, the singer launched into a few bars of We Are The World right in the middle of the song. I am not kidding. She actually thought that would be a good idea. Ah, well. Let it be, I guess.
Let It Be mentions Mother Mary, a somewhat divisive figure. To some Christians, she represents the perfect response to God;"...let it be done according to your will.". Catholics, especially, overtly revere Mary for her obedient spirit. The overall concept of stepping out of the way to let God do his work without the interference of your needs and desires is a fairly universal concept in mainstream Christianity today. However, Mary also represents a battleground of sorts among Catholics, Protestants, and non-Christians. Part of the Protestant argument against Catholicism is the claim that Catholics worship Mary, which would be idolatry. This causes some Catholics to get a bit of a persecution complex about the Mary thing, and they claim her as a badge of honor and do whatever possible to flaunt her image. Non-Christians, particularly atheists, sometimes refer mockingly to Mary as a metaphor for blind devotion. I assumed that Lennon/McCartney meant the reference in the third sense, since that (the non-Christian perspective) is how I am used to encountering Mary in pop music.
The thing that struck me when listening to the song today, particularly after having been heavily involved in Catholicism during my last six years, was that they actually managed to get it right. The lyrics describe perfectly and respectfully what the believer gets out of a spiritual relationship with Mary. First, the concept that she's a mother, and so one can turn to her. Second, that she will be there, or come to you, in times of trouble. Third, that her lesson is always the same. Accept what is thrown your way. Live through it as best you can, and take what good you can from it. Finally, there's an affirmation that you will be rewarded for your faith with understanding, but you have to be patient. I found that the song presented these concepts without a sense of irony or judgement, but instead imbued them with beauty and grace.
I'm no longer a believing person, but I haven't lost respect for those I know who devote their hearts and minds to their faith. I know that it's not blind devotion, but rather devotion with intense self-scrutiny, discipline, and an intent to become a better person every day. So, I guess that I was struck by the song, particularly since it was written and recorded in one of the most tumultuous and divisive years in American history, 1969.
The other thing that I noticed while listening was that Let it Be was the musical ancestor to all of those really crappy touchy-feely, change the world anthems from the 80's. As if she was reading my mind, the singer launched into a few bars of We Are The World right in the middle of the song. I am not kidding. She actually thought that would be a good idea. Ah, well. Let it be, I guess.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
End of an era
I usually don't do sports here, since no one who reads this cares, but I'm going there this time. This week, the Detroit Pistons traded their starting point guard, Chauncey Billups, to Denver for Allen Iverson. The combo of Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace won Detroit its most recent championship in 2004. Billups and Hamilton have led the Pistons to 6 straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances, and two NBA finals appearances. Suffice to say, it's been a successful run.
Billups, Hamilton, and Big Ben had bounced around the league for awhile before being picked up as spare parts by the Pistons. Prince was a first round draft pick in 2003, and Rasheed came aboard in 2004 after gaining a reputation as a head case with a short fuse. Rick Carlisle did an admirable job of coaching these motivated castoffs and youngsters to be the class of the Eastern Conference, and then Larry Brown swooped in and molded them into the perfect team. There were no superstars on that team, just unselfish, hungry talent. They destroyed the Shaq and Kobe-led LA Lakers in that year's championship series. Literally. The team was effectively blown up in that offseason.
I watched almost every game of that season, sitting on my couch, drinking cheap beer. I had come to Michigan as a Charlotte Hornets fan, but the Hornets moved to New Orleans a year after I left Charlotte. Almost every Pistons game was televised, so I started watching. It was hard not to get to like the individual players, as they so obviously loved to play together. I really started to pay attention in 2003, the year they drafted Prince. It was often frustrating to watch them, because they would often have huge scoring droughts during the games. I often thought, "Man, they really need someone who can slash to the basket--a true scorer. A superstar-type." I waited around for the big trade that would put them over the top.
However, during the championship run, the Pistons embodied the Larry Brown mantra, "Play the right way". Meaning, share the ball, make the extra pass, take high percentage shots, and above all, play as hard on defense as you do on offense. The same media that gave Detroit no chance at all throughout the playoffs quickly changed their tune once the writing was on the wall in the Finals. The team was celebrated as heralding a new paradigm for an NBA team. It was a real feel-good ending for a bunch of castoffs who committed to each other and to a strong work ethic.
Needless to say, the NBA hated the concept. Superstars sell all the merchandise, and the league. When the Pistons lost in the Finals in 2005 (to the Spurs, another "ensemble" team), the critics began talking about how perhaps the 2004 Lakers team was due for a big fall anyway. When they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 to Shaq's Miami Heat, the first rumblings of how the "pure team" model was failing to hold up against "superstar with supporting cast" model. Last year, the Pistons again fell in the Eastern Conference Finals, this time to LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers. The president of the team, Joe Dumars, swore to make a huge trade this past summer, which never emerged.
So now, we're here. After winning their first three games of the season, the trade was announced. The team captain, Billups, would be sent to his hometown Denver for an aging superstar. The duo of Billups and Hamilton, one of the top scoring guard combos in the history of the NBA, was to be broken up. Hamilton did not speak to the media for three days after the trade. Other team members had only the most cursory comments. While I'm sure that Iverson will fit in with the crew in Detroit, and I'm sure that the team will contend for the Eastern Conference crown again, it won't be the same, and it's going to take some time for everyone to get used to it.
In 2006, Nazr Muhammad was traded to Charlotte. He was picked up the previous summer in free agency to replace Ben Wallace. He started for about a month, then came off the bench for a few months, and then disappeared from the rotation. The media was not kind to him. They cast him as an outsider, and said that he really didn't fit in with the rest of the Pistons. Upon arriving in Charlotte, at his first news conference, he said that Detroit was the only place he'd ever played where he genuinely liked every player, all the way down the roster. That's the way I've felt about this team from afar. They all seem like good guys, and the chemistry is palpable.
There are some sports writers who are now saying that this trade is tantamount to an admission that the team concept is a failed strategy. I remind you: an NBA record-tying six straight Conference Finals appearances, two straight Finals appearances, and one NBA title. The most consistently strong team in the East for the past seven years. 100% sold out seats and a reenergized, rabid fan base. The most recognizable starting five in the NBA. The perennial understanding that any road to the Finals would go through Detroit. "DEEE-TROIT BASKETBALL!!!" reverberating through the Palace of Auburn Hills. There is no failure in any of that.
I'm excited to see the new-look Pistons when I can actually get a game on TV out this way. I'm looking forward to the new sets on offense, and the faster style of play that Iverson will bring. He wants to win so much, you can see it on his face every night. That kind of hunger will serve the team well. But I just want to raise a glass one more time to the Chauncey Billups era in Detroit. Cool, collected Chauncey: directing traffic like a general, rock solid from the stripe, protecting the ball, backing down pretty much every other guard in the league, dropping bombs from downtown. The guy you want with the ball in his hands at the end of the game. You will be missed.
Billups, Hamilton, and Big Ben had bounced around the league for awhile before being picked up as spare parts by the Pistons. Prince was a first round draft pick in 2003, and Rasheed came aboard in 2004 after gaining a reputation as a head case with a short fuse. Rick Carlisle did an admirable job of coaching these motivated castoffs and youngsters to be the class of the Eastern Conference, and then Larry Brown swooped in and molded them into the perfect team. There were no superstars on that team, just unselfish, hungry talent. They destroyed the Shaq and Kobe-led LA Lakers in that year's championship series. Literally. The team was effectively blown up in that offseason.
I watched almost every game of that season, sitting on my couch, drinking cheap beer. I had come to Michigan as a Charlotte Hornets fan, but the Hornets moved to New Orleans a year after I left Charlotte. Almost every Pistons game was televised, so I started watching. It was hard not to get to like the individual players, as they so obviously loved to play together. I really started to pay attention in 2003, the year they drafted Prince. It was often frustrating to watch them, because they would often have huge scoring droughts during the games. I often thought, "Man, they really need someone who can slash to the basket--a true scorer. A superstar-type." I waited around for the big trade that would put them over the top.
However, during the championship run, the Pistons embodied the Larry Brown mantra, "Play the right way". Meaning, share the ball, make the extra pass, take high percentage shots, and above all, play as hard on defense as you do on offense. The same media that gave Detroit no chance at all throughout the playoffs quickly changed their tune once the writing was on the wall in the Finals. The team was celebrated as heralding a new paradigm for an NBA team. It was a real feel-good ending for a bunch of castoffs who committed to each other and to a strong work ethic.
Needless to say, the NBA hated the concept. Superstars sell all the merchandise, and the league. When the Pistons lost in the Finals in 2005 (to the Spurs, another "ensemble" team), the critics began talking about how perhaps the 2004 Lakers team was due for a big fall anyway. When they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 to Shaq's Miami Heat, the first rumblings of how the "pure team" model was failing to hold up against "superstar with supporting cast" model. Last year, the Pistons again fell in the Eastern Conference Finals, this time to LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers. The president of the team, Joe Dumars, swore to make a huge trade this past summer, which never emerged.
So now, we're here. After winning their first three games of the season, the trade was announced. The team captain, Billups, would be sent to his hometown Denver for an aging superstar. The duo of Billups and Hamilton, one of the top scoring guard combos in the history of the NBA, was to be broken up. Hamilton did not speak to the media for three days after the trade. Other team members had only the most cursory comments. While I'm sure that Iverson will fit in with the crew in Detroit, and I'm sure that the team will contend for the Eastern Conference crown again, it won't be the same, and it's going to take some time for everyone to get used to it.
In 2006, Nazr Muhammad was traded to Charlotte. He was picked up the previous summer in free agency to replace Ben Wallace. He started for about a month, then came off the bench for a few months, and then disappeared from the rotation. The media was not kind to him. They cast him as an outsider, and said that he really didn't fit in with the rest of the Pistons. Upon arriving in Charlotte, at his first news conference, he said that Detroit was the only place he'd ever played where he genuinely liked every player, all the way down the roster. That's the way I've felt about this team from afar. They all seem like good guys, and the chemistry is palpable.
