Zyzzyva

Last Post for a While...

2009-06-08T22:01:00.004-04:00

Hey y'all...

I have decided to close down this "Zyzzyva" for a bit. Ya see, Deanna and I are separating, if y'all didn't know. It's a tough time, and I remain optimistic for the future, but I think I need to focus my private life postings on gaming stuff.

I hope that's kewl...

Maybe we'll be back someday, when my personal affairs are in better order...

:-)

Bad sh*t...

2009-05-19T21:34:00.002-04:00

Some really bad things have been going down in my personal life, and this has sapped all my energy as of late. I have kept my gaming "dates," but that's it. I don't wish to air my dirty laundry on a public forum like this, so I'll try to get the energy to post about something happy in the next day or two...

Thanks for putting up with my PMS. ;-)

Late Days...

2009-05-13T14:22:00.003-04:00

Even with all the volunteering for various stuff at school that I do, it's not enough, LOL! Today, there is the 5th Grade "visit/orientation" to the Middle School, and I had planned on skipping this since they had more than enough people going. Unfortunately, a couple people had to drop out at the last minute, so I volunteered to fill in during the 4:00-5:15 session, as warm bodies were needed. Ugh... I have the beginning of the Combat Commander Stalingrad Campaign planned for tonight at my place, 6:30ish. I haven't cleaned the game room up, thinking I'd be doing it now -- even worse, the "Rubble" counters are still unpunched (and clipped!). Will I be able to get to it on time?????

(Oh yeah -- if I leave now and come back, I'm told I won't find a parking space! 5th Grade parents are always worried about the jump to the Middle School, so it's a packed house...)

I still have to pick up Cheyenne from doggie camp after the 5th Grade stuff, then run a couple of errands, so I'll be cutting it close...

The weather here is turning nice, enough so that the A/C at the school was finally on today. Thankfully. My room gets really hot without it, even though a few girls always seem to be cold...

~5 weeks and counting (29 days with students, actually, then 2 more without), I think I can do it, I think I can, I think I can...

Grading, Grading, Grading...

2009-05-11T22:14:00.003-04:00

OK, got most of it done tonight, still have some Social Studies projects to grade (Greek Gods and Goddesses). My procrastination has come around to bite me on the ass since progress reports are due next week. I also have 2 meetings tomorrow -- 1 all afternoon (special ed placement) and one as a "stand in" for a colleague (Medieval Day planning) after school. I suddenly find that I need a bit more time...

As the week progresses, gaming will get good. Playing Combat Commander -- Stalingrad Campaign with Derek on Wednesday, then Espana 1936 with Mike on Thursday. Saturday is the Rochester group's monthly meet at Millennium, so the good gaming times will be continuing... I'll try and get some kind of AAR up, as it's been a while.

Syracuse did beat Siena, dominating the game but not scoring as many goals as they should have. The final was 11-4, next up are the Maryland Twerps, coming off a beating down of previously undefeated (yet untested) Notre Dame.

Finally, in my constant listening of books on CD whenever I'm in the car, I'm about 40% of the way through Frank Herbert's Dune, and I'm really enjoying it. Over the years, I've started reading the books about a half dozen times, always ending in boredom/frustration. On CD, however, I've really gotten into the book, and I'm glad I'm finally learning the story...

Procrastination...

2009-05-10T14:30:00.002-04:00

Sunday afternoon, and I still haven't graded all the Social Studies tests I need to have done by tomorrow, LOL! I just never learn... I will get to it, eventually.

I also have to clean up my game room as I'll be starting the Stalingrad Campaign game from Combat Commander with Derek P. on Wednesday -- and I have to get those counters punched and clipped (can do the latter in front of a game, in the evening...). I'm really looking forward to playing the campaign, as this takes one of my favorite games to a new level.

Syracuse is playing Siena tonight in the first round of the NCAA Division I lax championships. Syracuse got the #2 seed (Virginia got #1). I'll be watching tonight on ESPNU, even though Syracuse will probably (should!) crush 'em. I miss the days when I lived in the D.C. area and went to the championships over the Memorial Day weekend at College park, MD. I believe they're in that yucky Foxboro, MA this year...

I did bring a nice bottle of wine to my mother, and played lacrosse myself with Cheyenne earlier (lacrosse stick and tennis ball), so now I just need to get motivated to do what needs to be done. Onward!

Sunny Days...

2009-05-08T09:18:00.004-04:00

Turning into a real nice day today, and the same forecast for tomorrow -- low 70s. Only blight is that it may thunderstorm (scattered) every now and then. We shall hope not...

I decided to finalize my Memoir '44 collection by buying all the expansions (with some of my Poker winnings!). I also bought a Stanley Tool Box to hold all the crap, LOL! I guess I'm a true geek about this, as I don't even play the game that often...

I suppose I'll spend some time organizing my gaming room this weekend, built around taking Cheyenne out for some fun. This seemed like a long, lonely week, as I didn't get any weeknight gaming in.

Have a nice weekend, y'all!

Drizzly Days...

2009-05-07T10:53:00.002-04:00

Weather here has been pretty yucky the past few days. Right now, it's 51F and drizzling. Very, very gray. I guess this means spring is coming! On a better note, everything's beginning to bloom, and the Lilac Festival should be gorgeous this weekend. It's a fun time -- if you can get to it, just walking around ad taking in the sights and smells is worth it...

There's this little website called "My Brute" where you can sign up a "fighter" and automatically enter into fights with others. I got one going today, "Idiot Gal," and she went 5-1 in the arena. She's resting now and will have 3 fights tomorrow. It's not a computer game -- you don't control the fighters, you just sit back and watch. But it is mindless fun (I was introduced to it yesterday by John Foley). You can come and fight Idiot Gal (you don't lose/gain anything for this, as it isn't an "Arena" fight) by going here:

Fight Idiot Gal

Come on by, give Idiot Gal a fight, then head to the Arena to see how you fare! As far as I'm concerned, mindless is good sometimes...

No gaming with Mike this week, Espana 1936 has been pushed back to next week. I'm also going to get started on the Combat Commander Stalingrad Campaign with Derek P. soon, Really looking forward to that, as Combat Commander may just be my favorite game! I really need to organize my game room this weekend...

Last night, I got my first full night's sleep on a work night for the first time in the past 2 weeks. It's actually pretty nice to be able to come to work and not drag.

Great Weekend...

2009-05-04T11:43:00.004-04:00

Hung out with Cheyenne Friday night, lavishing her with a lot of attention...

...since I was about to put her in the kennel for Saturday and part of Sunday. I use PetSmart PetsHotel, and they're really good there. As she's a regular, they all know and love her (how could anyone not love Cheyenne?), and take extra good care of her. Of course, as I was packing Friday night she knew something was up, so she wouldn't leave my side!

Saturday morning, I took her to her hotel around 9:30, then headed to Buffalo. I drove out to the Seneca Niagara Casino and got there a bit after 11:00. I checked in, but didn't even head to my room, as I wanted to get to UB for the Buffalo meet (Grant LaDue's BACSIM) as soon as I could. I stopped for lunch on the way back, so arrived at BACSIM around 12:15. Grant had dropped off the tables, and a few folks were there. I broke out my copy of Small World, and we began a 5-player game. This is a crazy little fantasy-themed game where there are combinations (random!) of races (such as ghoul, human, dwarf, giant, etc.) and abilities (dragon rider, spirit, berserk, commando, etc.). What this adds is true variation, as each game will be different. So, in one game there could be "Pillaging Sorcerers," while in the next you could get "Mounted Sorcerers." Anyway, players conquer regions (empty, with a "Lost Tribe," or with an opponents piece[s]) and score points for areas, often enhanced by ability and/or race. For example, dwarves get an extra point for each mining area, while a merchant ability gives an extra point for each area you control! So, players need to maximize their own points while clearing areas of opponents' pieces that are collecting big points. Eventually, the race you control will go into "decline" (your choice of when), and you'll start a new race/ability combo next turn. Declining races still score points for where they're at, but they can't conquer new areas (save for the ghouls!) or score ability points. Victory points are kept hidden (in the form of victory point chits), so you're never sure how much each person has. All in all, a very clever game. In this one, I finished 3rd out of 5 and had a lot of fun.

Next up was Le Havre. I have talked about this one before -- it's the game where you're running a "company" working out of the docks. You collect commodities, build buildings and ships, and try to earn money. In the middle of all this is the need to keep your workers fed, so one has to get food goods as well as building materials in his inventory. We played a 3-player game and I won big, as I had as many buildings as the other 2 players combined!

A second game of Small World broke out with the 3 Le Havre players. Another fun time, and I managed 2nd. Finally, we got a 4-player Le Havre game going and I finished 2nd again, as my lack of food began to drag me down as the game progressed. I had to spend too much time divesting of the loans I was saddled with...

It was a fun day, but with 10:00 approaching (actual game playing time was about 6 hours -- bullshitting time was about 3 hours!), I decided to head to the casino...

Once I got there and deposited my stuff in my room (and what a nice room it turned out to be!), I headed down to the casino floor and walked around for a while. I played about $40 worth of slots, and this lasted a while. I never hit the big jackpot, but I tried. I really need to stop playing slots, as it really is a fool's game...

Around midnight, I headed over to the poker room and bought in to a $1/$2 table for $100 in chips. The table stayed pretty full, with 9 or 10 seats for the first couple hours (6 of us there the whole time). It was a good bunch of guys, with most engaged in friendly chat and no trash-talking. One old guy (a regular, based on the dealers' talk!) was in a foul mood as he kept on losing, but this meant he mostly scowled at the dealer... Around 2:00 a.m. I was at ~$110. It was one of those "up and down" nights, mostly down, as my cards had been shit! Finally, though, I look at a hand and I have pocket aces! Yes, I'm thinking, now the trick is to keep people in initially to build up the pot! A guy in front of my raises to $12, and 6 of us follow. The flop is A-10-2. Wow! Trip aces for me, and no good chance for anyone else to draw a flush (3 different suits). I figure my set is good, so I'm thinking about how to string out the pot (which is already about $75). After a couple checks, a guys go all in with ~$125 dollars. 2 folds in front of me, then me. I'm thinking, "WTF?!?!" He could have A/10, A/2, 10/10, or 2/2. Any way, I have him beat, unless another 2 or 10 comes up (and an A doesn't). OK, now's the time to make some $$$! I call, and it takes all my chips. The last 2 guys fold. Now, unlike poker on TV, folks aren't forced to show their cards on all-in calls, but we agreed to. I laid first, he saw I had 3 aces, and he says, "Shit," as he throws down K/Q off-suit. At first, I'm happy, until it strikes me (in about 3 seconds), that he has an out if a J appears. Then one guy at the table says he folded a jack, and another says the same -- so only 2 jacks possible, I'm looking good. The turn is a 7. Drum roll, I'm about to get a pot of almost $300! And the river is...

...a fucking J.

Holy crap, I was shell-shocked. The guy (a 6-Nations Indian from Toronto) apologized to me, LOL! I sat there through the next hand just shaking my head and chip-less. After another hand, the dealer asked me if i intended to buy back in, as there were folks waiting for seats. Shrug, I came here to win, so i threw another $100 on the table and loaded up...

Well, I played until almost 5:00 a.m., and, without boring you with each hand, I played solidly and smartly, making good reads and folding when I should have. I did catch one young guy who had too many beers in him, and won successive pots from him. When it was all said and done, I cashed out with $381 dollars -- a $181 profit above my $200 chip buy ins. If I had won my earlier all-in, I would have been at ~ $600 with a $100 buy in, not bad for 5 hours work. But what the Hell, $181 over 5 hours works out to $36.20 an hour. Not bad, especially doing something I truly enjoy.

My only wish is that I had started playing "competitively" 25 years ago, though there wasn't a casino in Niagara then, nor were the Internet sites running that far back, so I've done what I can... I really do love playing Texas Hold 'Em, and just need to get to the casino more often to do this, as I'm a better player in person than online (though I'm pretty good there, if I do say so myself...).

Anyway, I headed up to bed at 5:00ish, got up at 10:00, showered, checked, out, and grabbed a quick breakfast at the Casino (delicious blueberry pancakes from the Three Sisters Cafe -- for the Iroquois, the "3 sisters" were squash, beans, and corn), then headed back to Rochester. I got Cheyenne at about 1:00, and we headed home and crashed for a while. I also felt good that she had a lot of fun playing with her buddies at the kennel (I put her in day care, as I do during the week). Gaming and my dog, the good things in life.

Gaming, all kinds!

2009-05-01T14:16:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I'm headed to UB for the BACSIM meet and a day of boardgames. I've decided to crash at the Seneca Niagara Casino and spend the night there, playing some poker later Saturday night and Sunday morning. Maybe even a few slots (mindless throwing away of money is fun!).

It'll be a nice little getaway, as this has been a long, long week...

May Day...

2009-04-30T21:58:00.008-04:00

Unfortunately, May Day will never be a happy day for me anymore (and it has nothing to do with celebrations of communism...).

May 1, 1993 was my beloved dog Gypsy's birthday. She succumbed to mast cell tumor cancer on March 5, 2007. She was a paragon of health until this damn disease hit her. We fought it, together from June 2006 until her death. She had 9 excellent months, overall, and always got over her bad days. When she wasn't getting over her last bad day, I had to make the most difficult decision of my life. Just thinking about it is making me ball right now like a little baby. Fuck, but I loved that dog, and still miss her dearly. There's a verse in the song "Mr. Bojangles" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band that goes:

He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs
throughout the south
He spoke through tears of 15 years how his dog and him
traveled about
The dog up and died, he up and died
And after 20 years he still grieves

I know exactly how he feels and I also know that if I'm alive in 20 years, I will still be grieving, too. Someday I want to write about her -- maybe a "Marley and Me" short story or something, but I can't yet, as I'm still too sad about it all. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Here's a blurry picture of my girl that I keep on my cell phone. This was very near the end of her life, but she was still full of happiness (she was "talking" to me in this photo). She wore a t-shirt for 2 reasons -- so she wouldn't go at her tumors and so the medicine would stay on. What a wonderful friend.

