Lapse...

Just a short note to let folks know I haven't been doing anything online since Saturday -- I got the bug that was going around school, and it wiped me out for a couple of days. Today I was playing catch up...

Will get a new "real" posting done tomorrow.

Another Day, Another Penny...

Yes, today is payday -- and it's needed! With all the work being done on the house, it seems that my money slips away from me way too quickly. And I'm not sure we'll even get the house on the market this year (I'd say less than 50-50 now). So much to do, so little time.

Today, I think I'll just lay out some random ramblings. But please, no comparisons to Larry King...

I want to play Successors this weekend. I doubt I'll be able to rustle up 3 others on a short time frame, though...

Frankly, I'd be happy to get any gaming in this weekend...

Looking forward to Cake on Sunday night...

The Naples Grape Festival is this weekend. I may sneak down for a bit on Saturday...


Grape pies are good, very good...

I need to get into shape...

The two previous thoughts don't work together...

I need to practice "Heel" with Cheyenne this weekend...

I have an urge to get a tattoo...

I love Crocs and need to buy some new pairs...

Having a Smartboard in the classroom is clutch...

Al Davis still needs to die...

Baseball continues to bore the Hell out of me...

Hockey will soon be starting -- Go Sabres!...

I really don't care if the debate between McCain and Obama happens tonight, or not...

I want to go steelhead fishing...

I'd love to win the Lotto...

Ocracoke continues to be my favorite vacation...

I hope we get snow by Halloween...

I detest texting on cellphones...

Hell, I detest cellphones (though they're turning into a necessary evil)...

I need to get more sleep on school nights...

Cheyenne...

I started writing about Gypsy, my best friend who died in March, 2007. But it was getting me too emotional -- I had to retool things, and think happy thoughts. I will get to a tribute to her some day, but I need more strength than I currently have.

So I decided to write about Cheyenne, the girl who appears at the top of this page, since she always (well, usually!) brings me joy.

One can never replace their best friend, but one can develop a new "best friend" relationship with another great dog, and that's what I now have with Cheyenne. She is most certainly "my" dog, first and foremost, though she loves Deanna and her kids, as well. We have developed a bond of trust and companionship, something I doubted I could do with an adult dog (we got Cheyenne when she was about a year old, so I wasn't able to "mold" her as a puppy).

Cheyenne is a very active young dog, one who needs a lot of exercise. She is very intelligent, and when she gets bored, she gets in trouble. Kind of like me when I was a kid in school, LOL! She likes getting our attention (Hey, look at me!) by stealing shoes, and running around the house with them. She also will steal pencils off desk and counter tops, and chew them up. And she loves chapstick -- she has probably chewed up a dozen tubes. I'm hoping she'll grow out of this "naughty" phase soon, but all she's doing is trying to get our attention, so I can't get too mad.

Right now, with work being done on our house (and, hopefully, getting it on the market soon), I've been taking her to "doggie day camp" at PetSmart. This has been great for her, as she plays 3 hours in the morning, rests a bit, then plays up to 4 hours in the afternoon with the "big dog" group (though she's often the smallest dog there, at ~47 pounds). When I pick her up in the afternoon, she's pooped. And a tired dog is a good dog! She's obviously mostly Labrador, but we think she has Border Collie in her too -- based on some of her looks and mannerisms. So she needs to be active!

I did some private lessons with her over the summer, and she learns quickly. On the other hand, she can be passive/aggressive, and when she decides she's had enough, she'll often ignore me or do the opposite of what's asked (seriously). The trainer couldn't believe her eyes! D'oh! She's in a group class now with 7 other dogs, and is turning out to be the star. I'm proud of her.

I look forward to waking up to her wagging tail each morning as this gets the day off to a great start. I think I've done good in making her life a happy one, and she's done the same for me. Man, but I really have come to love this dog. I think we're both pretty lucky.

Warriors of God...

Played WofG with Mike last night. We randomly rolled up the "Lion in Winter" scenario, and rolled for sides -- Mike got France, I got England. The first few turns were close, but on turn 3 or 4 Mike lost most of his leaders, and it went downhill for him, quickly. My English were able to get control of large swaths of France, as well as the entire British Isles, so we called it after turn 8, with VPs at British 28. 30 is an auto victory, and I was netting 7 VPs per turn -- not a lot Mike could do at that point. He pulled off his best "I can't roll these damn dice" imitation well, rolling low for everything EXCEPT area control, where one wants to roll low, LOL!). His leader death rolls were low (except for guys rotting in prison), and his battle rolls were hideous. I keep on telling him he needs to stick to with games where low rolls are good, but then he'd probably roll high there...