There are some sports writers who are now saying that this trade is tantamount to an admission that the team concept is a failed strategy. I remind you: an NBA record-tying six straight Conference Finals appearances, two straight Finals appearances, and one NBA title. The most consistently strong team in the East for the past seven years. 100% sold out seats and a reenergized, rabid fan base. The most recognizable starting five in the NBA. The perennial understanding that any road to the Finals would go through Detroit. "DEEE-TROIT BASKETBALL!!!" reverberating through the Palace of Auburn Hills. There is no failure in any of that.
I'm excited to see the new-look Pistons when I can actually get a game on TV out this way. I'm looking forward to the new sets on offense, and the faster style of play that Iverson will bring. He wants to win so much, you can see it on his face every night. That kind of hunger will serve the team well. But I just want to raise a glass one more time to the Chauncey Billups era in Detroit. Cool, collected Chauncey: directing traffic like a general, rock solid from the stripe, protecting the ball, backing down pretty much every other guard in the league, dropping bombs from downtown. The guy you want with the ball in his hands at the end of the game. You will be missed.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hope
Congratulations, America. We just elected a Democratic Congress and President. I applaud us on our fine decision. I think that our new chief executive has the goods to perform adequately for the next term, and may have what it takes to be truly extraordinary. I think that he actually gets it--"it" being what we need as a nation. What do we need? Not hope--lottery sales and Vegas earnings indicate that we have plenty of that. Change? That happens every time the sun rises. No, I think that we need intelligence, progressive values, and extreme political courage in our leaders to pull the rusty heap of this nation into this century. That said, Obama needs to recognize that he must be the leader of his party. He must corral them and get them to work in a disciplined manner, because there is no way in hell he's going to enjoy this kind of majority after the 2010 elections. It always bounces back, and the GOP is going to start campaigning for those seats first thing tomorrow.
All that said, I'm HAPPY right now. There is a distinct possibility that science will be funded for the next few years. A McCain spending freeze would have essentially destroyed academic science research. Also, I'm HAPPY that we've elected our first black president in my lifetime. I'm just going to shut up and enjoy this for awhile.
Congratulations to president-elect Obama!
All that said, I'm HAPPY right now. There is a distinct possibility that science will be funded for the next few years. A McCain spending freeze would have essentially destroyed academic science research. Also, I'm HAPPY that we've elected our first black president in my lifetime. I'm just going to shut up and enjoy this for awhile.
Congratulations to president-elect Obama!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Back at the lab
It's like I never left! I went in, spent the day surfing the internet (I had a scientific website open on an emergency tab), slept a bit, and went home. I feel as if I am one with the lab, and with science in general.
Actually, it was more like this: do paperwork, get lost looking for the Pathology office, fax something, read, read, read, scribble down a thought, read, read, refill my coffee, read, read, eat lunch, read (sleepily), read, read, meet with the boss, look up the bus schedule, go home. It's not the sort of day that one describes as "a great first day at work", but it's also not "the crap".
Elaine survived her first day with Rachel and Madeleine with only a few bite marks. She was actually pretty normal and happy when I got home.
Everyone vote nice tomorrow!
Actually, it was more like this: do paperwork, get lost looking for the Pathology office, fax something, read, read, read, scribble down a thought, read, read, refill my coffee, read, read, eat lunch, read (sleepily), read, read, meet with the boss, look up the bus schedule, go home. It's not the sort of day that one describes as "a great first day at work", but it's also not "the crap".
Elaine survived her first day with Rachel and Madeleine with only a few bite marks. She was actually pretty normal and happy when I got home.
Everyone vote nice tomorrow!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
In review: Yspahan
Josh and I played a handful of games the other night (3 in 2 hours!). By far, the star that night was Yspahan. In subsequent days, I became quite enamored with the game, and got to play it again at a games night over at Chris and George's (friends we met through Josh and Megan). Then, I was able to borrow it and bring it home to play with the missus. Jill said, "I like it. Let's get it." Magic words, those. I haven't picked it up yet, but soon it will be mine...
Yspahan has a thin theme of merchants in a city (Yspahan) during the heyday of the Persian empire. You can place goods in shops around town, in an attempt to control blocks of shops, or you can try to get your goods onto the caravan that is bringing goods to Yspahan. The game has 21 turns (days), divided into three weeks
Yspahan is divided into 4 neighborhoods (see image below). Within each neighborhood, there are groups of shops (each group is called a souk) organized by color. If you place a good into any souk, no one else may place in any other shop in that souk. But you may not place in any other shop in that neighborhood until you have claimed the entire souk. The little white pawn is called the supervisor, and you may move it on your turn. If it lands in front of a shop with a good in it, that good is moved onto the caravan.
The setup, with the action board to the left and the caravan to the right.
If you move one of your own goods out to the caravan, it immediately scores. The entire caravan scores when it is full, or at the end of the week. Thus, you can count on your goods in the caravan scoring at least twice. The entire city scores at the end of the week, as well, and is then cleared of goods. Only souks that have been completed are scored, so one tactic is to use the supervisor to kick out an opponent's good from a lucrative souk to the caravan.
That is the basic plot and execution of actions in the game. The real fun is in the die rolling/action selection mechanism. Each turn, the start player will roll 9 dice, and then place them on the action board from lowest to highest. In the above image, I rolled 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 6, 6, 6. So, the 1 goes in the lowest position, then the 2's, and so on. Since I didn't roll any 4's, the 5's occupy the fourth highest spot. The rule is that the highest number rolled always goes in the top spot, so there will always be at least one die there and in the lowest space (unless all numbers are identical). The result of this is that the 4th and 5th positions are less likely to have any dice.
Beginning with the start player, everyone chooses a row of dice and executes an action. If you want to place goods, you select one of the four middle rows and place as many goods as there are dice in that space. These rows have icons that refer to the four neighborhoods, so you can see that some of the neighborhoods are less likely to have any dice. If you want to move the supervisor, you choose any row of dice and move the supervisor exactly the number of spaces as the number rolled. If you want to take a card (very powerful, often), you choose a row of dice and take one card. The highest and lowest rows on the action board, respectively, give you gold or camels, which are used as currency in the game. After everyone has taken an action, the start player changes and a new day begins.
This game moves very quickly, and it's a lot of fun. I like the seven days between scoring rounds, as it gives you a chance to position yourself to execute multiple scoring strategies. This game is all about scoring points as you go (and taking them away from your competition). In that, it reminds me of El Grande. Ystari, the same small company/development group that produced Caylus, has seriously impressed me with this one. I hope that it holds its charm after several plays, since the cards are really the only variable element to the game.
I give it an 8 right out of the gate as a fast-playing game with decent depth of decisions and a dash of random fun thrown in with the dice mechanism. I bumped it to a 9 because it's easy to teach and seems to have pretty wide appeal, making it way more likely to get played at my house.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Fear
With Halloween fast approaching, it's time for a gimmick post.
These are some fears that I thought of right after I typed this sentence, but before I posted the entry:
1)The Boogeyman (duh)
2)Drowning was my first big fear (besides the Boogeyman)
3)That final scene in The Blair Witch Project still gives me the freakies if I dwell on it too long.
4)Spiders on the ceiling
5)President Sarah Palin
6)The Yellowstone Caldera
7)Dying abruptly without being able to say any last words to someone
8)Clowns
9)Homeland Security/FEMA (tie)
10)Losing Jill
11)Everything that could ever happen to Elaine
12)Failure
13)Crows
14)Showing up for a seminar completely unprepared, in only my underwear
15)Cauliflower...ok, I guess I'm kinda stretching at this point. I do dislike cauliflower a great deal, but I'm reasonably certain that I can outrun it if the need arises.
These are some fears that I thought of right after I typed this sentence, but before I posted the entry:
1)The Boogeyman (duh)
2)Drowning was my first big fear (besides the Boogeyman)
3)That final scene in The Blair Witch Project still gives me the freakies if I dwell on it too long.
4)Spiders on the ceiling
5)President Sarah Palin
6)The Yellowstone Caldera
7)Dying abruptly without being able to say any last words to someone
8)Clowns
9)Homeland Security/FEMA (tie)
10)Losing Jill
11)Everything that could ever happen to Elaine
12)Failure
13)Crows
14)Showing up for a seminar completely unprepared, in only my underwear
15)Cauliflower...ok, I guess I'm kinda stretching at this point. I do dislike cauliflower a great deal, but I'm reasonably certain that I can outrun it if the need arises.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Thoughts on Agricola
As reported earlier, I received the gift of this game a few months ago. I've played a few 2 person games against Jill, a 3 person affair that included our friend Josh, and 3 solo ventures. Yes, the game comes with a solo variant. I make sure to keep the blinds down.
Agricola is Latin for farmer, so the game is about managing a farm. The image below shows your farm mat, which includes a two-room wooden house, a few plowed fields, and some fenced pastures, one of which contains sheep.
Shown below is the setup for a solo game
On each turn, you can take as many actions as you have family members. You start with a husband and wife, and you use their tokens to claim actions on the action board. No one else may claim the same action on a turn. If you build another room on your home, you can have a kid, which is obviously a great plan if you want to get more done on your farm. At the end of the game, your farm is scored for its completeness (all spaces used), upgrades (bonus points for family members and for upgrading your Wood house to Clay and then to Stone) and variety (good representation of the various crops and animals).
At several points in the game there is a harvest. At this point, you must be able to feed your family 2 Food per family member. Failure to do this is bad. You can get Food directly off the Action board, or you can build improvements to make Food more easily. The Fireplace allows you to cook meat, so you can convert your animals to Food. The more baroque method is to bake bread. This is how you do this, in terms of the number of actions you must take to accomplish it: 1) Take Grain, 2)Take Clay, 3) Take Stone, 4) Major Improvement (build an Oven), 5)Bake Bread. This is tough to get off the ground in the early going, but you do get to convert one Grain to 5 Food by baking Bread. If you also 1)Take (another) Grain, 2)Plow a Field and 3)Sow, then you can collect Grain for the next three Harvests, which will allow you to Bake Bread at any point during your turn. Got it? Much easier to slaughter the sheep and go to the fishing hole (ain't that always the way?).