As an addenda, the continued loss of my beloved friend makes my whole insides hurt. It is like nothing I've ever experienced before, and I've had most of my family die off over the years. While I'm sad about many of them, it doesn't weigh on me daily, like Gypsy does. And the hurt has gone away after 2+ years. This hurt for Gyppers is just just embedding itself deeper in my soul. I will always love that beautiful girl. Always.

On another bad note, some asshole(s) cut down 15 flowering pear trees around the tennis courts at the high school yesterday (their campus is right next to ours). Senseless vandalism at its worst -- I don't get what the perp(s) got out of doing this. Hell, break a few windows, tag the school's walls, whatever, but killing beautiful trees? Just makes no sense to me.

Senseless Destruction of Beauty

Weekend Approaching...

2009-04-30T08:12:00.002-04:00

It looks good for me to attend the BACSIM meet at UB this Saturday. I'll need to read the rules to my game of Small World and hope I can interest some folks! Maybe get a game of Le Havre in, as well. Who needs wargames, eh? Well, I'll bring some of them, as well...

I'm thinking I may spend the night in Niagara and head to the Seneca Niagara Casino Sunday morning. It's been a while since I've played poker there. I've been playing a lot of Poker Stars, and doing pretty well. I concentrate on tournaments, and when I hit a losing streak I find a 6-player table and win my $$$ back. Overall, since 2009 started, I'm about even, but should be up. I've made the mistake several times in the past of drinking too many beers while I'm playing -- and then I start playing dumb. I would guess I've lost $500 to stupid, buzzed plays. If I hadn't done that, I'd be sitting real pretty, but at least I've learned my lesson. Anyway, I'm finding that I'm better than about 90-95% of the players on that site, but there are a handful of players I run into that continue to teach me valuable lessons. I don't think I'll ever have the patience to get into the "elite" group, but I think I've established myself in the "good/very good" group (except after too many beers). Now, I need to get up the courage to play in higher stakes games. Of course, the players are better there, so the learning will start all over again...

Oh, Mike and I finished our earlier Onslaught game last evening. My Germans held west of the Rhine, and the Allies just never got rolling well enough to burst through. A well-timed "Bulge" offensive in Belgium allowed me to kill 3 Armored divisions (2 U.S. 1 French), blunting the Allied spearhead headed toward Antwerp. We decided to start another game, switching sides. My Allies broke out in July, then got several activations in a row and were able to cut off 3 German corps, annihilating them over the next few activations. Mike was able to pull back to Belgium and the Westwall, but another good run of activations for me allowed the Brits and Canadians to clear the Anwerp ports while 2 U.S. Armor corps broke through Luxembourg then crossed the Rhine -- General Patton would have been proud! With 30 Allied supply (the max) coming in each turn, and a breakthrough established, we decided to call the game. I do like this game, but I admit I got lucky (so maybe that's why I like it, LOL!).

Next week, onto an old favorite that I haven't played for awhile -- Espana 1936. Really looking forward to it!

Hump Day...

2009-04-29T11:47:00.003-04:00

No comments from my buds yesterday -- either I'm being ignored or folks still think Zyzzyva's "down." That's OK, it's not like yesterday's post was overly interesting.

Tonight I'm headed to Mike's to finish up our Onslaught game and start another. Yes, this truly is a 3-4 hour game, and, even though it has hexes and generic units, it does a nice job of simulating the breakout and attack on the Westwall. I also just started a Wilderness War game (Annus Mirabilis scenario) via ACTS. I'm the French, and the first card play for the Brits was the big Highlanders (4 units!). At least Wolfe didn't show up with them... I really do love this game, glad to be getting back into it.

We had a Greek Festival in class today, after the students gave presentations on Greek gods/goddesses/titans they researched. It was a lot of fun, and I'll be skipping lunch today after all those grape leaves, hummus, and goat cheese!

I'm pretty pooped right now, didn't sleep well last night for some reason. Had the strangest dream -- that I had died and was getting "lessons" from a ghost-like person about the "rules." Essentially what I could or couldn't do. I was asking about getting together with Gypsy, when I woke up in a cold sweat and my heart racing. Admittedly, this scared me somewhat, so it was over an hour before I was able to settle down and drift off again. Since I woke up into the world of the living this morning, I'm guessing it was only a dream...

Lethargy

2009-04-28T08:22:00.003-04:00

I was hoping that April would be a month of "rejuvenation," but it really wasn't. School was tedious (though I want to make clear to any readers that I've never given my students less than 100% -- it's just that by the end of the day I'm spent and feeling empty) and April Break was a drag. I did very little over break, save for playing a few games. I've been trying to jump-start a good diet and exercise program, but I'm just not finding the will, nor the energy. I really need to get out of my funk, or it will be the end of me (undoubtedly pleasing a few folks...).

Cheyenne continues to be my best friend, and I am giving what little I have to her. It's funny how one can become so close to an animal, but, as the saying goes, dogs truly are man's best friend. Still missing my other best friend, Gypsy, each and every day, and I'm still finding it hard to believe she died more than 2 years ago. I have decided, that, for me, the loss of a beloved dog is harder than the loss of a human, as no death has ever weighed on me so heavily. Cheyenne has helped take some of the sting out of things, though I don't know how I'll ever go through that again.

Cheyenne after chasing tennis balls...

So, there's my black mood, still festering. I'm not sure there will be anything to look forward to this summer. I'd love to get back to Ocracoke, but I imagine it would be a solo trip, and that's not going to fit the bill, I don't think. I do wonder if I'll ever get back to what has turned out to be one of my favorite places. There's a chance I can get Cheyenne involved in agility training this summer, so that might be the ticket to get outside and get some exercise. Part of me wishes I didn't dislike baseball so much, for the sports scene is pretty lame until football picks up again in the fall. Of course, there's always gaming, and that is one aspect of my life I still find some time to enjoy.

Right now, Mike Cardwell and I are on our 2nd game of Onslaught. I like the game, for it uses a variable impulse system, which helps create uncertainty and chaos. Right now, we're nearing the end of the game, and my Germans are hoping the Allies can't breach the Westwall too quickly! I also played my first game of Wilderness War in almost 2 years with Nels Thompson in Buffalo. I almost forgot how much I enjoy the game, and we decided to end in a draw after we both made some mistakes down the stretch. I'm hoping to get another game going soon. Oh, I also finished up my play-by-email Successors game. I didn't win, but had my chances. An attack of mine didn't work (poor dice and a mutiny in my ranks!), and this handed victory to Chris Milne. But had I won the battle in Greece, I would have been unstoppable. Oh well, win some, lose some.

Mike and I will be gaming this Wednesday, and I think I'll be headed to UB for BACSIM on Saturday. The question is, will I have to board Cheyenne to do so? That should keep me busy...

I'll probably try to keep the blog updated, at least minimally, with gaming content (if nothing else). I have purchased a bunch of "new stuff" lately, and there's more on the way. So, I should have some comments on games I have yet to try. If agility training does begin, I will be able to "diary" about her progress here, as well.

So, thanks for letting me take the month off (I know I'm back a few days early, but I had time...). I needed to do that -- now, if I could take a break from school, life, etc., I'd be fine!

Slacker, Slacker, Slacker...

2009-03-31T08:33:00.002-04:00

OK, it's clear that I don't have the energy to post here as often as should, which mean that folks coming here will/are losing interest. I've been in a bit of a funk for a while, so i think the best thing for me to do is take some time off, with the intention of coming back with a bang!

Hence, I will"close down" Zyzzyva for the month of April, and begin posting again on a regular basis in May -- I hope with a lot to say, LOL!

Folks that come here are my friends, and I want things to get interesting here again, meaning you'll want to stop by.

So, I'll see you on May Day (my late dog Gypsy's birthday).

P.S. Feel free to post any comments/keep conversations going -- it's just that I won't be making Blog posts here for the next month (realizing that catching my breath and shooting for a goal is the way to go).

Revving up Gaming (and March Madness!) Again...

2009-03-19T08:53:00.003-04:00

Got in a couple turns of Sicily last night with Mike (we started late, and called it quits earlier than usual). The invasion is making inroads, but Mike is now mucking up key points on the pathetic road network -- something I'll have to deal with the whole game. It'll be a race to see how fast I can move vs. how fast he can evacuate units to the Mainland (so I don't get points for eliminating and/or isolating them). A very interesting game.

Spartacus will get a play (at least!) at Saturday's Millennium meet. Looking forward to that, and whatever else hits the table there. It'll be nice to just kick back for a day and just play.

For NCAA hoops, this is the best time of the year! I really enjoy "March Madness," and have made my picks in several pools. I NEVER do well in these pools, so you may want to pick opposite of me, LOL! For some early round upsets, I have Mississippi State over Washington, Western Kentucky over Illinois, and Temple over Arizona State. My Final Four is Louisville, Memphis, Pitt, and North Carolina. I have Pitt beating Louisville in an all Big East final. But, no matter what happens, it will be fun! Syracuse should make a good run, we'll see if Boeheim can let the athletes play without screwing things up...

St. Paddy's Day Ramblings...

2009-03-17T08:41:00.002-04:00

Yes, I wore a green shirt today. Of course, I have much more in common with the Orangemen of Northern Ireland than I do with Irish Catholics... It's also Deanna's birthday. I doubt we'll be doing anything tonight.

Over the weekend we celebrated Cheyenne's birthday. As a "rescue" dog that came into our lives at ~ 1 year old, we'll never know here exact birthday. But, based on vet records from her previous life, March 15th seemed to be close, so, she turned three on Sunday. We went to Corbett Glen Park in Brighton, so she had a long walk and a swim in nice cold water -- her lab side overrules her border collie side when water's involved! It was good seeing her so happy -- running all over the place, enthused like a little puppy. I truly love seeing my dog happy. She got 3 presents, opening them all herself. One ball has a very annoying squeak, so, of course, she spent a lot of time running around the house squeaking it. On her birthday, that was OK.

Corbett's Glen

Well, Syracuse came up a little short vs. Louisville in the Big East tourney, but the epic game they played last Thursday vs. Connecticut will be one I'll always remember. 6 overtimes, and a 127-117 Syracuse victory. The most amazing game I've ever witnessed. And yes, since it didn't end until 1:22 AM EDT on Friday, I was really dragging Friday at work! SU got a nice seeding for the NCAA tourney, securing a #3 seed (I was thinking they'd get a 4 or 5). I love this time of year, as college hoops is really an exciting game to watch.

Finished in the $$$ in two online poker tourneys this weekend. Unfortunately, it was in the "little" money, but that's OK. I continue to learn, and I'm doing more than breaking even overall, so it's not just fun, it's profitable! I need to get to the casino to put some tricks into practice -- a Saturday night is the time to go, as the weeknights seem filled with old guys from Buffalo that are good. The drunk youngsters on Saturday nights give up their $$$ much easier!

Mike and I will be starting the Sicily: Race for Messina campaign game on Wednesday. We played through the U.S. Invasion scenario a week and a half ago, now it's time for the whole enchilada! It should be fun, and I think I have the rules down pretty well. This coming weekend is the monthly Millennium meet. I have a Spartacus game scheduled, and am looking forward to that -- I'm much more comfortable with CDGs!

School continues to drone on. April Break can't get here soon enough. Then summer. Woo-hoo! I have no idea what I'll be doing this summer, other than WBC. Perhaps Cheyenne and I will take a vacation somewhere...

School and Yuck...

2009-03-10T18:56:00.003-04:00

This is turning out to be a pain in the butt week at school. First of all, we lost an hour of sleep this weekend -- I know, I know, we all did, but... I've gotta be in my classroom by around 7:15 each day -- that's almost 2 hours earlier than the real world. And I'm a late night kind of guy... Secondly, mid-term progress reports are due on Wednesday. I've procrastinated for as long as I can... Finally, we have New York State Math testing Wednesday and Thursday. Always throws a monkey wrench into things. So, I'm even more tired than usual, and have a lot more work to do. This means I probably won' be able to play Sicily with Mike this week. Dang... We went through the learning scenario (U.S. landings only) last week -- I just need to reread the rules and I should be good to go.

I've also been feeling really rundown lately. I'm sure it's just a combination of lack of sleep, too much stress, and getting old, but I really want to feel better...

I'll shoot for Friday being a good day!

Wild Brighton...

2009-03-05T11:48:00.002-05:00

Thinking about my peregrine falcon sighting yesterday, I started thinking about all the wildlife I have come across in the town I live in -- Brighton, NY. Even though we're smack in the middle of suburbia, some animals have thrived here. Evolution at its finest!

Here's a quick list off the top of my head of animals that live around us:

Birds (not including songbirds -- too numerous!):

Turkey
Peregrine Falcon
Red Tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Barn Owl
Mallard Duck
Common Loon
Great Blue Heron
Shrike
Great Horned Owl

Reptiles/Amphibians:

Garter Snake
Grass Snake
Newt
Spotted Salamander
Leopard Frog
Bull Frog
American Toad

Mammals (including marsupials!):

Red Fox
Raccoon
Opossum
Coyote (wish these weren't around!)
White-tailed Deer
Woodchuck
Mouse
Rat
Beaver
Muskrat
Rabbit
Chipmunk
Squirrel
Mole
Bat (Little Brown Bat, I believe)
Skunk

I'm sure I've overlooked some animals, and there are others which have been spotted in Brighton in the past couple of years (Black Bear and River Otter), but not by me. I think that, if I had it to do all over again, I'd become a wildlife biologist. As it is, I enjoy having wildlife around, and I'm very glad that some species have been able to adapt to "city living!"

Peregrine Falcon...

2009-03-04T11:46:00.002-05:00

In my school, there's a small courtyard enclosed on all sides by three-story walls. I often cut through the courtyard, on the way to the copier or office from my classroom. In the past few weeks, I have seen no fewer than 5 pigeon wings. Nothing else, just the wing. Figured it was a hawk, eating a kill on the edge of wall, dropping the wings into the courtyard.

