Spring??

I woke up this morning to temperatures that were almost in the 50's. In JANUARY. Now, while I enjoy an occasional reprieve from the cold weather of winter, this one was just cruel and unusual. I mean, we know that winter is still here for another few months and spring is a ways away...but this weather gets those spring thoughts in my head. I must have spent an hour today thinking about getting the motorcycle out for a spin!

One good thing is that this will thaw things out a bit. My windows in my apartment have been frozen shut, the sliding door was frozen, my car was really never thawing out...it was getting to be a mess. But, all in all, days like this are more torture than anything else.

Contests

I typically don't buy raffle tickets...cause I rarely, if ever, win. I will, however, enter a free contest just for shits and giggles.

Both Laura and I entered a contest that I SO wanted to win: a chance to go see the 49ers play in the Superbowl. Needless to say, neither of us won. The winner was to be notified by telephone today and not a damn thing came through.

Well, around 6 o'clock, we were chatting on the couch and my phone rang. As I looked at it, my heart kinda skipped a beat...it was a California number. Alas, it was just a telemarketer. But, for one brief instant, I thought I had actually won.

The point of this is that just once I would love to win a contest. A 50/50 raffle, an internet "enter to win", something along those lines. I mean, I've won the chance to buy Red Sox tickets before, but is it really winning when you still have to pay? 

Mike Tyson

While I never thought I would ever have anything in common with Mike Tyson, I now do. Today was the last part of my root canal procedure...the one that put a gold crown on one of my teeth. Apparently the crown is thin enough that one of the porcelain crowns wouldn't have stayed long without breaking. So we went gold, baby!!! I'm all gangsta and shit.

In all seriousness, it's way in the back and you'd have to look for it to actually see the thing. But, you know, I've got a gold tooth now.

I think I can keep mine longer than Iron Mike did. After all, I don't have a pet tiger.

Cable

While I was in college, I didn't have cable. Hell, I didn't even have a TV say nothing about cable.

Then I graduated and remedied the television problem. I bought a nice one. But even though I had that and a blu-ray player, I couldn't bring myself to get cable. It was just too pricy.

So I signed up for Hulu Plus, and kept my Netflix subscription going. And that has worked well. But you know what? I miss cable. I miss the shows I wouldn't watch in any other way. I miss sports!!!

My dream would be an affordable package where I could pick the channels I wanted. An a la carte package. Can we work on that??

Jetpack Joyride

I grew up as a video gamer. When I was a little kid I had an Atari, a Colecovision, and a Vic-20. I loved the digital entertainment and as technology advanced, so did my love of gaming.

Sometime in the mid 1990's that love waned a bit. A lot of my friends moved away, gaming by myself was only so fun, and it just got WAY too expensive. If you look at console gaming, the initial investment on the base system was a good chunk and then the games were at least $50 a pop for anything worth playing. And computer gaming was getting just as bad. To keep your system up to date to play the newest games you had to keep upgrading your hardware.

So, I drifted away from those games...but never quite lost my love of video games. I would still pick up certain things for my computer: WoW interested me for a while, City of Heroes was amazing, and I would break out Guitar Hero for the old PS2.

Then came the smartphone. Now, in my pocket, I can carry around a device that will let me play a quick, entertaining game at my leisure. Stuck in line at the store? Sure, let's play for a bit. Waiting for someone to show up? Why not! Not quite ready to fall asleep? Perfect!

Today I'm going to talk about one of these games, Jetpack Joyride. The premise behind this game is simple. You break into a lab at the beginning of the game, steal a jetpack, and then make it as far as you can. Along the way you can pick up coins, ride in vehicles, and dodge missiles. Simple, yet addictive.

 

I think this game has been holding up for me because there are constant goals that you are trying to achieve. And I've yet to find the end of the goals. So as long as there are new tasks to conquer, I'm in! I believe it is $.99 right now, but it tends to go on sale for free every now and then. Check it out!

Cold!!

As a lifelong Vermonter, I've come to expect the cold weather in January and February. It happens almost every year. But as I've gotten older I've noticed that it seems to be harder to stay warm during cold snaps like this. Especially when the wind chill brings it down to -20.

But, I have a nice warm apartment, which helps, and two Christmas gifts that help make it a lot more bearable  nice warm slippers from mother and comfy athletic pants from Laura. It's nights like these that I enjoy getting those on!

Times like this also make me think about how much I hate winter. At least, the really cold winters. I don't mind it when the temperature hits zero a few times during the season, but prolonged cold snaps are for the dogs.

Spring will be here before we know it and this will all be a distant memory. In the meantime, I'll try to stay warm, keep busy, and think about those wonderful warm days that are in the near future!

Epic Gaming - A New Adventure

A few months ago I went to Texas to attend BGG.con, a convention centered around board games. It's run by the folks that are responsible for BoardGameGeek.com, which is a page I frequent on a daily basis for all of my gaming needs.

One of the things I loved the most about that trip was my ability to play some games that I don't get to the table that often. I have more than one regular game group, but there are limitations to what each group will play. Some of them like games that aren't quite as complex and rule-heavy, and others just plain balk at having to learn a new game.

So on my way back from Dallas, I decided to form a new gaming group. One centered around playing the games that I LOVE, but don't get much of a chance to play. There were quite a few people in my current groups that would be into this, but they weren't typically in the same place at the same time. I wanted to fix that, and the Epic Board Game group was born.

My goal was quite simple: get a group of people together that didn't mind investing a few hours into a game that had some meat on it's bones. Pick a game, set a date, and let it fly. And there were some people that were VERY interested in this format.

For our first game we decided to tackle Battlestar Galactica.

 

This is a game based on the 2004 television series of the same name. If you're unfamiliar with the show, it is about humanity being all but destroyed by sentient robots. There's a bit more to it than that, but the basic premise of the show is that. 

One of the kickers about the show is that the robot "cylons" have developed a new set of cylon models that are indistinguishable from humans. And they walk among us. And it is impossible to tell who is a human and who isn't. 

The game works along the same lines to create a hidden traitor mechanic. One or possibly two of the people playing are cylons, and you have to figure out who they are before time runs out. And, of course, while you're trying to win the game, the cylons are trying to make you lose it. 

So six of us played this game last Saturday night: myself, Don, Aaron, Daniel, Sean, and Shane. And it was a blast. I've played this game quite a few times before, and it never fails to disappoint! While the gameplay is very solid in of itself,  the social aspect is where this one shines. Accusations fly, people are sent to the brig, and lots of fun is had by all. In the end the humans squeaked out a victory, with Shane and Don revealing themselves to be cylons who were working against us. 

I have to say that I'm enjoying this new gaming group already...and I can't wait to set up the next night!