There are many more wrinkles to the game, but I think that the above gives you the basic flavor. The thing that makes this game different from many of the other resource management/economic development games is the cards. Everyone gets 7 Occupation cards and 7 Minor Development cards at the start of the game. You have to use an action to play a card (plus many of them have resource costs as well). Cards can combine in obvious or subtle ways to provide you with a unique path to victory. In addition, there are 4 decks of cards that come with the game, one of which consists of very helpful, obvious-use cards, and two of which are relatively more interdependent upon other cards to be valuable.
There's a lot of game here, in terms of replay value and material components. It's way less complicated than it looks. A 3 player game shouldn't take more than 60-90 minutes, and there's plenty to think about when it's not your turn. The game moves along nicely, and every game is quite different.
A critical upgrade of Agricola, if you have it in your collection, is an organizer. The one shown here costs $3.49 at Home Depot, and saves roughly 20 minutes of setup and breakdown, not to mention table space.
My final analysis? A pretty good game that is a cut above most. Jill is definitely a fan. I give it a rating of 8 (out of 10), and it could well go up after more plays. Thanks again to Mustafa, Kathy, Jon, and Em!
Agricola is Latin for farmer, so the game is about managing a farm. The image below shows your farm mat, which includes a two-room wooden house, a few plowed fields, and some fenced pastures, one of which contains sheep.
Shown below is the setup for a solo game
On each turn, you can take as many actions as you have family members. You start with a husband and wife, and you use their tokens to claim actions on the action board. No one else may claim the same action on a turn. If you build another room on your home, you can have a kid, which is obviously a great plan if you want to get more done on your farm. At the end of the game, your farm is scored for its completeness (all spaces used), upgrades (bonus points for family members and for upgrading your Wood house to Clay and then to Stone) and variety (good representation of the various crops and animals).
At several points in the game there is a harvest. At this point, you must be able to feed your family 2 Food per family member. Failure to do this is bad. You can get Food directly off the Action board, or you can build improvements to make Food more easily. The Fireplace allows you to cook meat, so you can convert your animals to Food. The more baroque method is to bake bread. This is how you do this, in terms of the number of actions you must take to accomplish it: 1) Take Grain, 2)Take Clay, 3) Take Stone, 4) Major Improvement (build an Oven), 5)Bake Bread. This is tough to get off the ground in the early going, but you do get to convert one Grain to 5 Food by baking Bread. If you also 1)Take (another) Grain, 2)Plow a Field and 3)Sow, then you can collect Grain for the next three Harvests, which will allow you to Bake Bread at any point during your turn. Got it? Much easier to slaughter the sheep and go to the fishing hole (ain't that always the way?).
There are many more wrinkles to the game, but I think that the above gives you the basic flavor. The thing that makes this game different from many of the other resource management/economic development games is the cards. Everyone gets 7 Occupation cards and 7 Minor Development cards at the start of the game. You have to use an action to play a card (plus many of them have resource costs as well). Cards can combine in obvious or subtle ways to provide you with a unique path to victory. In addition, there are 4 decks of cards that come with the game, one of which consists of very helpful, obvious-use cards, and two of which are relatively more interdependent upon other cards to be valuable.
There's a lot of game here, in terms of replay value and material components. It's way less complicated than it looks. A 3 player game shouldn't take more than 60-90 minutes, and there's plenty to think about when it's not your turn. The game moves along nicely, and every game is quite different.
A critical upgrade of Agricola, if you have it in your collection, is an organizer. The one shown here costs $3.49 at Home Depot, and saves roughly 20 minutes of setup and breakdown, not to mention table space.
My final analysis? A pretty good game that is a cut above most. Jill is definitely a fan. I give it a rating of 8 (out of 10), and it could well go up after more plays. Thanks again to Mustafa, Kathy, Jon, and Em!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Egads, I'm tired
We've been having some recent difficulties with Our Darling Princess' sleeping routine. She still goes down between 8-8:30pm, but has taken to rising at 5:30. Her rising is accompanied by shouting--not angry shouting or even urgent shouting. Just long, sustained yelling, punctuated by shorter bursts of varying pitch. Like this: "Ahhhhhmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamamamamamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..aaah...maamaammaaa...bababamama...AAAHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA."
It is patient and implacable. It says, "I don't have anywhere to be, and I can do this for a very long time. Good luck sleeping through it, or waiting me out." So, I've had a week's worth of going to bed at 11 or 12 and getting up to a very frisky girl around 5:30-6 AM. Then she has the gall to pass out around 8 AM for an hour of catch-up sleep, after I'm finally wide awake.
That's all I have today. Just some complaining about being a parent. Classy, huh?
It is patient and implacable. It says, "I don't have anywhere to be, and I can do this for a very long time. Good luck sleeping through it, or waiting me out." So, I've had a week's worth of going to bed at 11 or 12 and getting up to a very frisky girl around 5:30-6 AM. Then she has the gall to pass out around 8 AM for an hour of catch-up sleep, after I'm finally wide awake.
That's all I have today. Just some complaining about being a parent. Classy, huh?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Heroes
We've been really enjoying Netflix recently. After burning through season 3 of LOST over the course of a few weeks, we rented season 1 of Heroes. I had seen the pilot when it first came out, and immediately filed it away as a future rental/purchase. I hate watching shows like that over the course of a season. I hate waiting for the next show, and I can't stand commercial interruptions. Of course, I wasn't expecting a show that would be nearly as addicting as LOST has been, but it looked like a cool concept.
So, the spoiler-free review. The premise: people are "evolving" all the time. Individuals are born with unique abilities at a certain rate, some of which manifest at a young age, and some that appear later. The cool part is how the writers demonstrate a believable reaction from the characters as they realize what they can do. Some of them embrace their gifts (like the guy who can bend time and space), some focus on the impending social stigma (like the cheerleader who heals instantly from any injury), and some are mildly embarrassed (this one's my favorite: the guy who can fly -- who hasn't ever wanted to fly??!-- he basically says, "Big deal, so I can fly!) Then there's the "what the heck is his ability anyway?" characters that help to drive the plot.
Anyway, so there has to be a plot, and enough villiany to justify some heroism. Once I realized what the major event of the season was going to be (IT'S A BOMB THAT EXPLODES NEW YORK!!!), it became a rather fun game of figuring out which characters fit where in my constantly evolving model of the final events of the season. Although it was ultimately predictable on many fronts, it was nonetheless enjoyable to watch it all unfold.
The primary villain, who cannibalizes other "special" people to gain their powers, is presented as alternately crafty and stupidly power hungry. I find this sort of dissonance annoying, and I thought that that character was written with a total lack of craft. He was quite scary, though. Secondarily, there is an agency of some sort that searches out people with abilities and either exploits them or destroys them. Thirdly, there's some mobster who seems to connect all of the main characters. And finally, (and most compellingly) there's the people who you KNOW have some ability, but you haven't seen it yet. It is these characters that make you want to watch season 2.
The show ostensibly revolved around Claire, the cheerleader, in season 1, but I think that the main character of the show was (duh) Hiro, the Japanese 20-something who loves comic books and who can bend time and space. I came to like many of the protagonists by the end of the season. I think that, in general, the writers did a decent job of developing the characters and creating a sense of mystery. I'd also say that the show was really well-cast. I believed all of these actors as their characters. I thought that Hiro, Claire, and Nathan Petrelli were especially great throughout the season (forgive me for not bothering to learn the actors' names).
I seriously doubt that any subsequent season will be as good, since the plot of season 1 had so many great dramatic elements. Still, we've got the next season in our Netflix queue, and I'm a fairly loyal viewer. It's gotta be pretty foul for me to just give up. I'm looking at you, "24".
So, the spoiler-free review. The premise: people are "evolving" all the time. Individuals are born with unique abilities at a certain rate, some of which manifest at a young age, and some that appear later. The cool part is how the writers demonstrate a believable reaction from the characters as they realize what they can do. Some of them embrace their gifts (like the guy who can bend time and space), some focus on the impending social stigma (like the cheerleader who heals instantly from any injury), and some are mildly embarrassed (this one's my favorite: the guy who can fly -- who hasn't ever wanted to fly??!-- he basically says, "Big deal, so I can fly!) Then there's the "what the heck is his ability anyway?" characters that help to drive the plot.
Anyway, so there has to be a plot, and enough villiany to justify some heroism. Once I realized what the major event of the season was going to be (IT'S A BOMB THAT EXPLODES NEW YORK!!!), it became a rather fun game of figuring out which characters fit where in my constantly evolving model of the final events of the season. Although it was ultimately predictable on many fronts, it was nonetheless enjoyable to watch it all unfold.
The primary villain, who cannibalizes other "special" people to gain their powers, is presented as alternately crafty and stupidly power hungry. I find this sort of dissonance annoying, and I thought that that character was written with a total lack of craft. He was quite scary, though. Secondarily, there is an agency of some sort that searches out people with abilities and either exploits them or destroys them. Thirdly, there's some mobster who seems to connect all of the main characters. And finally, (and most compellingly) there's the people who you KNOW have some ability, but you haven't seen it yet. It is these characters that make you want to watch season 2.
The show ostensibly revolved around Claire, the cheerleader, in season 1, but I think that the main character of the show was (duh) Hiro, the Japanese 20-something who loves comic books and who can bend time and space. I came to like many of the protagonists by the end of the season. I think that, in general, the writers did a decent job of developing the characters and creating a sense of mystery. I'd also say that the show was really well-cast. I believed all of these actors as their characters. I thought that Hiro, Claire, and Nathan Petrelli were especially great throughout the season (forgive me for not bothering to learn the actors' names).
I seriously doubt that any subsequent season will be as good, since the plot of season 1 had so many great dramatic elements. Still, we've got the next season in our Netflix queue, and I'm a fairly loyal viewer. It's gotta be pretty foul for me to just give up. I'm looking at you, "24".
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Weather's turning
Summer was a bit shorter here in the higher latitudes. I'm sure that our Edinburgh friends can relate. Of course, it's been officially Fall for over 3 weeks now, so there should be a change in the weather. Perhaps the temperature hasn't fallen much where you live, but I'm sure that the leaves are changing colors and winding up on the ground. Fall in Seattle means more rain and cloudiness. We've also had a drop in temperatures for the past month, to the point where 60 degrees F is a warm day. Fortunately, I can count on a relatively temperate winter, so I'm not in the near state of dread that I always had in Michigan this time of year.