I was wrong.

Cutting through the courtyard today, I saw movement on the far side. Focusing on it, turns out there was a peregrine falcon eating its kill! The pigeon was about 1/2 eaten or so (a lot of food for a falcon that ain't that big!) and the raptor was staring at me. I quietly stepped back in the door I came out, not wanting to spook it.

I checked later, and the carcass had been picked pretty well clean (whether the falcon did this him/herself or mice/rats/crows/whatever helped out is unknown). The mystery of the pigeon wings is now solved. Evidently, this falcon understands it can "trap" pigeons in the courtyard, as they come down to eat seed and crumbs. A nice little hunting ground it's scoped out for itself! I am impressed, and hope to see this bird again, soon.

Pretty close to what I saw today

The Ancestors...

2009-03-03T09:03:00.002-05:00

While my surname is quite English, and my biological father supposedly traced it back to the Mayflower and Edward Winslow's family (look at me, a Blueblood, LOL!), the "good" side of me is all Italian. My mother's maiden name was Fumia, while my grandmother's maiden name was Caggiula. I grew up in an Italian household (having had my parents divorce at a young age), and both maternal grandparents influenced my life -- with more than food, though that was part of it...

Now, getting back to the Italians, the Caggiulas emigrated from northern Italy, around the Milan area. Boring... The Fumias, on the other hand, came from Sicily, around Caltanissetta. Interestingly enough, one of Rochester's "Sister Cities" is Caltanissetta, Italy! We even hosted an exchange student from there one summer -- I was 16, she was 20ish and beautiful, I was in love all summer, but I digress... I have always had a soft spot for Sicily in my heart, and it's one of the (very few) places in Europe I'd actually like to travel to (the British Isles being the other). I know my uncle went there about 10 years ago, ran into many distant relatives, and almost bought a vineyard (how we wish he had -- he now owns a vineyard in Oklahoma, of all places!). I think I could go there, use the Fumia name, and be treated well. Sicilians really are the best -- not truly Italians, but better!

So, with my fondness of Sicily, I actually agreed to play a hex game (no cards!) with Mike Cardwell on the Allied liberation of Siciliy in WWII -- Sicily: The Race for Messina. The rules have a bit too much grit for my liking, but I'll plow through them again in the next couple of days, to get ready. I hope to play the Allies, and I'll toast Papa Fumia when I liberate Caltanissetta!

Connections like this can truly make games "come alive!"

Civilization Building...

2009-02-27T09:03:00.003-05:00

On Thursday, I began the Roll Through the Ages game with my two Social Studies classes. They are both really "into" it, and were disappointed that we can only do 1 turn each class!

Interestingly, each class started with a different strategy. Class 1 tried to maximize the number of workers, and sent them all off to build the Great Wall. They are 5/13 of the way there, and, once completed, this will give them 10 VPs plus protect them from an invasions that may occur in the future. Class 2, on the other hand, tried to maximize their economy, going for goods and money. They were able to develop Irrigation on the first turn, and this will protect them from future droughts as well as give them 2 VPs. They were also able to "bank" 1 wood and 1 stone for the future.

It will be fun to see how things play out here. I hope both classes begin building more cities, though the siren's cry of a race to VPs from monuments and developments may be too much. We shall see.

And yes, I truly enjoy doing activities like this with my classes. I only wish I could do more!

The Long March...

2009-02-25T07:53:00.004-05:00

Finding it very hard to get back into the swing of school this week. And, even more distressing, I find that my $3 "Mega Millions" ticket didn't win, so no $143,000,000 for me. Not sure how I'll handle the disappointment...

I probably should have moved to the Keys 20 years ago. Or wish I had known about Ocracoke 20 years ago. Worked as a bartender, saved my money, bought a boat, then I could be spending my days on the water, making $$$ off tourists. Perhaps writing on the side (I have no tolerance for this right now after spending my days writing/around others' writing). Oh well, I guess we all look back and wish we did some things differently.

I wish I had more time to spend with Cheyenne and work her into the dog she should be. Whether it's an agility champ or a Frisbee dog, she really needs to be able to show off her athletic abilities. Unfortunately, after a long day at work, and long day in "doggie day camp" for her, we're both too pooped to do much more than hang out and/or take a short walk in the evening. Living in the 'burbs is also a hindrance to her training, as I just don't have the space I need. More laments...

I think I need to put in another 13 years before I can retire with full benefits (assuming my pension hasn't been pissed away by sleazy politicians), or 7 with limited bennies. I'm not sure I can hold out for 7, let alone 13! I really need to sit down with a benefits guy in Albany one of these days to find out my exact circumstances. I guess I should be happy I have a tenured position -- I've been out of work once in my adult life (my choice, so I could make a career change, and I even got a ton of money upon leaving), and it's not a fun place to be. Too many worries about what tomorrow will bring.

Maybe I will win Lotto one day. Somebody has to, right? Barring that, I guess it's hold on for the ride, eh?

Millennium Gameday...

2009-02-23T08:14:00.004-05:00

Had fun at Millennium last Saturday.

Played Le Havre, Roll Through the Ages, and Combat Commander: Pacific.

I'm really enjoying Le Havre. It's one of those "meaty" euros that seems very well-thought out for varying numbers of players. The game is a true balancing act and will be hitting the table a lot, over the years.

Roll Through the Ages was OK. It's like playing Yahtzee, with civilization building. I did have a thought about it last night, in that I could perhaps use it with my 2 Social Studies' classes, having them "play" each other. Might be a fun little activity to kick off each class.

Now, CC:Pacific was the best of the lot on Saturday (Hell, I'm a wargamer, what can I say?). Got to play scenarios set in Northern Burma ('44), the Philippines ('45), and Guadalcanal ('42). The game plays differently from the other Combat Commander games (Europe and Med), and I think that's a good thing. In the Pacific, combat seems more brutal, and I guess that's pretty historical. I think I prefer (slightly) the European and Med theaters, but Pacific will get played a lot, that's for sure -- like choosing between steak or lobster for dinner, depends on one's mood...

Now that school is back in session, I have a looooong stretch until April Break kicks in. Will I make it? We shall see! I do need to start getting more gaming in, both FTF and via the Internet. I even re-acquired Silent War, as I think having a solitaire game set up downstairs i can return to when bored will be a good thing. I hope...

And speaking of downstairs, we have mice running through the walls. Cheyenne hears them when I don't, and it drives her nuts! Well, Friday night I was cleaning up some games, getting ready for Saturday's game day, and she made a big commotion behind some boxes. Out she prances, with a ginormous mouse in her mouth (we're talking a fat bastard who's been eating well in my house)! I ask her to drop it, she does, and her tail is going a mile a minute. The mouse is quite dead (crunched, I imagine). I pick it up in a bag and put it out with the trash, then give her a big treat and make a huge fuss over her. She was very excited, and now she's even more focused on hunting down in the basement. Who needs a stinkin' cat, eh?

Next time, I'll need to take a pic...

NBW, more thoughts...

2009-02-16T12:40:00.002-05:00

Well, now that NBW is fading into a distant memory, I just wanted to post some memories from the con that didn't involve my games (as these have all been memorialized in earlier posts). I don't mean to leave anyone out, and please forgive me if I get a name wrong... Just some random thoughts.

1. Nels and Taylor fighting their way through the rules for Empire of the Sun. Now, these 2 have been known to easily quadruple the playing time of games, since they spend a lot of time chatting, but this one was a tough slog. Even Bruce Wigdor's Wargameroom.com program couldn't help them overcome this monster. I feel their frustration, as I was never able to "get' this game, even though I consider Mark Herman one of the best designers we have out there!

2. Art and Lembit fighting out Russia Besieged on the "big" map. For a while, it looked like Art was going to overrun Mother Russia, but Lembit held tough at Moscow, and eventually turned the tide!

3. Several games of Here I Stand going on over the 4 days we were there. Did Jeromey Martin win every single one?!?!

4. Four determined gents, including Jeff McBeth, untwisting the game that is Revolution: The Dutch Revolt. I have this one, and it seems to be a love it/hate it type of game. Guess i should try some day...

5. Through the Ages got a lot of play. Is it worth the time investment? Folks whose opinions I respect vary about this one...

6. Scott Nicholson, of "Boardgames with Scott," playing a different euro every time I looked up!

7. Stew Kiff, poised over the For the People board for most of the con -- I wish I had had more time to get a game in with him.

8. A really smart young guy, Jeffrey Wilson (13ish) who picked up games quickly and enjoys wargames. Maybe our future will be OK...

9. The genuine niceness of folks that attend this con -- everyone has a smile on their face. It's a very laid-back experience, and anyone will play a game with you, if they're not involved with something else.

10. Cory Wells bopping back and forth between gamer and rock star. I wish I had half the energy my friend does!

11. Kevin Rohrer's always full BIG mug of iced tea!

12. Marty Sample catching a few ZZZs during games when it's not his turn, then snapping back to it and not missing a beat!

13. Seeing Mike Cardwell happily sitting at a table talking to folks, seeing his vision of a friendly little get-together grow into something special.

14. Many 1856 type games going on -- don't know how they do it!

15. Folks missed this go 'round, like Pete Bartlett, Bob Titran, Steve Cuyler, and Frank Mestrve.

16. Ken Dingley's 13+ hour trip to Niagara from Connecticut, via Montreal! He got to see some nice scenery, at least. Ken really went the whole 9 yards, driving back to Toronto the morning after he arrived so that he could get the Spartacus boxes many of us had been waiting waiting. What a sweet looking game!

17. Finally meeting a long-time CSW friend, Marc Guenette, and his friend Francois. Now I really need to visit Montreal! (Maybe Ken can give me directions...).

18. Watching Neil Randall get involved in several different games at once -- i have no idea how the man keeps everything straight!

19. Seeing Bill Peeck and Bob Stribula playing Wilderness War. I had hoped to get a game in myself, but can't do everything...

20. Amazed at how many games of Unhappy King Charles were getting played at NBW -- and I didn't get in on a single one, dammit. This one is on the top of my, "to play" pile, that's for sure!

OK, I'm sure I left a lot out, but I think I'll stop at 20 and let my imagination run in my head until next year's NBW rolls around. Thanks to all for the great time and happy memories.

NBW Combat Commander Tourney

2009-02-16T11:55:00.004-05:00

GMT Games was kind enough to send me a box full of prizes for a Combat Commander tourney, and John Foley sent me instructions on how to get a "free-form" tourney up and running. Basically, folks were asked to play 4 games (later we knocked this requirement down, as it was clear not everyone could get in 4 games, based on other commitments), play the same opponent no more than twice, and stick to Europe, Med, or Paratroop (though Stalingrad was available by mutual consent, and we modified this to include Pacific, as well).

In the end, 15 "Combat Commanders" fought it out over a host of scenarios. The Scenarios played (many were played multiple times) were:

Europe:
1
3
4
6
7
8
9
Med:
13
14
15
20
22
23
24
Paratroop:
28
Stalingrad:
35
Pacific:
A
B
C

I do have many stats, such as who won what scenario, but they are incomplete, as not everyone provided all the information asked for. So, instead of posting incomplete statistics here, I'll list the participants, their final tourney score, and the prizes received, courtesy of GMT:

1. Rob Winslow (blush!): 20 points, CC:Europe*, Pacific Typhoon
2. Francois Petitclerc: 12, CC:Med, Pacific Typhoon
3. Nels Thompson, 10, Paratroop, C3i #21
4. Robin Griller, 9, Pacific Typhoon
5. Michael Kiefte, 8, Stalingrad
6. Marty Sample, 8, C3i #21
7. Ernie Lo, 6, C3i #21
8. Jeff Heidman, 6, DiF - Fighter Pack
9. Jeffrey Wilson, 4, DiF - Fighter Pack
10. Don Macintosh, 2, DiF - Bomber Pack
11. Cory Wells, 2, DiF - Bomber Pack
12. Jeromey Martin, 1, DiF - Bomber Pack
13. Marc Guenette, 1, DiF - Bomber Pack
14. Larry Sisson, 1, DiF - Fighter Pack
15. Jeff McBeth, 1, DiF - Fighter Pack

* I plan to donate my CC:E set to the first "newbie" who shows interest in the game at my local club. Fresh blood, yum!

Everyone had a lot of fun, and I certainly learned some new tricks for the future. Now, I have to break out CC:Pacific and start getting decent with those forces. So many scenarios, so little time...

Raising the Stars and Stripes at Iwo

So, thanks again to GMT for providing great prizes, and thanks to everyone who participated. Onto 2010!

NBW Report -- Sunday (2/8/09)

2009-02-12T21:49:00.006-05:00

Got up, showered, packed, then checked out. Headed back to the ballroom to see that it was only about 1/3 full now. Sniff...

I decided to get in one final game -- a 5-player Le Havre with the Canadian crew (Robin, Jeff, Kevin, and Chris). It was a fun game and I was doing pretty well. Robin thought he was out of it, but whenever I looked at his buildings, he was doing better than I! Well, I made a BIG mistake at the end, buying the Sawmill (why????) instead if the Bridge over the Seine. Guess who bought it? Yes, that sneaky Griller guy! Anyway, once the final round was over, Robin won. The scores were: 117-104-94-73-53. I had the 94, yet if I had bought the Bridge I would have had 108 and Robin would have been at 105 (I believe I did the math correctly). Double D'oh! My mistake again (I learned a lot from Griller thrashings in Dominion and Le Havre!), one I won't make in the future...

Well, Marty had a plane to catch, so we were off. I said a sad goodbye to the guys still there. I know I'll see Art and Lembit at WBC, but guys like Don and Michael from Halifax and Marc and Francois from Montreal will have to wait until the next NBW...

Icy Niagara

The border crossing was a piece of cake, Marty got dropped off on time, and I picked up Cheyenne from the kennel. I got home and then napped for 3 hours, as I was exhausted.

