Matthew Baldwin does it again: DNC Urges Clinton's Demise.  Hilarious (Hillary-ous?).

Shannon Appelcline wrote a nice review of the Iron Dragon Computer Game over at RPG.Net.  Funny thing, I just discovered this game on Saturday after a referral from Doug Walker.  I've played the demo and was quite impressed.  I purchased the game at a fire sale at Amazon ($15 or $20) but still haven't played the “real-life” version.  I'm going to try the trial a few more times but it looks like a likely purchase.

Join me in a game of Wallenstein.  Game: TowerMadness.  Password: ripcity.

Jacob and I spent Saturday afternoon at Kevin Graham's for some gaming.  We picked up Ken and Brandon around 12:30 and arrived at Kevin's place on the east side around 1:10.  Doug & Mimi, Matt Riley, and a few new (to me) folks were also present.

While waiting for a few new arrivals, I taught a small group KC's new prototype card game Tres Amigos. This is a light trick taking game that shows some real promise.  El Guapo (going nil) still needs some work, but everyone had a good time.  Jacob was the victor.

The other group played a game of Landlord.  Ken is fond of this game.  I've only played once and thought it was a fun diversion, but could take it or leave it.

We then split into three groups (4/4/3).  Jacob played a game of the Days of Wonder remake of Piratenbucht called Pirates Cove.

By far the longest game of the day was the Settlers of Nürnberg.  Ken and Brandon both enjoyed this game which Doug managed to win.

I played Ticket to Ride with Mimi and Matt.  It seems that I'm pretty awful at this game, having played four times and never coming close to winning.  Mimi crushed us, though Matt was in the running.  Mimi and I also taught Matt how to play San Juan, and I fared a bit better there, winning soundly.

The Pirate group then brought out Formula De Mini.  I don't know if they played with the alternate pit stop rules - a requirement in my book.

I had been hoping to play Through the Desert, a recent used game acquisition, so three of us took to the desert to give this fairly abstract game a try.  I liked this game A LOT, though it ended quite quickly (we all seemed to be grabbing the same camel colors).  Novice games like this (none of us had played it) are not very representative of typical play, so I hope to play again soon to see if my liking sticks.

The day ended for us with a game of Kings Gate.  This appears to be a solid, short, lightweight game.  I picked it up from the judges' prize table at Game Storm and didn't expect it to be much.  I'm pleasantly surprised, though we were playing wrong.  Somehow I screwed up the rule about what it means for a location to be surrounded.  We declared it surrounded once all of the orthogonal adjacencies were filled rather than all 10 squares (including the 4 diagonals).  This obviously makes a huge difference, so I'll have to play again soon by the correct rules.  It was still fun though...

Jacob and Matthew had their end-of-year piano recital on Saturday.  They both did very well, and given that they enjoy it so much (and therefore practice) we plan to continue their lessons next year.

The boys closed out their recital with a short ensemble piece.  Their teacher is shown guiding their performance.

Somehow I got on the email list for Army ROTC alumni at Washington University.  Probably an alumni database screwup, as I was actually in Air Force ROTC there.  This week I received a newsletter talking about what's going on with the Army ROTC detachment this year, and included was some funny Army Humor that I thought I would share.

VOICE MAIL
Thank you for calling the United States Army.  I’m sorry, but all of our units are out at the moment, or are otherwise engaged.  Please leave a message with your country, name or organization, the region, the specific crisis, and a number at which we can call you.  As soon as we have sorted out the Balkans, Iraq, Korea, China, the Y2K Bug, marching up and down the streets of Washington DC, and compulsory “Consideration Of Others” training, we will return your call.

Please speak after the tone, or if you require more options, please listen carefully to the following numbers:

• If your crisis is small, and close to the sea, press 1 for the United States Marine Corps.
• If your concern is distant, with a temperate climate and good hotels, and can be solved by one or two low risk, high altitude bombing runs, please press 2 for the United States Air Force.  Please note this service is not available after 1630 hours, or on weekends.  Special consideration will be given to customers requiring satellite or stealth technology who can provide additional research and development funding.
• If your inquiry concerns a situation which can be resolved by a bit of gray funnel, bunting, flags and a really good marching band, please write, well in advance, to the United States Navy.  Please note that Tomahawk missile service is extremely limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
• If inquiry is not urgent, please press 3 for the Rapid Deployment Force.
• If you are in real hot trouble, please press 4, and your call will be routed to the United States Army Special Operations Command.  Please note that a compulsory credit check will be required to ensure you can afford the inherent TDY costs.  Also be aware that USASOC may bill your account at any time and is not required to tell you why, as it may be classified.
• If you are interested in joining the Army and wish to be shouted at, paid little, have premature arthritis, put your wife and family in a condemned hut miles from civilization, are prepared to work your butt off daily, risking your life, in all weather and terrain, both day and night, and whilst watching Congress erode your original benefits package, then please stay on the line.  Your call will shortly be connected to a bitter, passed-over Army recruiter in an old strip mall down by the Post Office.

Have a pleasant day, and thank you again for trying to contact the United States Army.

Julie, Jacob, Matthew and I spent the weekend in La Pine, Oregon, located in central Oregon just south of Sun River.  Jacob had a busy weekend of baseball scheduled (5 games over 3 days).  Many of our friends opted for houses or condos in Sun River or Bend, but we decided to stay right in La Pine to (1) experience a new town (2) get an indoor pool and (3) minimize the driving to/from the games.  Here's a short photo journal of our weekend.