And now, Elaine Pictures With a Vague Fall Theme!
First walk in the rain
Elaine adopts a worm
A leash makes things a bit easier on me
And now, Elaine Pictures With a Vague Fall Theme!
First walk in the rain
Elaine adopts a worm
A leash makes things a bit easier on me
Thursday, October 16, 2008
In which I interview for a position
So I had an interview today. It's a cruel thing that the last thing you do as a grad student is to sort of anonymously hand in this tome that represents your efforts of several years, and the first thing that you do in a job search is to give a stinking talk. Anyways, so I gave a stinking talk today. It was basically my thesis defense, which was probably the best talk that I ever gave. However, 12 months later, trying to remember exactly what I said, trying to recall all of those obscure details, trying to make all of those old arguments, trying to solidify all of those papers that I had read in my mind--it was like trying to raise a corpse.
Fortunately, the talk went well. Good questions were asked -- far more than at my thesis defense. The interviews with the lab members went well, as well. Hopefully, I'll hear back by mid-next week to know whether I'll be offered a job.
One of the post docs had this poster next to his desk...
Go ahead and marinate on that awhile.
UPDATE: I got hired today, so I get to see Man O' War every day!
Fortunately, the talk went well. Good questions were asked -- far more than at my thesis defense. The interviews with the lab members went well, as well. Hopefully, I'll hear back by mid-next week to know whether I'll be offered a job.
One of the post docs had this poster next to his desk...
Go ahead and marinate on that awhile.
UPDATE: I got hired today, so I get to see Man O' War every day!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The great beer adventure tour
Sometimes, I fall in love with a brewery. I've tried all of their more widely available offerings, but I know that there are special reserve brews that are only available in the bosom of the affiliated brewpub or gift shop. I'm looking at you, Unibroue, perched along the Chamblay near Montreal. And, of course, the Huyghe brewery in Ghent, Belgium would be a must-see. I might spend a week there. This type of fascination starts with a satisfying beverage, which leads me to try others, which eventually leads me to a website to find out more. There, I usually salivate over all of the seasonal, small batch, and commemorative brews that I will likely never get to try.
Having lived in Michigan for the past 7 years, I consider it a complete oversight to have never visited Bell's in Kalamazoo. Nearly every offering that I've had from Bell's has been pretty good to great, and they're constantly trying new things. They currently have 19 regular beers in their annual rotation, not counting the special brews that often appear on the shelf unannounced.
More recently, I've become enamored with the offerings of Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, ME. They've got a promising line of Belgian-style ales that I'm just beginning to work my way through. Way over on this coast, I've gotten a crush on the Russian River Brewing Company. Now, I've only tried one beer from them, but it was a Double IPA. I don't like American-style IPAs, as a rule, but this one blew me away. I have another of their line downstairs right now, an artisanal Golden ale. I think that the fact that I can't get my hands on another of their Pliny the Elders is driving my current infatuation, but I don't care. I just don't care.
Incidentally, I'm currently sipping on the brown ale that we made a few weeks ago. It hasn't fully carbonated yet, but it tastes very nice. Sweet and full bodied, very little hoppiness (but you can really smell the burnt chocolate malt), and dark as ink. They should call this a black.
UPDATE I tried the Damnation golden ale from Russian River. They're the real deal, folks. It had the body, sweetness, and spicy-ness of a good Belgian Trippel, but with only 7.5% ABV. Still, I have a bit of a headache today, likely as a result of not enough food base prior to consumption.
Having lived in Michigan for the past 7 years, I consider it a complete oversight to have never visited Bell's in Kalamazoo. Nearly every offering that I've had from Bell's has been pretty good to great, and they're constantly trying new things. They currently have 19 regular beers in their annual rotation, not counting the special brews that often appear on the shelf unannounced.
More recently, I've become enamored with the offerings of Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, ME. They've got a promising line of Belgian-style ales that I'm just beginning to work my way through. Way over on this coast, I've gotten a crush on the Russian River Brewing Company. Now, I've only tried one beer from them, but it was a Double IPA. I don't like American-style IPAs, as a rule, but this one blew me away. I have another of their line downstairs right now, an artisanal Golden ale. I think that the fact that I can't get my hands on another of their Pliny the Elders is driving my current infatuation, but I don't care. I just don't care.
Incidentally, I'm currently sipping on the brown ale that we made a few weeks ago. It hasn't fully carbonated yet, but it tastes very nice. Sweet and full bodied, very little hoppiness (but you can really smell the burnt chocolate malt), and dark as ink. They should call this a black.
UPDATE I tried the Damnation golden ale from Russian River. They're the real deal, folks. It had the body, sweetness, and spicy-ness of a good Belgian Trippel, but with only 7.5% ABV. Still, I have a bit of a headache today, likely as a result of not enough food base prior to consumption.
Getting my brew on
After a 7 month hiatus, I pulled my trusty brew pot out and got busy. Jill requested the dubbel from the "Complete Joy..." book, and I wanted to get a brown going. I made them over a few days when Jill was feeling OK. Everything seemed fine with the dubbel, but it stopped bubbling after only four days. You have to understand that the dubbel has about 12 tons of malt sugar in it, so I expected quite a lengthy fermentation. Nonetheless, I took a gravity reading at 10 days and found that it was pretty close to the target figure. I bottled it last night, and it tasted pretty amazing, even uncarbonated. This one is going to be special in a month or two.
The brown was more of an adventure. It failed to bubble at all, meaning that the yeast was no good. I discovered this on a Sunday, three days after brewing. Something should have happened. Our local homebrew supply is closed on Monday and Tuesday, and I didn't want to risk contamination by some wild fungus or bacteria, so I went across the street to the co-op and got a 750mL Trois Pistoles (my tasting notes here). It's bottle conditioned, so there's live yeast in the bottle. I sterilized the bottle and poured the whole thing into the wort. Four days later--bubbles! I bottled it a week ago, and I'm putting one in the fridge today. It smelled very nice when I bottled, and I'm hoping that it got a lot of character from the Unibroue yeast.
I've also bought the ingredients for the next batch, a dark wheat beer (Phat Fired Weizenbock, p.195 of "Complete Joy..."), so I hope to have three funky styles at the ready in time for the holidays.
The brown was more of an adventure. It failed to bubble at all, meaning that the yeast was no good. I discovered this on a Sunday, three days after brewing. Something should have happened. Our local homebrew supply is closed on Monday and Tuesday, and I didn't want to risk contamination by some wild fungus or bacteria, so I went across the street to the co-op and got a 750mL Trois Pistoles (my tasting notes here). It's bottle conditioned, so there's live yeast in the bottle. I sterilized the bottle and poured the whole thing into the wort. Four days later--bubbles! I bottled it a week ago, and I'm putting one in the fridge today. It smelled very nice when I bottled, and I'm hoping that it got a lot of character from the Unibroue yeast.
I've also bought the ingredients for the next batch, a dark wheat beer (Phat Fired Weizenbock, p.195 of "Complete Joy..."), so I hope to have three funky styles at the ready in time for the holidays.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Hi there
OK, so this is me basically pledging my regular support of this site by enacting a posting guarantee. I'm sure that you realize that this is more for me than for you. So, beginning here, I will post an entry at least five times per week. At least three of them will be good, so no more than two will be weak-ass posts like this one, which counts toward next week's quota. Clear? Good. This is the last you'll hear of it.
I'm getting Jill's sister and her family a board game for Christmas, but I haven't yet figured out which one. They like Ticket to Ride - Europe, Ra, Blokus, and Lost Cities, and Gwen has played Power Grid and Puerto Rico and liked them, too. I'd like to get them something that their kids can eventually play with them (they're 11 and 6, I think). Suggestions?
I'm getting Jill's sister and her family a board game for Christmas, but I haven't yet figured out which one. They like Ticket to Ride - Europe, Ra, Blokus, and Lost Cities, and Gwen has played Power Grid and Puerto Rico and liked them, too. I'd like to get them something that their kids can eventually play with them (they're 11 and 6, I think). Suggestions?
Monday, September 22, 2008
My dog ate my blog
So, yeah, I've been too busy for you lately. These are my reasons for neglecting you, my peoples:
-Job search: I've had some networking interviews that have led to some pretty sound advice. I'm on the verge of my third wave of resume submissions. As it happens, the biotech industry is in a bit of a squeeze lately, with plenty of jobs on the process end of things, but not a lot of movement in the basic research side. Post docs don't pay as well, but provide an opportunity to expand my skillset/resume. I'm thinking that something is going to happen soon.
-Computer death: I'm typing this in Safe Mode, which is the only way that my computer will currently start. This has put a bit of a damper on my job searching. I'm working on (1) installing updated drivers, (2)troubleshooting hardware, and, if all else fails, (3) attempting to reinstall Windows XP. In the meantime, we're looking for my next computer.
-Netflix: We finally got hooked on Netflix, so we've been on a nightly kick of watcing LOST season 3. It's pretty fun television, especially blowing through 3-4 episodes per night. Cheesy dialogue, X-Files-like push/pull of revelation and obfuscation, some decent acting (and some gloriously crappy acting), and the imminent threat of death hanging over the most annoying character. This season focuses more on the Others' leader, Ben, and a new love-to-hate, convincingly scary female character, Juliette. Yay, LOST!
-Post-convention burnout: I watched both political conventions and then got into big internet fights on the Religion, Sex, Politics forum at Boardgamegeek. So all of my brilliant commentary went there instead of here. Then I realized that the more I posted, the more invested I became, and I started spending a lot more time thinking about these silly things than anyone really has a right to. It's not like anyone's mind is going to change, or anyone actually wins. So I banned myself from posting for a week, and regained some perspective. IT'S OK if McCain/Palin wins. What difference will it make? Palin is going to come back at the top of the ticket in 2012, perhaps with Bobby Jindal. Then, we will simply declare GAME OVER, and move out of the country.