Another great NBW, my favorite "little con" in the world. Already looking forward to next February!!! My only disappointment was not making either of the Three Dog Night concerts. Now Cory's going to be hassled for tickets for a while until I can make the next show!

(Oh, I still need to post the CC tourney results, I'll do that soon!)

NBW Report -- Saturday (2/7/09)

2009-02-12T21:22:00.010-05:00

Got up a little late on Saturday, still pooped from the day/night before. After dragging myself downstairs, I headed off with Don MacIntosh and Michael Kiefte to Starbucks for some liquid life! Once we got back all caffeined-up, it was time to look for a game. Robin Griller wasn't involved in anything, so we decided to play a CC scenario. We chose a CC:Europe scenario, #6, in which an American officer shoots dead all 6 officers of a German Panzergrenadier unit before the game starts. So the Germans start slowly, as they have to recover from their loss of command & control. I was back playing the Germans, looking at an awful lot of excellent paratroopers heading my way shortly after D-Day. Well, Lady Luck was smiling on me, as we got a fairly quick couple of time checks, so my bad early command restrictions were soon lifted. The burden of the attack was on Robin, and my machine guns were getting in good (lucky!) shoots across the board. When the game ended, the Germans had the victory with 16 VPs. I was at 5-2 and the losing streak of yesterday was just a bad memory, LOL!

We decided to play another game, and Robin picked Scenario 22 from CC:Med, the Scots vs. the Germans I had played the other day against Marty. Not wanting to play the same side in a scenario twice, I picked the Germans, hoping for a better fate. Well, guess what? Lady Luck continued to smile on me, helping me roll high for my attacks while denying Robin the "Recover" orders he needed. I was able to break several Scottish squads on my left flank, where I had set up my trench line. My HMG position was eventually diluted via all the smoke Robin's mortar crew was laying down, but they had already done their damage. A last valiant attempt by the Scots to run up the German line fell a little bit short, and the Germans held the field as night fell with a 37 point victory. I figured that would be my last CC game of NBW, though who knows...

I soon got into another Dominion game with Bill Peeck, Pete Lipson, and Chris Taylor. I was able to pull ahead with a lot of treasure, getting the victory at 33-26-25-15. Have I mentioned how much fun this game is?

Next up was a Pacific Typhoon game in the "shark pool." It was me, Marty, Robin, Jeromey, Jeff H., and "The Kid." This was the game at its finest, as everyone ensured that we'd "screw the leader" each turn. We did have a disagreement about the placement of "Gremlins" while "Fog" was in play, and it turns out I was wrong -- no gloating, Jeff! Anyway, when the waves settled and Japan was nuked, the scores were: 29-29-28-26-20-11. Wow! That was a close one. I had 28, while Marty won the tiebreaker over Robin, having won more battle points. A great game, all around.

After a late lunch/early dinner, I headed back to the hotel and Marc G. and I finally hooked up for a game! We had talked online about playing Warriors of God, so we decided to do it. I offered Marc his choice of sides, and being of good French heritage he chose...the English! (He later informed me that his background also included Irish, so it all began to make sense!) We played the 100 Years War scenario -- I had played the game many times, this was Marc's first go-round. Marc got off well early on, and had English VPs up to 15 (30 is an auto victory) 3 turns into the game. Then he was hit with a nasty "die off" of most of his leaders, and this gave me the opening I needed to crawl back into the game. By Turn 6 or 7, we were hovering around 0 VPs, but my board position was good. I was able to consolidate large tracts of land the next 2 turns -- including when Joan of Arc (or is that Jeanne d'Arc?) won a big battle for me in Normandy. We ended after Turn 9, as the French were up over 20 VPs. It was a very fun game, and, as always, it's the friends one meets in this hobby that makes it so much fun, not the winning or losing. I am sincerely happy that Marc and I finally got to play a game!

Joan

Ending the night was a game of Dominion with Robin, Don, and Michael. I didn't write down the score (I had 0, Don and Michael were both in negatives, and Robin had >10), but Robin won handily, brutally cursing us with his witches, over and over again. Lesson learned -- when there's a witch in the game, get in on that action ASAP!!! Off to bed, then homeward bound tomorrow. The saddest time of NBW, the ending...

NBW Report -- Friday (2/6/09)

2009-02-12T20:40:00.011-05:00

Woke up on Friday and decided to try the breakfast they were cooking up for us in the hotel. A huge plate of potatoes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast awaited. Too much food, ugh!

Gaming started off with Marty and me playing Scenario 22 of CC:Med. It is dusk, and a group of Scots Guards are approaching a small hamlet held by rag-tag German troops (it's 1945), but the Germans do have a heavy machine gun (HMG) and a mortar, and the Scots are advancing over a wheatfield and begin the game suppressed, from harassing fire. For the first time at NBW, I got to play a non-German nationality, taking the Brits (Scots). I began by placing as much smoke as I could from my light mortar, and some lucky attacks soon broke the Germans manning the HMG. With the night getting darker, I hastened my approach and with assault fire was able to hurt the German line. Marty ran into some extremely bad luck, as his mortar broke and his HMG was useless, so the Germans decided to surrender before the men in kilts could slit their throats. I had made my 4th game of CC and was 4-0. Figured I was doing OK!

Marty and I wandered around and 3 gents were getting a Le Havre game going. Now, I want to say that Marty had done something really nice for me -- he sent me a "thank you" box prior to the con for picking him up at the Buffalo Airport. There were several treats for Cheyenne (which she's since devoured!) and the game Le Havre for me! That was mighty kind of him, if I do say so... Well, I had read the rules, but like many of the "heavier" euros, they didn't make a lot of sense until one actually sat down and played. So that's what we did, playing a 5-player game. Basically, the game has you buying goods at the docks and then using these goods to buy buildings, make money, and feed your workers. It's a real balancing act. I really took to the game, and things were looking good for me. On the last turn, I had run out of food, so I had to pay another player 2 francs to use his "Shipping Line." The usual cost is 2 food. At the end of the game, one counts up their victory point (VP) buildings and adds in their francs, with the total being their score. I had 139 points. The winner had 141. the winner was the guy I paid 2 francs to! D'oh! If I had had 2 food I would have won the game! Final scores were 141-139-139-108-88. A game I really enjoyed, and will be playing a lot over the years, I believe.

After hanging out and chatting with folks for a couple hours, Nels Thompson and I squared off for another CC game. Now, Nels is the guy who first taught me the game, and we've played quite a few times, usually having good games. Giddy with my British victory, I decided to pick a scenario with no Germans, choosing #15 from CC:Med, Rumanians blundering into a town in Russia in 1941 that is more heavily defended than they bargained for. Nels took the Soviets, and we were off. Now, the Rumanians had a ton of troops, but most were of questionable quality. Several Soviet units got to set up hidden, popping up on Turn 2. My initial plan was to flood my right flank, make a breakthrough, and try to send as many squads as possible off the board before Nels could react. Well, the best laid plans and all that... In the first 8 hands, we had 3 time advances, so before my guys even got moving, Nels was able to reinforce his left flank. Just as bad for me, my reinforcements had nowhere to go, and the board was full of juicy Axis Minor targets. I fought it out as hard as I could, even killing a few Soviets, but Nels just kept mowing my boys down, ending up with an 18 point Soviet victory. My undefeated tourney record was now officially history!

Nels and I were looking for something lighter now, and Marty and Jeffrey "The Kid" joined us for a game of Dominion. Light it may be, but this was one fun, and close game. Final scores rang out as: 27-26-24-23. I had the 27, so some of the sting of my humiliating Rumanian defeat was washed away...

Chit-chatting away with others for a bit, then I got into another CC:Med game, this time with Francois Petitclerc from Montreal. Francois had come down with Marc Guenette, a CSW friend who I had been asking to come to NBW for several years. Well, he finally made it, and we actually even got a game in (more on that later). But today it was vs. Francois, and we were fighting Scenario 23 -- British vs. Italians in the Western Desert, 1942. I took the Italians. Both sides had trench lines, artillery, and the British had a forward machine gun post in an abandoned truck while the Italians had many more men. There was no terrain here (just a lot of sand and trenches), so Francois began by laying down smoke and aggressively taking a couple of objectives, forcing me to react to his moves. I did, and the game bounced back and forth for several turns, with neither of us more than 2 VPs ahead. I finally cleared out the machine gun, but Francois got a squad and leader to take over the position, and this new force dominated any advances I tried to make for the rest of the game. We ended with a 4 VP British victory, and I learned that Francois is an excellent opponent (not to mention a very funny guy!). Great game, but I was now on a 2-game losing streak...

Defending the Western Desert

I was ready for another lighter game, and when Pete Lipson showed up with Race for the Galaxy (RftG), he, Francois, "The Kid" and I sat down for a game. I love RftG, yet hadn't played much since the 2008 NBW -- my fault. But we got right into the game and it soon became obvious that our Montreal ringer was going to win this one pretty handily. He did, with the final scores being: 45-20-18-16. I had 18, so at least I wasn't last...

7 of us went out to dinner, back to Carpaccio's. I had a really nice egg noodle and mushroom dish, as well as a huge salad, as I was craving greens! We spent a long time in the restaurant shooting the shit and laughing at a table of drunk older ladies celebrating a birthday... Stopped at a Beer Store on the way back, and I bought some Tankhouse Ale and Lager. The Ale was delicious, the Lager was disappointing. But it was still beer, so we were happy...

To end the night, I got into an Atlantic Storm game with Clint from Northern Ontario and a bunch of newbies. It was late, and the game went too slowly, so I just drank a few beers to pass the time. By the time it had ended, the scores were 36-30-30-23-18-15. I had a "30" and didn't even care that I didn't win. I just wanted to get to bed...

NBW Report -- Thursday (2/5/09)

2009-02-11T11:55:00.011-05:00

Rolled out of bed around 7:30, showered, and headed to Tim Horton's afterward with Marty, to get my morning caffeine fix. When we got back to the ballroom, it seemed warmer, but that was only because the doors to the hall were open, so the frigid air was mixing with the warmer hall air. We were beginning to go into crisis mode, as the herd would be showing up soon and we were told the heater was broken. A "man" had been called, and should be there any time to fix it. Yet the morning wore on, and it didn't get fixed. Art, being the consummate businessman, got the hotel to go out and buy some space heaters, as a temporary fix. These worked well enough (though they kept on blowing fuses!), and by Noon we were gaming away, in relative comfort.

(Addenda: The heater did get fixed and, if anything, the room eventually became TOO warm -- so we had to prop open a door to let cold air in, LOL!)

First up was my initial game in the Combat Commander scenario. As there were still relatively few people here, Marty and I decided to play a game. I won the coin flip, and chose Scenario 14, Poles trying to break out through the German lines in 1939. I figured Marty would take the Germans, but he surprised me and took the Poles. So I had to switch my mentality to the defense... After a brutal firefight, the Germans were able to keep most of the Poles from breaking out, and won with 8 VPs in a close game. There was a stretch of bad cards for the Poles, and the 1 card discard hurt them for several turns, and this helped the Germans turn the tide. A well timed German "walking wounded" reinforcement really caused havoc with the Polish rear.

Cory came by and wanted to play some Combat Commander, so, since I love this game AND was running the tourney, I sat down to another game. This time we played Scenario 4, American Paras trying to root out tough German units from a chateau in Belgium after the Bulge fizzled out. I got the Germans again, and set up my infantry gun in some woods, waiting to plug advancing Yankees. Alas, on Cory's first activation, he broke the weapon team manning the gun, and, believe it or not, I was unable to get a single shot off the whole game -- and about 2/3 of the way through, the gun was eliminated. Groan... The battle did go better for me elsewhere, and some quick time checks slowed down the American reinforcements, so I didn't have to face much fire from the engineers with flamethrowers. This game had something happen that I'd never seen before -- multiple blazes that morphed (breezed?) into a huge fire that filled about 1/4 of the board. The blaze closed down Cory's advance lanes on his left flank, and allowed me to concentrate my firepower on his right. Once the dust settled, the Germans had a convincing 34 point victory.

After schmoozing with folks for a while, I got into another Dominion game, this time with Marty, Grant LaDue, and a youngster, Jeffrey Wilson. Jeffrey came with his father and turned out to be an excellent game player, and a quick learner! Though he had never played the game before, he ended up winning by one point! I finished a distant 3rd, but had fun (37-36-21-15). What a great filler this game is!

Next up was a 6-player Pacific Typhoon game with Michael and Don from Nova Scotia, Marc and Francois from Montreal, and Michel Boucher from Ottawa. Most folks had played before, though a couple had only played the game's older cousin, Atlantic Storm. I had some good cards, and even though the table turned against me -- get Winslow! -- I was able to hold on for a victory. Final scores were 44-30-30-25-18-11.

Back to WW2 Europe, and Michael Kiefte and played Scenario 28 from the Paratroop Battle Pack. This has American and German paras fighting it out in "Hedgerow Hell" on June 7th, in Normandy. Once again, I drew the Germans... We both had good units and several machine guns. I also had some off-board artillery and a mortar. Well, I have to say that, in a nutshell, this may have been the most exciting game of CC I ever played. We went back and forth all game, with victory points never getting to more than 4 for one side. There was a big dead pile, and we were both able to protect our objectives. The game was coming down to a shootout, and we were absolutely plastering each other. I held the initiative when a time check came up that ended the game with VPs at 0. I smiled at the initiative card, and breathed a huge sigh of relief, pulling it out by the tiebreaker. Michael played a great game, and it really was one of those games in which there really were no losers. Man, that was some game...

The Bocage

Later on, I went out to dinner with Cory and Marty to a Vietnamese place. The Pho there was pretty good -- not great, but not bad, either. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner, and more guys from NBW showed up there later. It was relaxing, and I was beat once dinner ended. And it was freezing outside. Some silly Celsius number that translated to about 5F...