Anyway, we had fun, and I enjoyed a few pints of Brooklyn Brewing Company's Oktoberfest.

I continue to be sucked into Successors, finding a misprint in the rules which was answered on CSW. I may even set it up solitaire to try a few things out. But what I really need is another 4-player game, and soon! Slow players need not apply, however...

This coming Sunday, Deanna and I have tickets to see Cake. I've always wanted to see these guys live, and they hold a special place in our hearts, as we got together while listening to one of their albums. My only worry is that I'll be the old fart in the crowd!

Anyway, getting through "Humpday" is always a bonus, and I'm enjoying most of the kids I have this year. Now, onto grading!

Following Zyzzyva

There's a new feature on Blogger that allows you to "follow" blogs you're interested in -- adding them to your "reading list." Check it out:

Dashboard on Blogger

This will alert you when there are new posts. I plan to become a "follower" for several blogs I enjoy visiting. I have one friend following Zyzzyva, and I hope to get more!

Successors and Football

I've been thinking some more about the GMT game Successors, since playing it on Saturday. It seems we played a few rules incorrectly, and I've found what appears to be a rule that makes no sense. I've posted on CSW for a clarification, and I hope the rule was just incorrect (it relates to taking vacant Major cities -- that is, a Major city with no control markers). I do think this one is a real "player," especially since Mark Simonitch and John Firer took over the design from the original designer and made it more, well, fun to play. I will insist on using chess clocks, however, if any of the players in the next game are thinking of not playing quickly.

And, man, but I really hate slow play. And whining. In fact, in a "friendly" multi-player game, I will throw away my position just to attack a whiner. No way will I ever let a grown man who makes the game unpleasant win. Makes my INFP side feel good...

Also, I heard from Jack Morrell, the American player in the Hold the Line game I was watching. While I reported the game as a British victory (for that's what I was I told -- I went off to play Iwo Jima before the game ended), Jack informed me that his Americans did indeed take Princeton with 2 turns to spare. Apologies to the Rebs!

Football this weekend was fun. I've been an Oakland Raiders' fan since I was 7 years old. But I've finally lost all patience with the old zombie, Al Davis. He's completely loonie, and I just wish him dead, so the team can move on. With him at the helm, the Raiders will always flounder. Once such a proud franchise, the class of the NFL, we now see the Raiders as the joke of the NFL. So I did something on Sunday I've never done before -- I rooted against them, and for the Bills. And the Bills won a good game on a last second field goal. Really a shame that we've sunk this low...

Somebody needs to die...

Finally, back to gaming. Headed over to Mike's tonight for some Warriors of God gaming. I must admit, this game is fun -- I love the chaos. And I'm happy to get back into a regular gaming schedule, now that school is beginning to get back to normal (and not be crazy each day!).

Back in the Swing of Things...

OK, my September resolution is to get Zyzzyva back on track, with at least 5 entries per week. I have a laptop I can use from home (though I still need to get a lot transferred over from my old desktop), the "beginning of the school year" hassles are winding down, and, frankly, I feel re-energized!

On Saturday, we had gameday at Millennium. I got there a bit late, and ending up watching Jack Morrell and Bill O'Neal play the Princeton scenario from Hold the Line. I have the game, but haven't played yet -- it looks to be right up my alley (quick and fun!). Bill's Redcoats hung on for the victory, as Jack was denied the Princeton hexes, right at the end of the game. While watching, a guy who found us on the Web came over to introduce himself. His name is Kevin Crowe (I think I got the last name correct), and he's been playing AH and SPI games for 30+ years. His old group of buddies has kind of gone their separate ways, so he decided to seek out new gaming friends. Since I started the Rochester Gamers in 2000, we've had so many stories like that...

Anyway, Kevin and I sat down to a game of Iwo Jima. As I'd yet to see a Japanese win, I offered Kevin the Marines. Of course, we'd been playing a rule wrong in previous games (U.S. armor and artillery need a beachhead to land -- we were letting them land without one!), so the Japanese won this one handily -- the Marines were raped on the beaches, and a beachhead wasn't established until Turn 5, which was too late. I felt bad, and hope Kevin comes back, LOL!