Spending more time with Jill and Elaine: Jill's had some recent bad news about her blood markers. There's been an upward trend, after a long, steady decrease into the "undetectable" range. This, combined with some abdominal pain, has had us a bit more worried of late. Plus, she's had a cold, and then bronchitis, so she has had difficulty recovering from the chemo cycles. This means a longer period of time where I essentially get no help from her on the Elaine front. I think that, lately, Jill's illness has been hitting me a little harder. Obviously, she's one of the two most important people in my life, and I can't imagine not having her with me, but also...I really want Elaine to grow up with her mother around, and vice versa. (For those of you who are way out of town, I really wish you could meet Elaine right now, at this point in her life. She's just the best little kid. She's funny, strong, and affectionate, and you can see her imagination really going to work now. Come visit!) Anyways, when Jill is feeling better, like over the past few days, I tend to spend a lot more time with her when Elaine is sleeping.
The lesson, as always, is don't hate a playa. Hate the game. I miss you, too.
-Job search: I've had some networking interviews that have led to some pretty sound advice. I'm on the verge of my third wave of resume submissions. As it happens, the biotech industry is in a bit of a squeeze lately, with plenty of jobs on the process end of things, but not a lot of movement in the basic research side. Post docs don't pay as well, but provide an opportunity to expand my skillset/resume. I'm thinking that something is going to happen soon.
-Computer death: I'm typing this in Safe Mode, which is the only way that my computer will currently start. This has put a bit of a damper on my job searching. I'm working on (1) installing updated drivers, (2)troubleshooting hardware, and, if all else fails, (3) attempting to reinstall Windows XP. In the meantime, we're looking for my next computer.
-Netflix: We finally got hooked on Netflix, so we've been on a nightly kick of watcing LOST season 3. It's pretty fun television, especially blowing through 3-4 episodes per night. Cheesy dialogue, X-Files-like push/pull of revelation and obfuscation, some decent acting (and some gloriously crappy acting), and the imminent threat of death hanging over the most annoying character. This season focuses more on the Others' leader, Ben, and a new love-to-hate, convincingly scary female character, Juliette. Yay, LOST!
-Post-convention burnout: I watched both political conventions and then got into big internet fights on the Religion, Sex, Politics forum at Boardgamegeek. So all of my brilliant commentary went there instead of here. Then I realized that the more I posted, the more invested I became, and I started spending a lot more time thinking about these silly things than anyone really has a right to. It's not like anyone's mind is going to change, or anyone actually wins. So I banned myself from posting for a week, and regained some perspective. IT'S OK if McCain/Palin wins. What difference will it make? Palin is going to come back at the top of the ticket in 2012, perhaps with Bobby Jindal. Then, we will simply declare GAME OVER, and move out of the country.
Spending more time with Jill and Elaine: Jill's had some recent bad news about her blood markers. There's been an upward trend, after a long, steady decrease into the "undetectable" range. This, combined with some abdominal pain, has had us a bit more worried of late. Plus, she's had a cold, and then bronchitis, so she has had difficulty recovering from the chemo cycles. This means a longer period of time where I essentially get no help from her on the Elaine front. I think that, lately, Jill's illness has been hitting me a little harder. Obviously, she's one of the two most important people in my life, and I can't imagine not having her with me, but also...I really want Elaine to grow up with her mother around, and vice versa. (For those of you who are way out of town, I really wish you could meet Elaine right now, at this point in her life. She's just the best little kid. She's funny, strong, and affectionate, and you can see her imagination really going to work now. Come visit!) Anyways, when Jill is feeling better, like over the past few days, I tend to spend a lot more time with her when Elaine is sleeping.
The lesson, as always, is don't hate a playa. Hate the game. I miss you, too.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wherein I Ramble On For a Country Mile
Ech. Politics.
I watched a few hours of the DNC on Monday. Then I watched it yesterday, and also much of today. As it happens, I'm a bit of a masochist.
I'm guessing that it was once a quaint pep rally sort of affair, but now it's morphed into something decidedly more creepy. Granted, I initially caught it early in the day, so the convention hall was half-empty. The house band played tired hits from the 70's, as aging yuppies pretended to have fun. Speaker after speaker intoned the magic words, "...our next president of the United States of America, Barack...OBAMA!!!!", and the crowd went wild. Over and over again. It got better as the crowd got bigger, and the two Clintons gave great speeches. Even John Kerry came ready with a decent speech. It was all very exciting.
I took a quiz on some website that claimed to be able to match you up with the ideal candidate, based on your response to "policy" questions. Those who know me probably know that I am: 1)anti-stupid-warmongering, but not anti-military--we need to have some teeth and claws, 2)pro-choice, especially for cases that involve a medical necessity, 3)supportive of minority rights, but somewhat conflicted on affirmative action as it stands today, 4)supportive of teachers' unions and higher pay for police and firefighters, 5)generally OK with gun ownership with some sensible restrictions, 6)disgusted with the "war on drugs" as a huge waste of resources, 7)someone who sees no reason to restrict gay marriage or adoption, and 8)very interested in subsidizing research into alternative energies to break the addiction to fossil fuels. All of these issues are addressed by most candidates. As it turns out, my strongest matches are the Green Party's Cynthia Mckinney, and the Socialist Party's Brian Moore! (followed by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Ralph Nader. McCain was at the bottom of my list).
I researched a bit of the top two candidates, and realized that I couldn't cast my vote their way. Mckinney just lacks the necessary experience, and appears to be too closely tied to her personal fight for African American equality. I'm just not sure how much more can be legislated in this area--the main problem is in the hearts of people, and the only cure is time. In her time in congress, she introduced 5 pieces of legislation, one of which was a call for the expeditious release of documents pertaining to the death of Tupac Shakur. Seriously? On the socialist front, Moore calls for the closure of all overseas military bases. This strikes me as such a singularly bad idea as to make me question his overall judgement.
This leaves Obama and Nader. Obama seems nice, and he appears to be doing all the right things to get elected. However, he's still just a Democrat, and the Dems haven't really done anything to make me swoon in awhile. Over the last eight years, the adjective that keeps springing to mind is 'inept'. They rolled over more times than I can count, so there's no guarantee that they won't do it again in the future. They couldn't even defeat GW Bush in 2004.
Nader is often touted as a 'waste of your vote'. He's quite intelligent, but not very charismatic--I'm actually more impressed with his running mate, Matt Gonzalez. I don't think that a vote for Nader is a wasted vote, nor do I think that it necessarily hands the election to McCain. I live in a deep blue district, so my vote for Nader would register as "disaffected", or "none of the above", and wouldn't touch Obama's ready victory here. However, even if Nader was elected, he wouldn't survive to his inauguration; he has some proposals about reducing or discontinuing specific military hardware (mostly airplanes) that would affect the livelihood of some large and powerful military suppliers. These types of proposals are more dangerous than having the wrong color skin in this country, as foretold by D.W. Eisenhower.
I am disaffected. I despise the way politics works in this country, in that both sides want to control the ball, but neither side wants to move it. There is no honor at all, only lies and half-truths. One possible answer is a strong third party, but it would take such extraordinary effort to make that a reality, and even then, after all that hard work, it could end up being subsumed by one of the old parties. I can't see any way for a third party to worm its way in to access the pressure points of Washington power, most of which are simply very influential people who are beholden to the current system. So we're stuck with the two-party system.
The one issue that is really important to me as I watch my daughter grow older--an issue that has not come up once in 365+ days of campaigning, and probably won't come up in any of the pretty speeches in Denver over the next two days--is the increasing strength of the executive branch. Clinton got the line-item veto. Bush, Jr. has been using signing statements whenever Congress goes against his will. For those who are unfamiliar, a signing statement is when the president grudgingly signs a bill that was passed by congress, but includes some text that indicates that he will reserve the right to ignore the legislation if he feels like it. This is legal, but Bush has used this perquisite more often than all other presidents combined. Additionally, he's used the office of the Attorney General to shore up even more power for the executive branch by using the twin strategies of executive privilege and national security. It's completely disgusting, and it undermines our basic checks and balances. No one is talking about this. Why should they, when all they have to do is talk about "the American dream" and gas prices to get the populace riled up. We're getting farther away from a representative government with every election.
Rant OFF.
I watched a few hours of the DNC on Monday. Then I watched it yesterday, and also much of today. As it happens, I'm a bit of a masochist.
I'm guessing that it was once a quaint pep rally sort of affair, but now it's morphed into something decidedly more creepy. Granted, I initially caught it early in the day, so the convention hall was half-empty. The house band played tired hits from the 70's, as aging yuppies pretended to have fun. Speaker after speaker intoned the magic words, "...our next president of the United States of America, Barack...OBAMA!!!!", and the crowd went wild. Over and over again. It got better as the crowd got bigger, and the two Clintons gave great speeches. Even John Kerry came ready with a decent speech. It was all very exciting.
I took a quiz on some website that claimed to be able to match you up with the ideal candidate, based on your response to "policy" questions. Those who know me probably know that I am: 1)anti-stupid-warmongering, but not anti-military--we need to have some teeth and claws, 2)pro-choice, especially for cases that involve a medical necessity, 3)supportive of minority rights, but somewhat conflicted on affirmative action as it stands today, 4)supportive of teachers' unions and higher pay for police and firefighters, 5)generally OK with gun ownership with some sensible restrictions, 6)disgusted with the "war on drugs" as a huge waste of resources, 7)someone who sees no reason to restrict gay marriage or adoption, and 8)very interested in subsidizing research into alternative energies to break the addiction to fossil fuels. All of these issues are addressed by most candidates. As it turns out, my strongest matches are the Green Party's Cynthia Mckinney, and the Socialist Party's Brian Moore! (followed by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Ralph Nader. McCain was at the bottom of my list).
I researched a bit of the top two candidates, and realized that I couldn't cast my vote their way. Mckinney just lacks the necessary experience, and appears to be too closely tied to her personal fight for African American equality. I'm just not sure how much more can be legislated in this area--the main problem is in the hearts of people, and the only cure is time. In her time in congress, she introduced 5 pieces of legislation, one of which was a call for the expeditious release of documents pertaining to the death of Tupac Shakur. Seriously? On the socialist front, Moore calls for the closure of all overseas military bases. This strikes me as such a singularly bad idea as to make me question his overall judgement.
This leaves Obama and Nader. Obama seems nice, and he appears to be doing all the right things to get elected. However, he's still just a Democrat, and the Dems haven't really done anything to make me swoon in awhile. Over the last eight years, the adjective that keeps springing to mind is 'inept'. They rolled over more times than I can count, so there's no guarantee that they won't do it again in the future. They couldn't even defeat GW Bush in 2004.