Played a final game of Pacific Typhoon before hitting the sack. This one was a 5-player with Robin, Jeromey Martin, and 2 of the 3 Jeffs who made it up from Rochester (Heideman and McBeth). Those bastards ganged up on me (what's new? LOL!) and Jeromey ended up winning a close one over Robin: 33-32-29-23-19. Yes, I had the 19. Game was played quickly, which is a good thing, so it was fun. Off to bed, as there were still 2+ days of gaming left!

NBW Report -- Wednesday (2/4/09)

2009-02-11T10:55:00.007-05:00

Last Wednesday, I left school at around 2:30, heading to the Buffalo Airport to pick up Marty Sample. The drive was pretty uneventful, hitting about a 10 mile stretch of heavy snow (where speeds dropped to about 40/45 MPH due to near white-out conditions), but good driving otherwise. Listened to Lord of the Flies on CD, which I finished up on the way home. Got Marty a little before 4:00 PM, and we headed to the Great White North. The border crossing was a piece of cake, though the Canadian Customs guy was a bit of a prick when Marty told him we didn't have any alcohol to declare, snapping at him, "I didn't ask you that, answer my question." Sheesh... Got to the hotel 5:00ish, checked in, and found Art Lupinacci, Robin Griller, and Lembit Tohver playing Dominion in the ballroom -- the ballroom with no heat, so it felt like about 45F, if that! I crashed for a bit, then Marty came by and we headed out to grab dinner.

After a good feast at Carpaccio's, we went back to the hotel and met up with Art, Robin, and Lembit in their room. Cory Wells called, and then he came by. A few folks headed out to grab a quick bite, while we pulled a table into the (warmer) hallway to get ready for a game of Battlestar Galactica (BSG). Now, I have never watched the show, so I was dubious that I would enjoy the game, but it was the only game in town, so to speak...

As we were waiting for the rest to get back from dinner, we taught Cory how to play Dominion, and got in a quick game (so there was more than one game in town, after all!). Marty ended up winning a close 3-player game, with the scores 24-21-15. Cory took a few turns to understand the mechanics, then he got right into it. I think Dominion will be a very fun "filler" game for a long, long time.

When the Canadian contingent returned from dinner, we got blasted off into space. Picking "Galactica" characters, I got some cowardly politico type (Gaius something or other), and found right away that I was a Cylon. My job was to sabotage the ship's voyage. Early on, I didn't want to do anything obvious, so I'd only play a few cards that hurt the humans every now and then (sometimes it worked), while performing innocuous actions that weren't going to alert the humans as to my true calling. When we got 1/2 way through the game, Art's character turned out to be a Cylon sympathizer, and he was the president! So the presidency passed to me -- little did those humans know what were getting into... As the game wore on, it seemed that Robin (the admiral) was not helping the cause very much, and, lo and behold, he turned out to be a Cylon, as well. When I revealed myself, it became clear that the humans would not make it, and the big ship crashed, only half-way home. A brilliant Cylon victory! Overall, the game was a lot of fun, though I think I would have enjoyed it much more had I known the story line and the characters. But I'm not a sci-fi fan, and my TV watching consists mainly of sports and cartoons, so...

A Cylon

Off to to bed, then, hoping we'd have a warmer ballroom tomorrow, when others started arriving...

NBW was great...

2009-02-10T07:51:00.004-05:00

Ramada All Suites Hotel and Conference Center -- Niagara Falls, Ontario

Got back from Niagara late Sunday afternoon.

Had a wonderful time there over 4 days, playing (I think I have this correct) 22 games.

Got to see many old friends and meet some new ones.

I will get a full report up as soon as I can, as I took notes (not with me at the moment).

Suffice it to say, for now, I had a lot of fun!

NBW

2009-02-03T10:50:00.002-05:00

Well, I'll be off to Niagara tomorrow after school, for 4 days of gaming, gaming, gaming. Cheyenne is off to doggie camp for that time.

So, I'll keep notes the best I can and have a report sometime next week.

See ya all then...

Winter Doldrums...

2009-01-29T08:05:00.005-05:00

Yes, I know, slacker is my middle name... It seems that whenever I have time on the computer I end up playing poker (and not posting here!). I finished 4th in a 180 person tourney a couple nights ago, then promptly pissed away twice the prize money I won with an all in call of A/A. The lucky bastard I was up against went all in with 5/6 (idiot...) and hit both a 5 and a 6 on the flop, and another 6 on the river, winning with a full house, 6s over 5s. Unbelievable. I knew the guy was bluffing, as he'd done this several times (all in) and showed his cards (he was betting it all with hands like 2/10). He made the decision much too quickly, as well, so even without seeing his eyes, I knew I had him. A/A losing to 5/6. Unbelievable -- I hate making the right call and getting unlucky, but that's part of the game. Making the right call will still win most of the hands, but it hurts to lose a big one to an idiot.

My life has pretty much been reduced to:

Sleeping
Working
Hanging out with Cheyenne
Playing Games
Watching Syracuse B-ball and Sabres Hockey
Driving around and listening to books on CD

I measure time using milestones like breaks, when I can spend more time with Cheyenne and get more gaming in. Next milestone is the Niagara Boardgaming Weekend, which will start next Wednesday after school and run through Sunday. It will be a nice change in the daily drudge. Two weeks after this, we'll have February break. I only wish Cheyenne would listen to me better when off leash, as I'd love to take her cross-country skiing, but I can't right now (she'd get in trouble). She's such a cool dog, but her stubbornness limits her horizons.

As for gaming, I really should set up some games like Unhappy King Charles and run through the rules, but I have no energy to do that, so I pretty much stick to games I know (and will do so throughout Niagara. Hell, I'm even second-guessing running a Combat Commander tourney there, as it feels like too much work.

Gotta snap out of it...

Above is book I'm currently listening to on CD. Up next (it's probably been 30+ years since I read it) is:

Niagara is Approaching...

2009-01-23T07:28:00.003-05:00

With less than 2 weeks to go until Niagara Boardgaming Weekend begins, I'm getting kind of antsy. It's a real fun mid-winter break, with 4 straight days of gaming. 9 more school days, then I'm there...

Getting geared up for Niagara, I played Hannibal with Mike Cardwell last night. Mike has really been enjoying the game, which is good, for I'm trying to wean him from hexes and games without cards! This was a great game (I was Carthage). Hannibal entered Italy on the 2nd turn, and took 2 northern Provinces. With the help of Diplomacy, and the Macedonian Alliance, I sailed Mago to Sardinia and secured that island. Rome was concentrating on building up its forces and suppressing the pro-Carthaginian tribe in southern Italy. By mid-game, Hannibal had built a decent force in northern Italy, and I went defensive -- thinking that if Rome came after Hannibal I'd send Mago to Sicily or send Hannibal south if mago was getting harassed. What I didn't count on was Rome playing a Major Campaign and sending three armies against Hannibal. Ouch! Once the dust settled, Hannibal was down to 1 CU, and nestled in Gallia Cisalpinia, his back against the Alps. Mike had a chance to finish Hannibal off (assuming I flubbed the avoid battle roll), but left him alone, instead choosing to bring spaces in northern Italy back under the Roman yoke. This gave Hannibal the "out" he needed, as he fled westward over the Alps. Over the next turn, Hannibal went back to New Carthage and emerged with another large army...

Hannibal Barca

While Hannibal was recruiting his new force (though no elephants), Rome was clearing out northern Italy of Carthaginian sympathizers. Hannibal then headed back and crossed the Alps with a full 10 CU force before Rome was ready to deal with him again. This time, he wasn't fooling around -- 2 battles in Gallia Cisalpinia completely routed 2 Roman armies (17 CUs lost!) and the northern Italians welcomed the Carthaginians back. Even Syracuse, in Sicily, decided to ally with the now strong (again) Hannibal. Game ended with Carthage winning the province count 11-6 (Celtiberia being neutral). It was a much closer game, falling apart for Rome only at the end (after those 17 CUs disappeared). I must say, I really love this game.

Ah, gaming...

Bob Titran is coming by tomorrow for some Combat Commander. Can't wait!

Long Weekend...

2009-01-20T07:21:00.002-05:00

Thank God for long weekends -- I really needed those 3 days...

It was pretty much a weekend of sloth and guy stuff.

Saturday: Went to Syracuse to watch the Orange play the hated Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I was one of 30,021, the largest college hoops crowd of the year. Something truly electric about being in a group that large for basketball. Syracuse didn't disappoint, winning the game 93-74. They looked like a final four team that afternoon -- so many weapons (5 players in double figures). Go 'Cuse! Got home around 4:00, and then headed out to Millennium. Only played 2 games, both Race for the Galaxy. Won one, came in second in another. I hadn't played with the expansion yet, and the new twists made this great game even more fun. Should probably talk about what those are, but I'm short on time...

Sunday: Got a little grading done, then watched 2 real good football games. I'm still having trouble saying "Arizona Cardinals" and "Super Bowl" in the same breath. I know a lot of people think Pittsburgh is going to blow them out, but I think we may be in for a good game. In the evening, I spent some time winning some more money on PokerStars.Net. I think I'm addicted there...

Monday: Slept in, played with Cheyenne, did more grading, and played way too much poker. I ended up making 2 bad calls, so, at the end of the day, instead of being up another $100 or so, I was actually down $20. Oh well, I continue to learn, and that's the most important thing. In one of my big losses, I had pocket kings and was sure I was ahead, based on the flop. But the guy bet like he had pocket aces. He hadn't been playing a strong game, so I was guessing he was betting something like pocket tens. As I continued to lure more of his money into the pot, I really told myself I should get out, as he probably does have aces. But I talked myself out of it, saying I was due for a big win. Luckily, he checked on the turn (why, I know not), and I at least held up (so no more cash went in the pot). Of course, he had pocket aces. Groan... Oh yeah, Pitt plastered Syracuse last night, so the shine of Saturday's win is now dulled a bit...

Poker, Poker, Poker...

2009-01-15T22:28:00.003-05:00

Had a big night tonight, winning a couple hundred dollars ($214.55). I'm too tired to continue thinking clearly, so I quit while I was ahead. Thank God the losing streak is over -- I need to pay for my wargames somehow!

The weather forecast has us very cold tomorrow, so if the wind kicks up, maybe school will be canceled. That would be cool, as I could use a 4-day weekend, after working for almost 2 straight weeks!

And yes, I'm babbling, but I just wanted to post tonight to get that losing monkey off my back (though he was already leaving the other day), and to praise Wegmans before I went to bed.

Good night, all!

Inside a Wegmans Store

Colder Than A Witch's Teat...

2009-01-14T08:22:00.002-05:00

Man, ain't that the truth! When we get to -7F, that's too cold. Winter should be in the 20s, with a few dips into the teens. Frankly, I'm amazed that wildlife makes it through cold spells like this -- I always feel sorry for the little buggers... Anyway, enough complaining, as I don't have to be outside. Yay!

A pretty boring week so far, and no gaming (other than Poker online), though the Millennium meet is this Saturday, and I'm set to play the new Axis & Allies with Frank Mestrve (sp?). Now, I'm not really a fan of this game, but I was a sucker for the big box, pretty pieces, and the sale at Boulder Games. So I went for it, and need to give it at least one shot... Even if not historical (it isn't), it should be fun -- until Frank starts whining. I'll be refreshing myself with the rules this week...

On the Poker front, I was able to win back > $70 I had lost over the past weeks, so I'm feeling better about that. I need to head out to the casino soon, to play with "live" people, as it's actually easier to do this, as so many folks give away things due to body language (something you can't see online). Maybe I'll do this next month during Niagara Boardgaming Weekend.

Tonight will see Syracuse playing Georgetown in a classic Big East basketball game. When I lived in Virginia, I used to go to the Georgetown home game vs. Syracuse each year. I'm lucky I'm still alive, as those were some tough, inner city crowds. D'oh! This will be a huge test for Syracuse, and I hope they can pass with flying colors.

Finally, the end of the quarter at school is approaching, so I've gotta get all my backlogged grading and recording done. Teaching would be sooooo much more fun without all the administrative bullshit we have to deal with (and grading is the least of my worries here...).

Speaking of Pesto...

2009-01-09T10:32:00.004-05:00

...Here's the simple recipe I've been using for quite a while -- though, as with all non-baking recipes, adjustments for taste are more important than exact measurements! While pine nuts are "traditional" in pesto, I learned from a chef friend (executive chef at I Matti in Adams Morgan for a time) in DC that pistachio-based pesto is my favorite. So rich and decadent...

Pesto is so good with so many different dishes -- pastas, breads, vegetables (especially beans and asparagus), fish (especially salmon, swordfish, and tuna), chicken, pork -- it's always nice to have some around the house.

You will need:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pistachios
3-4 large sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (salty pistachios and Parmesan may negate the need for extra salt)

Directions:

1. Combine the basil in with the pistachios, pulse a few times in a food processor. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Taste, then add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, as necessary.

This can also be done in a blender, though I always use my food processor.

I'll have to post my White Clam Sauce recipe one of these days...

Food Tastings...

2009-01-07T09:12:00.004-05:00

I was thinking about my favorite foods today, since I haven't been eating them lately (LOL!). I thought it might be interesting to list my "best of the best," and see who agrees, and who doesn't -- providing their own substitutes. A nice little break, eh?

The following list is not in order of favorites, but just what I'm thinking of in the moment I type...

1. Italian. I grew up in an Italian household (Fumia, on my mother's side), so I ate Italian most days growing up. I think that, due to this, my taste for tomato-based sauces has diminished, and I rarely have a dish like lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs anymore. But the best Italian cooking isn't tomato-based, imo, and I love seafood. So, we'll go with Linguine and White Clam Sauce for this entry! And yes, I make a mean dish of this...

2. Thai. I never had Thai food growing up -- had to wait until I moved to the DC area in the late 80s. But man, did I ever fall in love with it! Luckily, Rochester now has at least 4 Thai restaurants that can compete with any Thai food I've ever had. And no, though I've tried, my cooking efforts aren't nearly as good as these restaurants. The winning dish is Gaeng Daeng (Thai Red Curry with coconut milk -- any meat will do!)