I went out for lunch at the Indian place a few doors down, then returned to Millennium and chatted with folks for a bit. Eventually, we got a 4-player Successors game going. It was a fun game EXCEPT for the fact that Marty Sample's favorite Atlantic Storm player whined and played sooooo slowly. Need to find a new 4th for the next game, or use chess clocks. It was excruciating. Anyway, I was dealt the 2 generals that controlled the Hellespont between them (both begin with "Ls") -- a nice starting position, but a dearth of troops. The first part of the game was spent securing territory, and I was doing all right, but was low man on the legitimacy totem pole. So I attacked a champion, becoming a successor, and shot up in VPs. As Turn 4 was ending, I grabbed Alex IV and had the highest VPs and Legitimacy, combined. One more round, and I could declare Alex IV the new ruler, with me as regent and the game win. But the "Treachery" card was played on me, I lost Alex IV, and the game went on. We called it due to time, and the player controlling a big army in Macedon (Jeff Heideman) probably would have won. A great game that could have been won by anyone, only marred by slow play and whining. I'm looking forward to playing this one again soon...

Well, Cheyenne's dropped off at doggie day care, the kids are arriving, so time for me to get into "school mode."

Yes, we're back!

Ike Got Us...

I know, I know -- I've been promising to get this going again, and I will!

For now, just a quick check-in to update y'all.

1. School is going well. A lot of work, so far, and now I'm getting ready for "Curriculum Night" which is this Wednesday. Just seems that there's more paperwork, meetings, etc. than ever before. Not to mention I have 97 students this year (last year I believe my total was around 85 -- a dozen extra grades take time!). We have had a Happy Hour both Fridays so far, so that's good!

2. Gaming is hit or miss. I hope to get some stuff going on Vassal soon, like picking up my Warriors of God game with Gary Phillips. Two Saturdays ago I was at UB and played Pandemic (3x), Hannibal: Rome vs. Carhtage, and Santa Fe Rails. This was the first time for Pandemic, and we couldn't beat the system ("normal" difficulty -- 5 Epidemic cards in deck). I soloed this one (4-player) the other night to see if I could win, and I still lost. Some folks on BGG are reporting this one as "too easy." If so, I guess I'm a dummy!

3. House stuff is going -- slowly. The work we're having done is almost done, but not quite. I'll be out about 5 Grand, once all is said and done. Damn... Also, have been taking Cheyenne to "Doggie Day Care" each morning, as she can't be in the house during the day when we're showing (even though the showing hasn't happened...). That makes my day even longer.

4. I know, I STILL have to report on the day Cory and I spent fishing on Conesus Lake. I have pics on my computer at home, not here, unfortunately...

5. Finally, as for Ike, the remnants blew 60+ MPH gusts around Rochester last evening. Our power got knocked out around 12:45 AM, and was still out when I left the house at 6:30 this morning. Had planned to have the electrician there this morning to get some work done. Guess that won't be happening.

As you can see, I didn't even put hot links in, but I'll do that once I get going "normally" again. Just wanted to let y'all know I'm still alive, and breathing. Barely...

First Day of School...

Well, it's here!

Kids have been good, so far. Young, though. Or I'm just getting old. Or a combination of the two...

I have a new computer, an IBM Thinkpad. I like it, a lot. I may just make this my main computer, as it uses the wireless at home so I won't have to wait on Deanna!

I'm close to coming back full time to Zyzzyva. Once the craziness of the first week is over and the routine gets going, I'll be catching up.

Can't wait!

Cake...

Scored 2 tickets to the Cake concert at the Rochester Main Street Armory -- a quaint location in which to see a great band.  I've liked these guys since the mid-90s, and have always wanted to see them.  I finally have my chance!  The tix are general admission, and I know there are some left, so anyone in the area, well, the more the merrier!  Concert date is Sunday, September 28th.

These guys are hard-core socialists, so I'm sure I'll have to bite my tongue a few times during the concerts.  Maybe I should wear my "Nobama" t-shirt that night?  If I were going to see Charlie Daniels, I'd wear my "OldCain" t...  Anyway, I wish bands would just shut up and play their music and not be preachy, but I like these guys enough that I'm willing to put up with it...

I'll leave you with a live clip of 2 songs -- "Sheep Go To Heaven" and "Frank Sinatra," split by some commentary by the band.

Enjoy.