Nader is often touted as a 'waste of your vote'. He's quite intelligent, but not very charismatic--I'm actually more impressed with his running mate, Matt Gonzalez. I don't think that a vote for Nader is a wasted vote, nor do I think that it necessarily hands the election to McCain. I live in a deep blue district, so my vote for Nader would register as "disaffected", or "none of the above", and wouldn't touch Obama's ready victory here. However, even if Nader was elected, he wouldn't survive to his inauguration; he has some proposals about reducing or discontinuing specific military hardware (mostly airplanes) that would affect the livelihood of some large and powerful military suppliers. These types of proposals are more dangerous than having the wrong color skin in this country, as foretold by D.W. Eisenhower.
I am disaffected. I despise the way politics works in this country, in that both sides want to control the ball, but neither side wants to move it. There is no honor at all, only lies and half-truths. One possible answer is a strong third party, but it would take such extraordinary effort to make that a reality, and even then, after all that hard work, it could end up being subsumed by one of the old parties. I can't see any way for a third party to worm its way in to access the pressure points of Washington power, most of which are simply very influential people who are beholden to the current system. So we're stuck with the two-party system.
The one issue that is really important to me as I watch my daughter grow older--an issue that has not come up once in 365+ days of campaigning, and probably won't come up in any of the pretty speeches in Denver over the next two days--is the increasing strength of the executive branch. Clinton got the line-item veto. Bush, Jr. has been using signing statements whenever Congress goes against his will. For those who are unfamiliar, a signing statement is when the president grudgingly signs a bill that was passed by congress, but includes some text that indicates that he will reserve the right to ignore the legislation if he feels like it. This is legal, but Bush has used this perquisite more often than all other presidents combined. Additionally, he's used the office of the Attorney General to shore up even more power for the executive branch by using the twin strategies of executive privilege and national security. It's completely disgusting, and it undermines our basic checks and balances. No one is talking about this. Why should they, when all they have to do is talk about "the American dream" and gas prices to get the populace riled up. We're getting farther away from a representative government with every election.
Rant OFF.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Oops!
I just noticed this in the ol' Quote Generator...
-Hermann Goering
I guess you can substitute "inept leadership" for "war", in our current case.
Of course the people don't want war...that is understood. But voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
-Hermann Goering
I guess you can substitute "inept leadership" for "war", in our current case.
WOW!!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Grousing about grousing
I read this really disturbing article last week, and it's kind of been on my mind for awhile. It concerns internet trolling, which means intentionally pushing peoples' buttons to get them riled up, just for fun. We've all seen this behavior. It's the sort of thing that would get you punched in the face in a real-world setting, but it has been accepted as inevitable in the setting of the world wild web. The article discusses some of the more extreme incidences of trolling, where people's lives are affected by the meanness of anonymous strangers.
Denizens of my favorite online forum, the Chit Chatters on Boardgamegeek, often proclaim "Sheesh. It's the internet. Don't take things so seriously!", implying that it's the fault of the offended party for being so uncool as to be offended. Apparently, the biggest social faux pas in the virtual world is to bear the belief that the person you're interacting with, somewhere out there, actually represents an entity with convictions.
In the same vein, one of the trolls in the article tells the interviewer, "You have green hair.". The interviewer is puzzled, but amused, and denies this. The troll says, "That must be why you're a terrible reporter". The reporter responds, "Why do you think that?". The troll then triumphantly points out that if the reporter was truly confident in his skills, he would have laughed off the second comment as quickly as the first. He says that he uses this concept to "educate" people on how to properly respond to things that they read on the internet. On his internet.
When I first read that, I thought that I got what he was saying, but on reflection I realize that I really don't. If I tell you something that is a concrete fact that you know to be untrue, and that you know that I know to be untrue, and vice versa ad infinitum (just to be safe), then of course you'd laugh it off. If I followed that with a critical assessment of your worth as a parent (assuming you have kids), you may want to know why I came to that conclusion. Presumably, I've met your kid and seen you interacting with him or her, so I have reason to have an independent opinion. These are normal reactions to these types of statements. Normal reactions shouldn't have to change because of the medium.
It's really too bad. We have this great medium for getting together publicly and anonymously, and an handful of pricks decide that it must serve their vulgarity first. Like sheep, we comply.
Denizens of my favorite online forum, the Chit Chatters on Boardgamegeek, often proclaim "Sheesh. It's the internet. Don't take things so seriously!", implying that it's the fault of the offended party for being so uncool as to be offended. Apparently, the biggest social faux pas in the virtual world is to bear the belief that the person you're interacting with, somewhere out there, actually represents an entity with convictions.
In the same vein, one of the trolls in the article tells the interviewer, "You have green hair.". The interviewer is puzzled, but amused, and denies this. The troll says, "That must be why you're a terrible reporter". The reporter responds, "Why do you think that?". The troll then triumphantly points out that if the reporter was truly confident in his skills, he would have laughed off the second comment as quickly as the first. He says that he uses this concept to "educate" people on how to properly respond to things that they read on the internet. On his internet.
When I first read that, I thought that I got what he was saying, but on reflection I realize that I really don't. If I tell you something that is a concrete fact that you know to be untrue, and that you know that I know to be untrue, and vice versa ad infinitum (just to be safe), then of course you'd laugh it off. If I followed that with a critical assessment of your worth as a parent (assuming you have kids), you may want to know why I came to that conclusion. Presumably, I've met your kid and seen you interacting with him or her, so I have reason to have an independent opinion. These are normal reactions to these types of statements. Normal reactions shouldn't have to change because of the medium.
It's really too bad. We have this great medium for getting together publicly and anonymously, and an handful of pricks decide that it must serve their vulgarity first. Like sheep, we comply.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Congratulations to the German Equestrian Team
Mmmm. I'm enjoying a tasty beer right about now. This here beer has a few things going for it. First, it's a nice, sweet Belgian ale. Also, it comes in six-packs, instead of a 750 ml bottle with a cork. Penultimately, it is spicy, with creamy bubbles, and has a sane alcohol content of 6.6%. And finally, it wasn't insanely expensive. It's called Leffe, and it's a Genuine Abbey Ale. Here's the flavor text:
Chalices and perfect head aside, I would agree with most of the rest. I didn't find it particularly subtle or delicate. It's what I would classify as a great gateway to the Belgian beer style, much like Duvel or Chimay Red, only slightly more watered down (Ohhh!! That must be the subtle and/or delicate part).
How 'bout that Russia - Georgia conflict? First, Eighties music comes back. Next, we (ok, they)restart the Cold War. What's next, breakdancing on cardboard? Parachute pants? Polo by Ralph Lauren seeping out from the heavy threads of an Izod that is tucked into Dockers shorts and secured by a leather weave belt, accessorized with jet black wayfarers and boat shoes at a dance club???
I was watching the Olympics yesterday. My whole life, I've found myself too busy or too disinterested to watch much Olympics, but now I find the competition to be entertaining. Even more interesting, I find that my attitudes toward other countries has changed. I used to only pull for the English-speaking countries -- USA, Great Britain, Australia, Canada -- but yesterday I was watching the Aussies go for their 3rd or 4th straight team equestrian Gold, and I said to myself, "You know what? Screw Australia. I HOPE the Germans win." Maybe it's because I became friends with a few Germans while living in Ann Arbor, or maybe I crossed a point where I can admire superior preparation and execution, no matter where it originated, but it felt good. Today, I watched the Chinese just destroy the USA in synchronized diving (wtf?), and I honestly enjoyed the beauty of the much, much better Chinese divers. Don't get me wrong, I am clinging to the joy and heartache offered, respectively, by the US men's swimming and women's gymnastics squads, but I also appreciate the achievements and disappointments of the other nations involved.
I'm going to update my sidebars soon, so keep a lookout for new stuff (finally) there. Talk soon, 'kay?
Savor the Mystery of the Ages--Award-winning Leffe Blonde is a full-bodied deep golden ale that is surprisingly subtle and delicate. Belgium's classic abbey ale is best served in its own chalice-shaped glass, accentuating the ale's aroma and creating the perfect head.
Chalices and perfect head aside, I would agree with most of the rest. I didn't find it particularly subtle or delicate. It's what I would classify as a great gateway to the Belgian beer style, much like Duvel or Chimay Red, only slightly more watered down (Ohhh!! That must be the subtle and/or delicate part).
How 'bout that Russia - Georgia conflict? First, Eighties music comes back. Next, we (ok, they)restart the Cold War. What's next, breakdancing on cardboard? Parachute pants? Polo by Ralph Lauren seeping out from the heavy threads of an Izod that is tucked into Dockers shorts and secured by a leather weave belt, accessorized with jet black wayfarers and boat shoes at a dance club???
I was watching the Olympics yesterday. My whole life, I've found myself too busy or too disinterested to watch much Olympics, but now I find the competition to be entertaining. Even more interesting, I find that my attitudes toward other countries has changed. I used to only pull for the English-speaking countries -- USA, Great Britain, Australia, Canada -- but yesterday I was watching the Aussies go for their 3rd or 4th straight team equestrian Gold, and I said to myself, "You know what? Screw Australia. I HOPE the Germans win." Maybe it's because I became friends with a few Germans while living in Ann Arbor, or maybe I crossed a point where I can admire superior preparation and execution, no matter where it originated, but it felt good. Today, I watched the Chinese just destroy the USA in synchronized diving (wtf?), and I honestly enjoyed the beauty of the much, much better Chinese divers. Don't get me wrong, I am clinging to the joy and heartache offered, respectively, by the US men's swimming and women's gymnastics squads, but I also appreciate the achievements and disappointments of the other nations involved.
I'm going to update my sidebars soon, so keep a lookout for new stuff (finally) there. Talk soon, 'kay?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I know, I know
Three posts in less than 24 hours is a bit presumptuous of your level of interest. But some jokester on Achewood's comment thread posted this bit of amusing Photocroppery, and I thought I'd share. This links to the relevant reference from last year...
Oh, yes I did!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Please Don't Steal My Idea, M'kay???