3. Indian. Yes, another one of my favorites. Such diverse dishes to choose from, and all that delicious basmati rice and naan. Hmm... I need to decide among 5 choices currently swimming through my head. OK, I've decided, it has to be Lamb Biryani -- extra spicy.

4. Cajun. American food is so diverse and often excellent, though too many people only think "hot dog and hamburger," which is a shame. All regions of the country have excellent cuisine, and as I'm in a spicy mood, I'm visiting the old Acadians down in New Orleans. I could go for a good dish of Crawfish Etouffee right now!

5. Spanish. OK, I'm having this rice craving, so I've just gotta go with one of my all time favorite dishes. I've made this myself a few times, with varying degrees of success. It's always good, often it's great. Paella.

6. French. I admit it, I find French food mostly boring, unimaginative, and not for me. Very over-hyped and not all that good, imo. But there is one dish that I love, and I even make it myself occasionally. Who'd have thunk it, me, using saffron. Yes, it's gotta be delicious Bouillabaisse!

7. Caribbean. I love Caribbean cuisine. I worked on St. Croix in one of my other lives, and I often ate at a nice old lady's "hospitality house," having the dish of the day (and being the only cracker in the place!). I fell in love with Curried Goat, Rice and Peas, and Plantains. Man, I gotta get back there, soon!

8. Japanese. My first forays in Japanese cuisine were also in DC. The first time I had sushi, I had it alone and popped the entire wad of wasabi into my mouth (what did I know?!?!). My sinuses were running for the next week. But I developed a true love of sushi, and my favorite piece is Sake, or Salmon.

I could probably keep this up for quite some time, traveling around the country and the world! But I'll end at 8 today, perhaps picking it up some other day. As you probably noticed, I tend toward seafood and/or spicy, in a general sense. I've become a bit of a snob, food-wise, over the years, but that's been a good thing (I think), as it's pushed my cooking abilities along nicely. In Rochester, we have a surprising amount of excellent restaurants for a city this size, and I've definitely been eating my way through some of my favorites!

Let's hear your favorite dishes, or you can pan or praise mine!

Mangia, mangia!

NCAA Football...

2009-01-06T08:48:00.002-05:00

After watching too much college football over the past few weeks, I've come to several conclusions:

1. The Big Ten is a really sucky conference. Teams are slow and dumb, and if it weren't for the sheer weight of the student bodies/alumni of these 2nd rate universities, they wouldn't even be invited to bowl games (except maybe as cannon fodder, which is all they're good for). Hell, it's even boring watching these plodding teams lose...

2. The BCS sucks as much as as the Big Ten (and these 2 suck together and help prop each other up). A team like Utah might, just might, be the best team in the country, yet they get screwed. All other NCAA games have playoffs, but we're told this is impossible in Division 1A (or whatever they call it nowadays) football. What a feckin' crock...

3. There are several elite college football teams (USC, Utah, Florida), while parity is pretty much spreading across the rest of the teams. When Ole Miss can clobber Texas Tech and Oregon State and Pittsburgh can play a 3-0 game, then you know parity has arrived. Which cries out even more for a playoff...

Go Utes!

4. Have I mentioned how boring and sucky Big Ten teams are? If not, let me state that they are...

5. I've always been a "lukewarm" college football fan, and the bullshit of this season is reinforcing that. I much prefer college hoops, and this season is starting off great. In the current AP poll, 9 of the Top 25 teams are from the Big East. Holy Crap! Syracuse is gonna have to work hard every night (which is a good thing)...

6. Turner Gill has really made the UB football team a fun bunch. He's obviously moving on (probably after next season), but the hope is UB can keep it up -- it would be nice. Hopes are also up at Syracuse, with Doug Marronne as the new coach. We shall see...

7. The Big Ten sucks, dontcha know? I can't stand the hypocrite Joe Paterno, it was great to his his hapless bunch crushed like a cockroach by USC. I admit, that was fun, almost as much fun as watching Slowhio State lose "at the buzzer," making their whiny fans even sadder. LOL!...

Oh well, I can't say I really care whether Florida or Oklahoma wins on Thursday night. National Champions, right...

Back to the grindstone...

2009-01-05T09:12:00.004-05:00

Break is over, woe is me!

I did have a pretty relaxing time. Played games both at home (Santa Fe Rails), at Grant Ladue's (Santa Fe Rails, Dominion, Ivanhoe, Galaxy), at Mike Cardwell's (Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage), as well as continuing my Texas Hold 'Em losing streak... At least I won about $20 last night, so maybe the end of my misery is in sight...

There are a lot of games I need to get on the table to be ready for the Niagara Boardgaming Weekend (NBW). Looking forward to getting away for 4 1/2 days of gaming, and it's only a month away! Last year, I played about 30 games at NBW, and I hope to surpass that total this year. I have procrastinated about getting a new passport (mine has expired), but I won't really need one until the summer, as a license and birth certificate will continue to do.

I'm not one for resolutions, but I really need to get back into a semblance of shape. Hopefully, now that the gluttony and lethargy of the holiday season is over, I can get started down a healthier path. I have some good motivation here, and that's key.

So, here's to a great 2009 -- the hope is for gaming, gaming, and more gaming, playing with and training Cheyenne, enjoying the great outdoors, and getting into shape. Wish me luck!

Vacation...

2009-01-03T11:15:00.002-05:00

I know I've been lax with posting here over my Christmas Break, but I've gotta admit, I really enjoyed being away from the computer. I just don't understand the attraction of being so "connected" in today's world. I like my peace and quiet, and I often turn off my cell phone, and shut down my computer, and just hang out with myself, and my dog.

So many people miss the peace that only the outdoors, the getting away can give. I have been missing that, and this break I have been catching up.

Cheyenne and I both win.

Happy Festivus...

2008-12-24T15:34:00.002-05:00

Enjoy George's father's favorite holiday!

I do, especially the "Airing of the grievances." Can't wait!

Anyway, just running around doing some last minute shopping, then off to my mother's place this evening for shrimp and vino (I need the latter to deal with the evening...).

Hope to get some gaming in soon, and really hope to be able to swing Grant's place this coming Saturday. Still no word as to whether someone will be available to watch Cheyenne. Beginning to piss me off, as "our dog" has turned almost exclusively into my responsibility. Yes, that will be aired! Not that I usually mind, for I dearly love the girl, but...

Anyway, hope everyone has a great next few days...

Snow Day!

2008-12-22T15:07:00.003-05:00

Yeppers -- today I had off due to snow, cold, and wind (which was making for whiteout conditions). I heard the NYS Thruway was closed from Henrietta (SW of Rochester) all the way through Buffalo and to the Pennsylvania Line.

I'm just glad i got to go back to sleep...

On Saturday, I did go to Millennium and have fun. Played 7 games and only won 1, d'oh! But I had fun in all of them...

Played 2 games of 2 de Mayo with Bob Titran. Both games came right down to the wire, and Bob outfoxed me at the end, both times! It's a very "neat" little game, that will play differently each time due to the cards. We both liked it, and it plays quickly, so I imagine this one will come out a lot through the years.

We then had lunch at the Indian place next door (excellent buffet -- probably the best ethnic food buffet I've ever had), and returned for a game of Combat Commander: Med. We went with the Random Scenario Generator (RSG), and I got an Italian Line Company guarding a small housing complex located in a Libyan oasis, from an attack by an Elite British Detachment. In the end, my 2 MMGs were able to keep the Brits at bay, giving Mussolini a victory. The RSG games are always a lot of fun...

Rest of the day was spent playing euros -- 2 games of Chicago Express (CE) and 1 of Alhambra. They were both fun, and CE is something I have on order -- it is definitely a train game that is enjoyable (not all are to me).

Just finalizing Christmas stuff, paying bills (ugh!), and hoping to get more gaming in. Woo-hoo!

Cheyenne's Christmas Charleston...

2008-12-19T08:54:00.004-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Don't hit "Download" if that's the screen you're getting.

Scroll over the bottom of the image and controls will pop up -- hit play (the right pointing triangle).

Hannibal Tonight...

2008-12-18T11:05:00.003-05:00

...over at Mike's. I'll be taking the Romans and attempting to keep Carthage at bay. Hannibal is a great game, I'm glad I'm getting more chances to play it.

Cheyenne's wound is healing nicely, but she still needs to be watched or she has to have her Victorian collar on, so she won't reopen it. Man, I can't wait until this is finally healed. On any dog a bad foot wound takes time to heal -- on a young, active dog that insists on running everywhere, it's even harder to get things to heal up. But we're getting close.

The Sabres continue to play mediocre hockey. I am not a Ryan Miller fan. He makes spectacular saves, then lets in 1 or 2 soft goals each game. I don't think they're ever going to win the big one with him between the pipes...

Oh well, life continues to go on.

Dirty Laundry...

2008-12-17T08:35:00.002-05:00

I've always tried to make sure not to air too much dirty laundry here, especially because anyone can stumble upon this site (and friends and family members have told me they've found this blog via a web search). So, while there's a lot I need to vent on, I think I'll just do it privately, maybe in an e-mail to Santa Claus. I feel like the economy -- doing so well one day, then crappy the next. I need things to look up again, for I'm sinking...

Cheyenne got her stitches out last night, but the soap opera continues. The wound is still fairly "raw," so she's not supposed to lick it (can open it up again, theoretically, with too much licking). This means we're still in "Victorian Collar" mode, unless I can watch her. It's OK for her to lick it a little (I'm sure it itches), but she'll obsess over the wound if allowed to... So, she's at the vet's today, and will be Thursday and Friday, as well -- in a run, wearing her Victorian Collar.

What this means, is, well, I'm up in the air for Millennium on Saturday. If things haven't "crusted up" enough, she won't be able to be left alone, and PetSmart won't take her with the Victorian Collar. The vet would take her, but they're open for only limited hours on Saturday, which would make it not worth the effort. This would really suck. I've pretty much been taking care of Cheyenne by myself since this past summer -- I have to find folks who can watch her when I need to do things. I guess that I can board her at PetSmart in the future when I need some time to do stuff, but I can't yet, due to her still healing wound.

I'm hoping I'll be able to make Millennium, at least for a while on Saturday, but I'm unsure at this point. Oh well, the girl's my pride and joy, so if she needs me, she comes first.

Not Cheyenne

A few minutes here...

2008-12-15T09:11:00.004-05:00

So I'll sneak a quick post in.

Cheyenne hated going to the Vet's for boarding this morning -- she was pulling madly on her leash. 2 more days of this, then the poor dog will be free of the Victorian collar and spending her days in a kennel. We will hope there won't be any more stitches in her future...

Got the Vassal module for Successors working, though it did one funky thing (killed a general, which I had to undo). I was able to grab the "Silver Shields" for Craterus, maybe it'll soon be time to attack! I continue to enjoy this game, and am very glad GMT cleaned it up and republished it.

This coming Saturday is gameday at Millennium. Something to shoot for. I guess I get through each week by looking forward to little goals. For instance, this week I have:

Monday -- Syracuse Basketball game
Tuesday -- Cheyenne gets stitches out
Wednesday -- Sabres Hockey and Syracuse Basketball
Thursday -- Nothing yet, hopefully gaming
Friday -- End of week
Saturday -- Millennium
Sunday -- Football

Man, that's pretty pathetic, LOL!

I have to work Monday and Tuesday of next week, then off until January 5th. Maybe I'll win MegaMillions by then so I can stop dragging...

Ramble On...

2008-12-14T11:14:00.003-05:00

That's the tune "Slacker" Radio is now playing, "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin. Haven't heard this one for a while...

I think I heard that a few post office locations around here will be open today. I hope so, as I need to get a birthday package out to my sister in San Francisco -- her birthday is December 26th. Still have some Christmas shopping to do for a few folks, but will probably finish that on line. Christmas has turned from something I used to love when my step-father was alive to something I loathe. I look forward to the break from school, but other than playing with Cheyenne (she'll have almost 2 weeks of pent-up energy to release!) and (I hope) getting some gaming in, not much in the way of excitement.

Today I need to finish up my 5-week progress reports. Most of my students are doing very well, but there are a handful who are having problems (and this is across all classes, not just mine). Anyone who thinks parents aren't THE most important facet of a child's education should check out the (lack of) parenting given to the kids doing poorly. It's really a shame -- you work with them during the day, and after school, then they go home and all is lost. Oh well...

On the gaming front, the 4-player pbem Successors game is underway and I believe I need to get my first move in today. It's a fun game, we'll see what happens. Mike and I finished up our Hannibal game last Wednesday, and Hannibal's forces pretty much raped Italy, so we called it after Turn 8 (of 9). Mike learned some things, and we're switching sides and will play again. On Thursday, Bill and I played Scenario 5 (Cold Front) of Combat Commander. We played it twice, switching sides. My Germans beat off the advancing Siberians in the first game (gotta love that German HMG!), while my Siberians overwhelmed the German positions in the 2nd game. Bill's whining was, well, classic. I really do need to tape it!

This week has brought me a load of games -- Fall of South Vietnam (ebay), 2 de Mayo and Texas Glory (Boards and Bits), and Unhappy King Charles (GMT P500). A real bounty, with more good stuff on the way. Merry Christmas to me...

Well, I didn't win Lotto, so I won't be retiring to the Caribbean. Yet...

7 more school days. I can do it, I can do it.

Yes, I know...

2008-12-14T00:37:00.001-05:00

With school, getting sick, a hockey game, and watching Cheyenne, I haven't been here for several days.

My bad.

Have a lot of caching up to do, hopefully tomorrow (well Damn, it is Sunday, so hopefully later today...).

Gaming on the horizon...

2008-12-09T11:49:00.002-05:00

OK, looks like this week may be shaping up better than I thought it would be.

Wednesday at Mike's to finish up our Hannibal game, then Bill is coming by on Thursday for some Combat Commander. I think I'll secretly tape Bill, and play 2 or 3 hours of whining for y'all one of these days...