Jacob's first game on Saturday wasn't until 2pm, so after a dip in the pool we played a 4-way game of San Juan.  This was the closest game I've played in so far - Jacob, Julie, and I each finished with 35 points.  There is usually opportunities for second-guessing of choices in this game, and this was no exception.  I held on to one to many cards one round when I could have tucked one away in the Chapel - of course that cost me the one point that would have led to victory.  Jacob won by the tiebreaker, continuing his unbeaten streak.

Matthew is usually the true hero of events like this - he spends most of the time trying to keep himself busy while his big brother plays game after game.  His time will come soon for tournaments like this, possibly as soon as next year.

Not that he didn't find any time to play and occupy himself.  A good part of Saturday afternoon was spent playing with some of the cute sisters of Jacob's teammates.

Jacob's coaching staff is simply wonderful.  Coach Dyer (left) has a great sense of humor and is a master at reducing tension and making the boys feel comfortable.

Jacob's catching abilities are really coming along.  One key as a catcher is to get a quick release when throwing out baserunners - this means minimizing steps and snapping your throw.  At the start of the season Jacob would often take two steps before throwing and would sometimes double-clutch.  Lately his release has become much quicker - now he needs to work on his arm strength and speed.

Sunday's games were over by early afternoon.  We drove about 25 minutes to Newberry National Volcanic Monument to visit the Big Obsidian Flow.  This was well worth the trip - a huge flow of obsidian sits alongside volcanic rock, and this time of year also meant quite a bit of snow.

We ended the day on Sunday with a visit to Paulina Creek Falls, a nice little waterfall beneath Paulina lake.

Jacob's team did very well, finishing 4-1 over the weekend with their only loss to one of the other strong Sherwood teams.  All of this pre-season tournament work appears to be paying off - they had their first regular season game tonight against an Aloha team and beat them 16-1.

Sorry for the brief diversion into home appliance review, but I'm pleased enough with my recent purchase of the Philips Senseo that I just had to share my thoughts. About a month ago I noticed that Target was having a sale on these devices.  I had been looking for a solo, cartridge or packet based coffee maker for a while but wasn't willing to spend the $100+ the European models were going for.  I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee, and I prefer to grind my own beans.  Sometimes I like to make espresso as well, so our counter was consumed with a grinder, a plain-old-brew style coffee maker, and an espresso machine.  Clean-up is very much a pain, especially when you grind your own beans and have a tile counter.

The Senseo uses mesh pods, minimizing clean-up mess.

I would suspect that the cost-per-cup is higher than alternatives, but when you factor in that there is no waste (I drink every bit that I brew) it seems very reasonable.  A package of 18 pods costs about $3.35, and new suppliers (like General Mills) are getting into the business of making pods which should create some more price pressure.

You can make either a single cup or two cups at a time.  My preference is two-cups into the same mug.

The resulting coffee is about half-way between a standard brew and espresso, which is just about perfect for my taste.  If the coffee is too strong or bitter, you can run a second cup through the same pod to weaken the flavor a bit.  I wouldn't say it makes the best cup of coffee I've had - I still prefer the output from a good espresso machine.  Still, it is much better than a standard brew and much easier to deal with.

Later today (it is Friday early morning right now), the four of us will pack up the car and head back to central Oregon (La Pine, to be specific), this time for Jacob's weekend baseball tournament (schedule here, White Sox division).  This will be a nice break - we haven't had time like this together as a family for a while, and his schedule is such that we should get some time to explore on Saturday morning.  I'll take plenty of photos of course.

This will be my last entry on the Sun River gaming extravaganza.  Sunday was a shortened day - George and I left together around 3:30pm to get home in time to see our kids to bed.

We started the day with a replay of KC's Tres Amigos, a clever little trick taking game.  This was enjoyable for me as we tweaked the rules as we went along, trying a few variants including the ability to go 'nill'.  This turned out to be a bit easier than anyone initially thought, so the points were probably imbalanced.  Chuck one this match in a come-from-behind manner by, you guessed it, going nill in his last hand.

George, (I think) Dave, Chuck, and Mike played San Francisco.

KC and Rita were very interested in a game of New England.  This was one of my favorite new releases last year so I eagerly joined in as did Doug.  This game, as are most I play, was very close.  I believe KC won, scoring the winning points on his final play.  We exhaused the tiles and cards simulataneously.

Tongiaki comes out. I don't get to play this game nearly enough.

I asked to play Magna Grecia - this is a game I picked up on the cheap a few weeks ago so wanted to learn from an experienced player (Doug in this case).  This game reminded me of Java - tons of choice and opportunities for analysis paralysis. A bit too abstract for my taste, but it was enjoyable and I'll play it again.  It took a while to grasp all of the connectivity and scoring rules.

This game of Tyranno Ex took quite a long time to play.

Mike and I played Blue Moon again.  This is a non-collectable two-player card game with big cards and some fantastic artwork.  The game, however, I could take or leave.  Most games Mike and I play (we've played 4 now I think) end up in a draw or an unsatisfying victory due to deck exhaustion.  I would rather played a pre-constructed Magic or Game of Thrones game.

As George and I left, KC was setting up for a game of Base Camp Delta for the diehards that stayed through Tuesday.

I want to extend my thanks again to Doug for offering up his house to our group, and to the rest of the group for welcoming me into their fold.  These guys (and Rita!) are a fantastic group to hang out with and I'm blessed to be a part of it.