I spend a lot of time in the living room. Let's just get that out of the way to start. My lovely girl tends to bellow and weep when she is left alone amongst her toys, so we try to keep someone nearby to keep her amused. Usually, that's me. When I'm "parenting" thusly, my options for personal entertainment are as follows: 1)Actively play with/chase/be chased by/read to Elaine; 2)Check email on my phone; 3)Attempt to read a book; 4)Attempt to sleep; or 5)kick a green bouncy ball around the room. If I happen to be on the phone, I will almost always be kicking the green ball around, as well. Over time, I developed a personal challenge, which has refined itself into a formal game, of sorts. I call this game...well, I don't have a name for it.
Behold! A spider's eye view of the living room!
The game is played with a standard-issue bouncy ball, as one might find in a K-mart in a large wire bin. The goal is to kick the ball around the perimeter of the baby jail in as few strokes as possible. A game consists of nine rounds divided into three sets (right foot, left foot, player's choice). A round is either a completed circuit of the course or an out (disqualification). The player takes the best two scores from each set and adds them to give a final score. Lowest score wins.
The Launch
1. The ball is launched only from the launch area.
2. The ball must be tapped or bounced off of the side of the couch or nearby wall to get it in motion, but may not be "self-fed", or set up motionless to kick.
3. The ball must travel beyond the nearest side of the couch. A ball that breaks the facing plane of the couch without touching the couch is said to be launched.
4. If the ball, once launched, returns to the launch area, it is considered to have Never Happened, and a re-launch is allowed.
Gameplay
1. The ball may be struck in motion, but if the active player obstructs the motion of the ball for any reason, that is considered a stroke. The ball may be struck to ricochet off of the couch, baby jail, baby gates, or walls of the living room.
2. If the ball comes to rest on the couch, it is a one-stroke penalty. A player may kick the ball while it is still moving on the couch to avoid this penalty.
3. If the ball violates the airspace over the baby jail (flies over a corner), that is a one-stroke penalty.
3a. If such a launch ends up in Zone C, it is a two-stroke penalty.
3b. If a ball crosses two parallel walls of the baby jail in flight (Zone A directly to Zone C) it is a three-stroke penalty.
4. If the ball lands in the baby jail, or goes out of bounds (OB), the player's round is over and the player scores 7 for the round. (Exception: see tournament play)
5. If the ball strikes the ceiling, it is a two-stroke penalty. There is no need to ever hit the ceiling, so the penalty reflects this.
6. If the ball comes to rest trapped between the top of the couch and the wall, the player records five points (See Tiebreaker) and begins his turn over.
The Baby
1. If the baby is struck with the ball while it is in the air, the player incurs a one-stroke penalty. If the baby cries as a result of the contact, the round ends in disqualification, and the player scores 7 for the round.
2. At the beginning of the match, the start player may put toys away and arrange the red chair and the rocker as he sees fit. Any further adjustments made by the baby may not be subsequently changed by the players EXCEPT:
2a. If the red chair is agreed by all players to be too obstructive.
2b. If there is a dangerous or limiting obstacle, such as the rocker, in the launch area.
3. If the baby is too close to the ball to safely or cleanly kick it around or over her, play is suspended until this situation resolves. Any changes to the position of the ball by the baby are considered to be Part of the Game.
Special
1. If the ball comes to rest on the red chair, it may result in a free stroke. The player may nudge the ball off of the chair with his foot and strike it on the first bounce. This strike is recorded as if it was the previous stroke. Failure to strike off of the first bounce negates this bonus, and both the previous stroke and the stroke from the chair are counted.
2. If the ball comes to rest in the rocker seat, the ball may be placed on either side of the rocker for the next stroke. The stroke that put the ball into the rocker is not recorded.
3. If the ball comes to rest under the rocker seat, the rocker may be moved up to an arm's length from its location.
4. TIEBREAKER If two or more players end with the same number of strokes, the winner is the player who has the least number of points. If the game is still tied, the winner is determined by a Contest of Wits.
5. TOURNAMENT PLAY If there are prizes offered to the champion, then the game is said to be in Tournament Mode. A large ziggurat of no less than 18 blocks is constructed inside the far wall of the Baby Jail (adjacent to Zone C). If a player successfully launches the ball into the structure, he may re-launch with a beginning round score of -3 strokes. Failure to knock off even a single block will subject the attemptee to a disqualification and the smirking of his opponents.
Look! The Green Ball!
Two views of the Area of Play
Behold! A spider's eye view of the living room!
The game is played with a standard-issue bouncy ball, as one might find in a K-mart in a large wire bin. The goal is to kick the ball around the perimeter of the baby jail in as few strokes as possible. A game consists of nine rounds divided into three sets (right foot, left foot, player's choice). A round is either a completed circuit of the course or an out (disqualification). The player takes the best two scores from each set and adds them to give a final score. Lowest score wins.
The Launch
1. The ball is launched only from the launch area.
2. The ball must be tapped or bounced off of the side of the couch or nearby wall to get it in motion, but may not be "self-fed", or set up motionless to kick.
3. The ball must travel beyond the nearest side of the couch. A ball that breaks the facing plane of the couch without touching the couch is said to be launched.
4. If the ball, once launched, returns to the launch area, it is considered to have Never Happened, and a re-launch is allowed.
Gameplay
1. The ball may be struck in motion, but if the active player obstructs the motion of the ball for any reason, that is considered a stroke. The ball may be struck to ricochet off of the couch, baby jail, baby gates, or walls of the living room.
2. If the ball comes to rest on the couch, it is a one-stroke penalty. A player may kick the ball while it is still moving on the couch to avoid this penalty.
3. If the ball violates the airspace over the baby jail (flies over a corner), that is a one-stroke penalty.
3a. If such a launch ends up in Zone C, it is a two-stroke penalty.
3b. If a ball crosses two parallel walls of the baby jail in flight (Zone A directly to Zone C) it is a three-stroke penalty.
4. If the ball lands in the baby jail, or goes out of bounds (OB), the player's round is over and the player scores 7 for the round. (Exception: see tournament play)
5. If the ball strikes the ceiling, it is a two-stroke penalty. There is no need to ever hit the ceiling, so the penalty reflects this.
6. If the ball comes to rest trapped between the top of the couch and the wall, the player records five points (See Tiebreaker) and begins his turn over.
The Baby
1. If the baby is struck with the ball while it is in the air, the player incurs a one-stroke penalty. If the baby cries as a result of the contact, the round ends in disqualification, and the player scores 7 for the round.
2. At the beginning of the match, the start player may put toys away and arrange the red chair and the rocker as he sees fit. Any further adjustments made by the baby may not be subsequently changed by the players EXCEPT:
2a. If the red chair is agreed by all players to be too obstructive.
2b. If there is a dangerous or limiting obstacle, such as the rocker, in the launch area.
3. If the baby is too close to the ball to safely or cleanly kick it around or over her, play is suspended until this situation resolves. Any changes to the position of the ball by the baby are considered to be Part of the Game.
Special
1. If the ball comes to rest on the red chair, it may result in a free stroke. The player may nudge the ball off of the chair with his foot and strike it on the first bounce. This strike is recorded as if it was the previous stroke. Failure to strike off of the first bounce negates this bonus, and both the previous stroke and the stroke from the chair are counted.
2. If the ball comes to rest in the rocker seat, the ball may be placed on either side of the rocker for the next stroke. The stroke that put the ball into the rocker is not recorded.
3. If the ball comes to rest under the rocker seat, the rocker may be moved up to an arm's length from its location.
4. TIEBREAKER If two or more players end with the same number of strokes, the winner is the player who has the least number of points. If the game is still tied, the winner is determined by a Contest of Wits.
5. TOURNAMENT PLAY If there are prizes offered to the champion, then the game is said to be in Tournament Mode. A large ziggurat of no less than 18 blocks is constructed inside the far wall of the Baby Jail (adjacent to Zone C). If a player successfully launches the ball into the structure, he may re-launch with a beginning round score of -3 strokes. Failure to knock off even a single block will subject the attemptee to a disqualification and the smirking of his opponents.
Look! The Green Ball!
Two views of the Area of Play
Saturday, August 2, 2008
The Turk
Permit me to shill for some family:
I just found out that Jill's cousin, Jane Irwin, has a webcomic! I knew that she had been publishing a series called Vogelein, about a clockwork faerie, in book form, but I didn't know about her most recent foray. Vogelein was actually a painted comic, which is cool enough in its own right. Here's the official story synopsis of Vogelein:
The new, online graphic novel, oddly enough, has a thematic tie-in. It's called Clockwork Game: The Illustrious Career of a Chess-playing Automaton. It's a true story of a colossal hoax perpetrated upon the aristocracy of 18th century Europe. Jane actually switched from painting her panels to employing a dense, cross-hatched pencil and graphite presentation. She makes painstaking efforts to get the history right, and most pages come with some sort of commentary on the scenes as they pertain to the record of events.
Jane's husband, Paul, is also a comic artist, and he's started a web project called BPM (beats per minute). It's about a young DJ named Roxy who's trying to raise her craft to the breakthrough level. Paul does some interesting stuff with merging his amazing drawings with elements from photographs to set scenes. The story follows a familiar arc, so far, but neither Jane's nor Paul's webcomics have gotten very far, yet.
I just found out that Jill's cousin, Jane Irwin, has a webcomic! I knew that she had been publishing a series called Vogelein, about a clockwork faerie, in book form, but I didn't know about her most recent foray. Vogelein was actually a painted comic, which is cool enough in its own right. Here's the official story synopsis of Vogelein:
When Jakob, Vögelein's Guardian of fifty years, dies quietly in his sleep one night, her life is thrown into utter turmoil. Left without someone to wind her, the tiny clockwork faerie has less than five hours to live - unless she can find someone to trust. Unable to reach the keyhole in her back, she continues to wind down until she stops - and then her memories of the past three hundred years will quickly slip away, leaving her a simple automaton unable to speak or move on her own. In her search for a new Guardian, Vogelein must grapple with her own past, her current daily survival and a true Faerie who has taken an instant disliking to her, all so that she will not lose her memories - and her self.