I'll have to go on a rant one of these days about the wargaming magazine Against the Odds. So much promise, but mostly dreck produced. Development is horrible, graphics are a joke, and the games have all been (with, maybe, 2 or 3 exceptions) complete crap. Sad when stodgy ol' Strategy & Tactics is the best we have...

Cheyenne and I are hanging in there -- counting down to next Tuesday (12-16-08) when the stitches are removed and we can get back to our normal routine.

And has anyone done anything to help me win MegaMillions tonight? I'll keep my promise, I will!

Cold...

2008-12-08T20:17:00.002-05:00

It's cold here, but we have only a dusting of snow. I hate that combo -- cold and no snow. I know, I know, I'll probably regret saying this when it's cold and we have tons of snow...

Don't know what's up on the gaming front this week. I am starting a pbem game of Successors, using Vassal. Man, but Vassal, as beautiful as it is, may be the most unintuitive program I've struggled with in a looooooong time.

Getting more grades done now, as mid-term progress reports are due by the beginning of next week. The grade program we use is also a stupid, clunky program, so I'll be fighting it for a while.

Right now I wish I were on Ocracoke. I need to win MegaMillions and move there. Yes, I did buy a ticket for Tuesday's $170,000,000 drawing. Wish me luck and I'll buy you a prezzie if I win! Oh yeah, gotta get some Christmas shopping done, too. Damn...

Poor Cheyenne

2008-12-07T13:28:00.002-05:00

She's such an active dog, being kept from running around has been tough for her.

Here she is last night, in a more peaceful moment...

Crap, crap, and more crap...

2008-12-06T21:22:00.003-05:00

So, Thursday morning at around 9:30 (in the middle of class), I get a call from PetSmart and they tell me there's been an accident. WTF?!?! I yell into the phone, "Is Cheyenne OK?" They reply she has a little injury, but will be fine, and wanted to know what I wanted them to do. Basically, she and this black German Shepard, Zack, have been "going at" each other through the kennel glass whenever Cheyenne walks past his kennel (Zack starts it, Cheyenne continues it). On Thursday, as they were getting Cheyenne to take to "Day Camp," she escaped the clutches of the handler and ran right over to Zack's kennel. There, she leaped toward him (and he toward her), and she caught the top of her paw on the sharp edge of the metal door frame, giving her a nasty puncture wound. They wanted to have the vet in the store stitch her up, but I wanted to take her to my vet, so I made an appointment for 2:30 and booked out of school to get her.

At my vet's, they thought there was a decent chance that they could use glue to meld it together, and this would heal quicker than stitches. I agreed. To make a long story short, the glue didn't work when she was checked today, so she got 7 stitches (3 internal, 4 external).

Now, what this costs me...

>$250 in vet bills, so far

I have to watch her constantly (unless she has a Victorian collar on), which means I probably won't be going to the Sabres/Maple Leafs game next Friday.

PetSmart will not take her if she's injured (feckers -- I need to find somewhere else to go...), so she'll be at a vet's (not mine) that has 7:30 drop-off.

I have 7:30 homeroom and a 7:55 class. Gotta have someone cover my homeroom for the next week and a half and it will be close getting to class on time.

She has to be walked in the yard on a leash (so as to not damage the stitches by running).

Oy...

After everything I went through with Gypsy a couple years ago, I was hoping to avoid this for a while. At least with Cheyenne, she will get better.

So, I didn't make it to UB for the Bacsim meet today, crap. I was really looking forward to it. The next 10 days are going to be complete pains in the ass.

Merry Christmas, ho-ho-ho...

What a Slacker!

2008-12-04T08:15:00.004-05:00

Yeah, I've been a horrible slacker, lately...

Since my last update, before Thanksgiving, we've had the following:

Thanksgiving
Syracuse Basketball goes to 8-0
Played Hannibal x2
Played Combat Commander x2
Had 2 new dog training days
And a lot of other boring stuff...

Thanksgiving was fine, nothing exciting. I made oyster stuffing and a peppery giblet gravy. For dinner, I had a lot of dark meat, stuffing, gravy, and whole-berry cranberry sauce. Most excellent. Had some of Deanna's pumpkin pie later in the evening, and it was good (though I prefer my non-cook pumpkin chiffon pie!). Didn't really bother with the football games, as the match-ups all sucked. Played poker into the night, though my Visa will no longer deposit money into my Poker Stars account (I had recently taken back a good deal of winnings, so when I went to put more $$ in, I was rejected -- I need to do an e-check one of these evenings...).

Syracuse won a tourney in Kansas City, beating #17 Florida and #22 Kansas in the process. And they kept winning, beating Virginia, Colgate, and Cornell after that. They're an exciting team that has the bad habit of falling behind early, then coming on like gangbusters and winning the second half. Jim "2-3 Zone" Boeheim has a team that excels at man-to-man D, and whenever they get out of their zone, they play much better. AP has them ranked #16 now, and the top 25 has EIGHT Big East teams in it -- a third of the poll. What a monster conference, I'm betting 10 teams get into the NCAAs (they should).

I played a practice game of Hannibal with Mike last week, to help him learn the mechanics (we ended after 3 turns). Last evening we started a real game, and are through 6 turns. My Carthaginians have the upper hand, but Mike's Romans had a good last turn, with Scipio Africanus leading the way. Should be an interesting end...

Bob Titran came by last Saturday, and we played a couple games of Combat Commander. First game was from the paratrooper battle pack, a fight over glider resupply outside Bastogne on 12-27-44. My American paras were able to overcome the evil Germans and pick up the victory. After a nice Thai lunch, we decided to use the Random Scenario Generator for a new game. Bob rolled up the Italians in 1940, while I got Allied Minors, so the scenario worked out to a Greek company trying to take back a village held by an Italian Blackshirt detachment. A couple of weenie armies, which made the scenario a lot of fun -- it took me a while to get the Greeks going, but they were on the move. Then we thought we had misplayed a victory condition (which, in hindsight we hadn't, d'oh!), so we decided to call it for the Blackshirts, as Bob had to hit the road anyway. All in all, good fun, and I think this may be my favorite game right now -- so much happens!

On Saturday night, I was talked into playing a game with Deanna and 2 kids. The 4 of us ended up playing Santa Fe Rails, and it was actually pretty fun. Brad, the youngest, ended up winning with 163 points, I was 2nd with 159. I admit, I helped him out, and I didn't play as cutthroat as I could (should?) have, but it was pretty fun, nonetheless.

Cheyenne's new training regimen has begun, and she's not getting along with an English Mastiff in class. The Mastiff growls at other dogs, and this pisses Cheyenne off, so she barks back at him, and gets all the dogs going. She needs to learn that it might not be a good idea barking at t dog 3 times her size! She is a smart dog, but so damn stubborn. Maybe she has a little Sicilian blood in her, as I do.

And life goes on. I have gaming and Cheyenne to keep me busy, and I really need to get back into shape (this is proving elusive). I also need to focus on getting a game design going, I really do.

Oh yeah, I need to be more vigilant here, too.

So many resolutions, waiting for the New Year...

Urges...

2008-11-25T08:12:00.002-05:00

No, not that kind!

I'm actually really thinking about putting some ideas to paper and seeing what happens. I've been fiddling around with a euro game for some time, and I think I hit upon a novel way to prevent leader "break-outs." I've gotta put a prototype together one of these days and get folks to try it out.

One of these days.

And in the, "If that idiot can do it, so can I" files, the urge to design a wargame is really biting again. Mainly because I love wargaming so much, yet I think most games of this genre, well, aren't much fun. Over on Consimworld, I've asked on Ron Wuerth's blog what games folks would like to see that haven't been done.

I answered my own question with a CDG of the Tet Offensive. 2 other answers were a multi-player CDG on the Crimean War (strategic scale, involving land grabs in Turkey), and the mid-1600s naval competition between England and Holland on a strategic scale. Any other good ideas out there? Preferably something you'd love to do research on, LOL!

Seriously, I have put out this "offer" before, on a game in the Eastern Theater in the ACW. That is still possible, but the research offers dried up, so I haven't moved ahead. Besides, the ACW seems to have been so overdone. Frankly, I think I have some real good ideas on how to implement card play into wargames (taking random events out of players' hands while encouraging play of "non-random" events). The problem I have is that I'm not real interested in undertaking all the order of battle research a game needs. Laziness plays a part, but lack of interest in this kind of detail work is the big reason.

I have watched Jason Matthews collaborate on 2 big hits -- Twilight Struggle and 1960: Making of a President -- and believe this is the way I should be headed.

Serious inquiries only. :-)

(Yes, time to do work for nothing, and if a game ever gets published, earn a few pesos! LOL!)

Short Week...

2008-11-24T10:52:00.002-05:00

Woo-hoo, about time we got this short week! I'm not overly excited about Thanksgiving, but I am about the 5 days off. It looks like I'll be playing Hannibal with Mike Cardwell and Combat Commander with Bob Titran over the break. Combat Commander is one of those games I don't think I'll ever tire of...

Being the nice guy I am, I suggested to Mike that we play Sicily: The Race for Messina as our next game, since it's WWII and hexes (2 of Mike's favorite things -- I will remain silent...). Besides, this game gets good ratings, and it's part of the "Victory in the West" system, with hidden unit strengths via chit draws. Mike thought I was suggesting a different Sicily game, the one by John "My Games Are No" Schletter, Sicily: the Italian Campaign. Luckily for us both, Mike stopped by last week to watch the game Bill Peeck and I were playing (written up a few posts ago under "Bessarabia"), and spotted my Sicily (or, should we say, the good Sicily!). He now needs to get a copy of this one off of eBay.

As for the Schletter "design," this comment on BGG says it all:

"Map is a 10 - one of the best I have ever seen. Everything else SUCKED - the rules are a disaster, the counters boring, gameplay almost non-existant [sic], even with revised (and re-revised) rulebook. I can't even remember how many hours I spent trying to get this turkey to fly. I even tried other systems, like OCS (exactly the same scale!) but in the end all the beautiful maps in the world couldn't get me to keep it so I gave it away. What a waste!"

Yuck!

Now that that's taken care of, I can rest easily...

Happy Sunday...

2008-11-23T11:14:00.002-05:00

I usually don't get here on the weekends, but just popped in to check something.

As I'm listening to music right now, I'll leave you with what I'm listening to -- Collective Soul:

Gonna go take Cheyenne out for some fun, then watch a little football.

Have a great day, y'all!

Into Bessarabia...

2008-11-21T08:15:00.007-05:00

Bill Peeck stopped by last evening for a game of Combat Commander. I decided to pick the scenario and have the pieces ready before he stopped by. I thought it would be fun to play one I hadn't experienced before, so I settled on Scenario 15 from the Med expansion. This scenario has hordes of Romanians approaching a lightly held Russian village in Bessarabia (Moldova?), on the road to Moghilev. The Romanians have 20 squads (6 decent ones, 14 poor ones), 4 leaders, 2 medium machine guns (MMG), 3 light machine guns (LMG), and 1 light mortar. The Soviets are a mixed bunch, with a smattering of squads ranging from quite good (Guards rifles) to pretty poor (Militia), 2 leaders, 2 MMGs, and 2 LMGs. This scenario postulates that the Romanians are approaching the town without having properly scouted it, for it's July 7, 1941, and Barbarossa has been going on for 2 weeks -- the Soviets are reeling and the Axis armies are confident. Due to this, the Soviets can withhold up to 6 units and their weapons, popping them up on Turn 1 (game start is Turn 0) in any hex they could originally set up on (which is 80% of the board), as long as they're in cover (which means one of the many buildings or wood hexes). The Romanians can withhold units as well (I believe 8 is the max), entering them later as normal reinforcements. An interesting puzzle, beginning with the set-up!

And I almost forgot to mention victory points... There is an open objective that makes all 5 board objectives worth 3 points. We each picked a secret objective, and mine made objective 5 worth an additional 5 VPs -- this would drive my mid-game strategy, as I really felt I'd need to control objective 5 (right smack in the middle of the village!) to win the game.

Well, Bill arrived, with a six-pack of Sam Adams in tow, and we headed down to the game room, Cheyenne, with rawhide, following. He had played 3 times before, all scenarios that pitted Americans against Germans. I offered him choice of sides, and he took the Soviets. Bill utilized a forward set up, giving the 2 MMGs as many fire lanes as he could. Other squads were scattered across the board (up forward), ready to met the Romanians who had dared enter their soil... Bill did hold off 5 squads, a leader, and 2 LMGs, ready to "pop them up" where needed on Turn 1.

I withheld 7 Romanian squads, a leader, and 2 LMGs myself, opting to enter them on Turn 2, once I had a turn to see/deal with the hidden Ruskies. I opted to send in all 6 of my "good" squads at this time. For initial set up, I could hide 5 squads in the woods (along with both MMGs), give some a tiny bit of help in a wheat field, while leaving several guys out in the open (no choice -- damn Romanians needed to scout this situation a little better...).

Then we were off!

I began by moving 5 squads on my right flank toward the building cover. A forward Soviet MMG opened fire and hit my guys pretty hard with sustained fire. A couple squads made the building line, while 3 cowered broken among the shattered wheat stalks. I fired (mostly ineffectively) my MMGs on the left flank, trying to get the Soviets there out of the woods, but to no avail. Luckily, I was able to rally 2 of the 3 broken squads before Bill could take his turn. He did hit me back hard, killing my broken squad, and I was thinking this might be a short game. But the Romanian surrender level is 17, so I had a ways to go...

I was able to move into the buildings on my right flank, and push his defenders back (not to mention get some cover against the MMG). Having several "Move" cards, I decided to rush 3 squads and a leader across open terrain, to try and exit them. No MMGs could see them, behind the buildings, so I was able to get them off the board, as they only had to withstand a few shots from Russian squads. No problem! I did make the mistake of having a close combat (CC) with a "4" strength Romanian -- we both had "Ambush" cards, and not only did I lose the CC by rolling poorly, I lost the Initiative, as well. D'oh!!! This mistake allowed Bill to send one of his squads toward my board edge, when we had our first "Time" event.