The new, online graphic novel, oddly enough, has a thematic tie-in. It's called Clockwork Game: The Illustrious Career of a Chess-playing Automaton. It's a true story of a colossal hoax perpetrated upon the aristocracy of 18th century Europe. Jane actually switched from painting her panels to employing a dense, cross-hatched pencil and graphite presentation. She makes painstaking efforts to get the history right, and most pages come with some sort of commentary on the scenes as they pertain to the record of events.
Jane's husband, Paul, is also a comic artist, and he's started a web project called BPM (beats per minute). It's about a young DJ named Roxy who's trying to raise her craft to the breakthrough level. Paul does some interesting stuff with merging his amazing drawings with elements from photographs to set scenes. The story follows a familiar arc, so far, but neither Jane's nor Paul's webcomics have gotten very far, yet.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
A big, long post about games
All of this visitation for the sake of helping us out has also had the side benefit of me getting to play a lot more games. I've actually had to do very little evangelizing, which is nice. Folks are beginning to get that this is one of my diversions, and actually offer to play a game, even when they've "never heard of any of these". And it's gone well, meaning that we've managed to pick the right game(s) to play with the right people. The following is a list of games (number of plays) from the past few months...
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers (7)
Lost Cities (6)
San Juan(5)
Samurai (5)
Ticket to Ride: Europe (4)
San Marco (4)
Mr. Jack (3)
Arkham Horror (2)
Lord of the Rings - The Confrontation (2)
Caylus (2)
Power Grid (2)
For Sale (1)
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization (1)
Amun-Re (1)
Ra (1)
Prophecy (1)
Citadels (1)
Starship Catan (1)
Far and away, the most popular game with newbies has been Ticket to Ride - Europe. We've had 3 friends track it down and buy it after one play. I know that these games aren't for everyone, so it's really nice to see the spark in a new person's eyes. You just hope that it's not accompanied by despair in their spouse's eyes...
The best new game that I played in the past few months is Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization. It's a civilization-building game that's driven primarily through the economy of workers and resources. Unlike most civ games, there is no map, so there is no geographical or spatial element to the game. All civs start with rudimentary farming, mining, religion, philosophy, a band of warriors and a despot, all represented by cards. Throughout the game, then, you try to upgrade the various areas of your civ by drafting cards from a constantly changing display. However, you have to properly manage your food supply, resource production, population growth, and investments in technologies to take advantage of opportunities. Plus, you have to keep pace militarily, lest you become a juicy target to a hawkish opponent. Fun, fun, fun! A 3 player game takes about 2.5 hours, and it just flies by. The designer, Vlaada Chvatil, has really been distinguishing himself as a star over the past few years, with games like Prophecy and Galaxy Trucker.
My friend Chris recently hosted a games night, and I got to play some new stuff. First, the classic Set, which isn't really my kind of game. It's a speed game, and I suck at these. Then, a connection game that's based on the London subway, called On the Underground. You are trying to build the most desirable connections in the Underground, while taking advantage of scoring opportunities on the board. You basically chase points the entire game, so someone who jumps ahead early can be tough to catch. I'd like to try this again, now that I've seen what it looks like when you employ a series of failed strategies.
Finally, I played another train-type game, called Wabash Cannonball. Here, you're auctioning off stock in five different train companies. The winning bidder puts his bid into the company itself, to be used for building track. Thus, if there is more than one person owning stock in a company, the company has more money and can expand quickly. The catch is that the value of individual stocks is diluted by an increased number of shares in circulation (one share receives full dividend, two shares get 50% of dividend each, etc). On your turn, you may either expand (build track to get to valuable areas of the map), develop (upgrade one of the sites that you have connected to raise the value of your stock), or captalize (put a share of stock up for auction). The game lasts about an hour, and the winner is simply the person with the most money in hand. Stocks are worthless, as is any money in a company. The winner is the person who 1)didn't overvalue stock shares, and 2)made good use of opponents to put money into his/her companies. I've been thinking a lot about this game, and I can't think of a foolproof strategy, or even a good way of objectively valuating stocks at any given moment in the game. Must play again!
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers (7)
Lost Cities (6)
San Juan(5)
Samurai (5)
Ticket to Ride: Europe (4)
San Marco (4)
Mr. Jack (3)
Arkham Horror (2)
Lord of the Rings - The Confrontation (2)
Caylus (2)
Power Grid (2)
For Sale (1)
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization (1)
Amun-Re (1)
Ra (1)
Prophecy (1)
Citadels (1)
Starship Catan (1)
Far and away, the most popular game with newbies has been Ticket to Ride - Europe. We've had 3 friends track it down and buy it after one play. I know that these games aren't for everyone, so it's really nice to see the spark in a new person's eyes. You just hope that it's not accompanied by despair in their spouse's eyes...
The best new game that I played in the past few months is Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization. It's a civilization-building game that's driven primarily through the economy of workers and resources. Unlike most civ games, there is no map, so there is no geographical or spatial element to the game. All civs start with rudimentary farming, mining, religion, philosophy, a band of warriors and a despot, all represented by cards. Throughout the game, then, you try to upgrade the various areas of your civ by drafting cards from a constantly changing display. However, you have to properly manage your food supply, resource production, population growth, and investments in technologies to take advantage of opportunities. Plus, you have to keep pace militarily, lest you become a juicy target to a hawkish opponent. Fun, fun, fun! A 3 player game takes about 2.5 hours, and it just flies by. The designer, Vlaada Chvatil, has really been distinguishing himself as a star over the past few years, with games like Prophecy and Galaxy Trucker.
My friend Chris recently hosted a games night, and I got to play some new stuff. First, the classic Set, which isn't really my kind of game. It's a speed game, and I suck at these. Then, a connection game that's based on the London subway, called On the Underground. You are trying to build the most desirable connections in the Underground, while taking advantage of scoring opportunities on the board. You basically chase points the entire game, so someone who jumps ahead early can be tough to catch. I'd like to try this again, now that I've seen what it looks like when you employ a series of failed strategies.
Finally, I played another train-type game, called Wabash Cannonball. Here, you're auctioning off stock in five different train companies. The winning bidder puts his bid into the company itself, to be used for building track. Thus, if there is more than one person owning stock in a company, the company has more money and can expand quickly. The catch is that the value of individual stocks is diluted by an increased number of shares in circulation (one share receives full dividend, two shares get 50% of dividend each, etc). On your turn, you may either expand (build track to get to valuable areas of the map), develop (upgrade one of the sites that you have connected to raise the value of your stock), or captalize (put a share of stock up for auction). The game lasts about an hour, and the winner is simply the person with the most money in hand. Stocks are worthless, as is any money in a company. The winner is the person who 1)didn't overvalue stock shares, and 2)made good use of opponents to put money into his/her companies. I've been thinking a lot about this game, and I can't think of a foolproof strategy, or even a good way of objectively valuating stocks at any given moment in the game. Must play again!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
New post!
Ha HAH! Just when you least expected it...
Jill and I have finally done it. Just like all of you, we purchased a brand new Toyota Prius, joining the proud, smug world of hybrid ownership. What's that? You...you don't HAVE a Prius? Why, how sad for you. It must be terrible to know that you are polluting our environment in a completely preventable way, each and every time you fire up your outdated, inefficient planet killer. Don't worry, I won't judge.
I took this image on my new Palm Centro. That's a SMART phone. I'm insufferable, lately.
So exactly four days after taking possession of this amazing technological wonder, I managed to scrape it against a pylon in a parking garage. I've driven large pickup trucks, moving vans, SUVs, a Mercury land yacht, and, most recently, a Ford Taurus, but I have never before managed this particular maneuvre. I uttered quite the stream of expletives (actually the same one, over and over (begins with "f", and it's not "floozy")) before my friend Kathy talked me down, and helped me to safely back the car out and find a different parking space. Thankfully, the damage was only $250, and now THAT'S out of the way.
Jonathan and Emile were recently in town. Although their presence was captured on our camcorder, I somehow managed to not take any pictures of them, so I submit the following:
Anyhow, Jonathan had asked me what they could do to help out, what with Jill's cancer and my crippling depression. I looked him in the eye and said, "Guest blog." He looked puzzled. I pressed on. "Jon, I need you to write a guest blog entry, chronicling your Seattle misadventures, with some nice pictures". Tears welling in his eyes, he swore that he would do this thing. I think that he recognized that this is bigger than all of us; yet without all of us, it's actually not that big at all. Meaning that with all of us, one can rise to the challenge and be the eye of the tiger when the final countdown begins. I'm sure that if you look within -- I mean really look within -- you'll find a misadventure or two that you could guest blog about, too.
More soon, OR NOT!
Jill and I have finally done it. Just like all of you, we purchased a brand new Toyota Prius, joining the proud, smug world of hybrid ownership. What's that? You...you don't HAVE a Prius? Why, how sad for you. It must be terrible to know that you are polluting our environment in a completely preventable way, each and every time you fire up your outdated, inefficient planet killer. Don't worry, I won't judge.
I took this image on my new Palm Centro. That's a SMART phone. I'm insufferable, lately.
So exactly four days after taking possession of this amazing technological wonder, I managed to scrape it against a pylon in a parking garage. I've driven large pickup trucks, moving vans, SUVs, a Mercury land yacht, and, most recently, a Ford Taurus, but I have never before managed this particular maneuvre. I uttered quite the stream of expletives (actually the same one, over and over (begins with "f", and it's not "floozy")) before my friend Kathy talked me down, and helped me to safely back the car out and find a different parking space. Thankfully, the damage was only $250, and now THAT'S out of the way.
Jonathan and Emile were recently in town. Although their presence was captured on our camcorder, I somehow managed to not take any pictures of them, so I submit the following:
Anyhow, Jonathan had asked me what they could do to help out, what with Jill's cancer and my crippling depression. I looked him in the eye and said, "Guest blog." He looked puzzled. I pressed on. "Jon, I need you to write a guest blog entry, chronicling your Seattle misadventures, with some nice pictures". Tears welling in his eyes, he swore that he would do this thing. I think that he recognized that this is bigger than all of us; yet without all of us, it's actually not that big at all. Meaning that with all of us, one can rise to the challenge and be the eye of the tiger when the final countdown begins. I'm sure that if you look within -- I mean really look within -- you'll find a misadventure or two that you could guest blog about, too.
More soon, OR NOT!
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