Bill was then able to prop up his defenses with the hidden Ruskies, and he created a nice fire lane on my right flank, which would make it tough for me to make another end run. He also beefed up his center (where most of the objective hexes were), and only put 1 extra unit on my left flank, as a blaze over on that side of the board was limiting my options somewhat (it would spread into a huge, 6-hex fire shortly!). The VPs were firmly "Pro-Soviet," and I didn't have a right flank anymore!

Lady Luck was with me, though, as I had a sniper attack which broke the Soviet squad trying to edge off the board, then we had another quick "Time" event, which let me enter my reinforcements, plus my exited units, and I went to the Wheatfield (as much as I could) to try and kill the broken Ruskie. But Bill had an advance card, so he did exit...

The Soviets began to fall back toward the center of town, as my once again strong right flank advanced through the buildings, heading to the town center. My left flank did clear some weak Russian militia out of the woods, and I advanced a MMG up to a woods hex which had excellent fire zones. Of course, the first time it opened fire, it jammed, then a sniper check eliminated it. Good idea, poor Romanian execution...

We had several more time checks, and VPs remained around Soviet 10-12. An event drew an additional objective chit that made all 5 objectives worth an additional 2 points -- I really had to take as many as I could... By Turn 6 (7 is Sudden Death), I was able to make a big advance into CC, with 2 Ambush cards as well as a Light Wounds. We both ambushed each other (my light wounds helping me), and I took the BIG objective hex in the village center. I raced another squad toward the board edge to take another objective, and with 3 of the 5 under my control, and several dead Soviets, VPs edged into my column. At this point, Bill conceded, though, if I had been in his shoes, I would have continued -- if he was able to win a CC against me, things would have quickly turned around, for VPs were only at about 5 Romanian.

All in all, this scenario showed how hard it is to advance less than stellar troops into defended (even lightly) terrain. And even harder when most of the Romanian units can't even drop some smoke to screen their movements! I really enjoyed the attack here, as frustrating as it was using the Axis Minor deck. The differentiation this game makes, using unit values combined with the specific card decks is brilliant. I hadn't played for a few months, and I was able to get right back in, with a quick skim of the rules. I really love Combat Commander, and will certainly play it whenever given the chance. I really need to start experiencing it on Vassal...

Snow!!!

2008-11-19T12:14:00.002-05:00

Finally, winter has truly arrived. About 3" of snow in my driveway when I headed to work. The 7-day forecast has us staying cold, so I imagine what's down will stay, and we will probably get more. Snow day? One can hope...

Cheyenne really loves the snow. Last winter was (probably) her first winter with snow, as I don't think she got any in her first year (she was a Nashville pup). I've gotta get out and play with her today -- she loves catching snowballs.

The Sabres are on tonight vs. Boston, and this is turning into a huge early season game. If the Bruins win, they really begin to open up space. If Barfalo wins, the race becomes tight again. They (the Sabres) have not played well lately. I'm hoping they can shake out of their funk...

Tomorrow (Thursday), Bill Peeck is coming by for some Combat Commander. As much as I love this game, I haven't played for a couple months, at least! I've really got to be more on the ball about this. Also have to get the rules down for Sicily: Race for Messina, as I think Mike and I will be tackling that next week. Maybe I should just play more Combat Commander!

4 more workdays, then onto Thanksgiving break. Yee-ha!

Life Rolls On...

2008-11-17T08:35:00.003-05:00

Got some fun gaming in on Saturday at the Rochester Gamers monthly meet. Played 2 games of Conflict of Heroes, 2 games of Hold the Line, and 2 games of Objective Tobruk (a North African game currently in playtest). Had fun, even though I lost more than I won...

The CoH games were both the learning scenario, a German sweep through lightly forested terrain to hunt down Soviet Partisans. This is a tough one for the Soviets, especially when the Pioneer unit (an SS "Tracker" unit) enters the fray. I enjoyed the game, and look forward to getting into the more "meaty" scenarios.

For HtL, we played Hobkirk's Hill and King's Mountain, both battles from the southern campaign. In Hobkirk's Hill, a methodical British advance pushed the Rebels back and gave them the victory. In King's Mountain, the Loyalists took a pounding from Rebel militia, as they retreated and tried to regroup. This game came right down to the end, and the side that killed the next unit would win. When a loyalist leader died, the game ended. Great fun, as always.

Objective Tobruk is a neat little "box-to-box" game Peter Bogdasarian is designing. It has a lot in common with Quebec 1759 (written orders), and shows off sweeping desert warfare, quite well. Each side won a game, so, as of now, the balance is perfect!

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving break, just gotta get through these next 7 days. Things are dragging in my life right now, and I really need a break. I was looking forward to taking a nice trip with Deanna over February break, but it looks like that won't be possible, due to her daughter living with us (she doesn't trust her home alone for a week). Oh well, maybe I'll head somewhere by my lonesome, as I used to. All that's old is new again, or something like that...

The Red Poppy...

2008-11-11T10:36:00.002-05:00

I am off work today, but I'll be working most of the day, nonetheless. I have to finish my grading and submit grades and comments for the 1st Quarter report cards. We (meaning Deanna and me) also have to clean out the garage, which is still full of leftovers and junk from our July garage sale and all the home repairs we've been undertaking. Ugh... But gotta do it, so we can get our vehicles sheltered before the snow comes.

Of course, the real meaning of today can't get lost in grades and cleaning. All the brave men and women who have risked, and in many cases given their lives, so that we may remain free. Thank you, all.

Before I forget, I want to mention that I finished Stephen King's Duma Key this morning. An excellent book. King has always, to me, been a great storyteller. Folks can debate his writing talents, but I don't think there's any debate about his storytelling abilities. So it struck me that Duma Key was very well written. As someone who has read most of his books over the years (for pure enjoyment), I can definitely see a trend lately, where he's matured as a writer, while not losing any of his storytelling magic. Duma Key is highly recommended.

Grading, Grading...

2008-11-10T08:19:00.002-05:00

Spent a good portion of the weekend grading and getting grades into the electronic gradebook, as they're due by Wednesday. Most of my kids are doing well, but there are 3 that are falling through the cracks (and not just in my classes). Parents of these 3 kids have already canceled SEVEN parent-teacher conferences. Kinda hard to get through to a kid whose parent doesn't give a shit.

Not much gaming going on, though I received a nice (and cheap!) copy of Sicily: Race for Messina in the mail on Friday (from an eBarf win). I know, I know -- it has hexes. But it also has those neat strength chits that give excellent "fog of war," and this is something I can play with Mike Cardwell, as I need to throw him some WWII bones every once in a while. I have been interested in both the Sicilian/Italian campaigns in WWII lately, as well as the Spanish Civil War. 2 interesting theaters in what I find to be an otherwise boring war (certainly boring to game, especially Eastern Front dreck...).

American cargo ship carrying munitions hit off Gela, Sicily, July 1943

Cheyenne's cyst is still about the same. I just want the damn thing to go away. Soon.

I never got my birthday pedicure this year, so I'm thinking of bringing my crusty feet to a spa this week. Make those cute little high school drop-outs work for their money.

These 5 Day Weeks are Killing Me...

2008-11-06T08:38:00.004-05:00

Luckily, next week we get Tuesday off for Veteran's Day, then a full week starting on the 17th, then a 2-day week beginning on the 24th, due to Thanksgiving. Then a long Christmas break in December, whew! How's that for whiny?

There are times during the year that teachers tend to get "burned out. November and March seem to be two of the "biggies," and I know I ain't the only only one dragging at my school.

I can't remember the last time I listened to the radio in my vehicle, as I constantly have a book on CD going. Right now, I'm listening to Duma Key, by Stephen King. I've always enjoyed his books, and the writing here is really quite good -- in addition to being a good storyteller, he is turning into a better (imo) writer as the years go by. His book before this (which I read, not listened to!), Lisey's Story, demonstrated the same. Unfortunately, at 130,000 miles plus, things in a vehicle start to fall apart. The CD player is beginning to act up, and I'm worried that when the really cold weather gets here, it'll die. That would suck...

On the gaming front, Bill Peeck is stopping by tonight to playtest Washington's War, Mark Herman's remake of We the People. Game is similar to its predecessor, but there are no battle cards and opponent's events are no longer completely useless. looking forward to giving the new version a spin. I'm also starting a pbem Successors soon, as I can't seem to get enough of that game right now!

I'll leave y'all with a game you might want to try:

Busen Memo

You really should check the link out, LOL!

Stuff...

2008-11-04T08:07:00.003-05:00

Well, Cheyenne's blood test came back clean -- no clotting problems, which is a relief. The stupid cyst looks smaller one day, then bigger the next. It just needs to go away, as I'm hoping we don't have to take the surgery route. I just need a good break one of these days...

Played Successors this past Sunday at Greg Denyshenko's (sp?) house. One of the guys, Carl, was a bit of a hard-ass ("Can't take that move back" kind of guy), which took a little of the fun away. But it was fun overall, and Jeff Burdett won a Turn 2 victory via VPs, after taking Greece. Funny thing was, we all had a chance to win that turn -- the other 3 of us via Legitimacy, as Alexander's body was racing to Pella for burial, and getting battled over. Overall, a good time, though I'll know in the future to get it straight, up front, that in friendly games we don't act like hard-asses. It ain't a chess tourney. I really do like Successors, and am about to get in a pbem game of it. Mark Simonitch and John Firer did a good job in making this a fun game.

I picked up Clash of Monarchs and Pursuit of Glory in GMT's P500 Customer Appreciation Sale. I'm looking at the CoM rules, and I'm pretty sure the game isn't for me. Too damn fiddly and procedural. I'm hoping PuoG will be more for my tastes, even though the rulebook is way too long. Damn, people, what's with all this needless complexity we're getting into games today? Feh...

Time for me to really buckle down and actually design the kind of games I want. I have a nice little euro rattling around, and some real good ideas for a card-driven game, though I have no stomach for doing all the OOB research. I need a research assistant for that... One of these days...

In the sporting world, the Buffalo Sabres are still playing real good hockey. I love watching the Sabres, but I'm not an NHL fan (if the Sabres aren't playing, I don't watch the game). I think this is a big problem for the NHL (at least in the U.S.), as folks like to follow "their" teams, but don't really care about the rest of the league. It'll be interesting to see where this takes the NHL, down the road -- especially because it's getting so freakin' expensive to go to games. I'm going to the Buffalo/Toronto game on December 12th, and 2 tickets cost $300. Man...

70F forecast today, global warming is back, after disappearing this last year, LOL!

News...

2008-11-02T01:12:00.004-04:00

Well, it doesn't look like Cheyenne has a bone problem (including cancer), so that's good.

But she has a big, hard cyst building up on her skull. We're waiting to hear (mid next week) if there's a blood clotting problem, which would certainly complicate things.

Assuming her clotting is normal, we need to hop the cyst goes away by itself, or else an operation will be necessary, for it continues to exert pressure on the skull.

We're still hopeful things will work out without having to put her under the knife.

Thanks for listening -- she's my girl, I love her, and I need her to be well. She's young (2 1/2 years), happy, and otherwise healthy. I want her to be around with me a long time...

More Apologies...

2008-10-30T22:22:00.002-04:00

I've really been worried about Cheyenne this week, work has been a bear, and it's just been hard to post about "fun" stuff.

I am planning to pick up the game postings (especially) soon, after getting good news tomorrow.

I hope.

Cheyenne, Again...

2008-10-29T11:02:00.002-04:00

Sorry to have missed the last couple days, but I've had a lot on my mind (in addition to mucho school work).

The big knot on Cheyenne's head has come back, and it's hard this time (not "mushy" like it was before). The vet is concerned, and I'm taking her in for X-rays and a biopsy on Friday. If we're lucky, it's just a strange hematoma that's healing oddly, and can be dealt with non-invasively. If we're not lucky, some type of surgery will be needed. It doesn't seem to be bothering her at all, presently, but it's exerting some pressure on the skull, which would only get worse with time. Worst case, it could be something very bad. With an active, healthy, 2 1/2 year old dog, it better not be -- I know I certainly couldn't deal with something bad, especially after what I went through with my beloved Gypsy up 'til her death in March, 2007.

So please, send some good vibes our way. :-)

On the gaming front, I'm headed over to Mike's for some Warriors of God tonight. Then, on Sunday, I have a 4-player Successors game planned. Thursday night there's a Sabres game. Just need to keep my mind occupied so I won't worry...

Thanks for listening.

Texas Hold 'Em and Colleagues...

2008-10-23T08:44:00.002-04:00

A few weeks back, I was invited to my first poker game here at my new school. I believe there were 9 of us at the first game, and we ended up playing twice, $20 buy in each time. The top 3 positions paid out, I finished 3rd, then 4th, so I broke even for the night. Of course, the real fun was hanging with folks and getting to know them better over beers and chips (both kinds!). A lot of strange stories emanating from this school, evidently!

About a week after the first game, I was invited to second, and this time there were 10 of us. Same rules, top 3 pay out. In the first game, it got down to 4 of us, and we played for about an extra hour and a half (even with blinds going up every 12 minutes). I was low man in the chip count when I went all in with a suited A/Q. I was called by the guy in 2nd place, and if I won, we'd basically flip places. He called with a pair of 7s. The flop brought me both an Ace and a Queen. I was pretty confident! Nothing on the turn, but the river was a freakin' SEVEN. D'oh! So I finished out of the money... Next game was down to 8 people, same rules. I got down to the final 3, and was winning the chip count. I tried to knock the 2nd place guy (a woman, actually -- I used to work with her at the elementary school) when I went all in after being dealt A/A! She did call me (she'd already raised the pot before I went all in, so I figured she had a decent hand and would follow me in). I was correct, and she had unsuited A/K! Ouch for her -- only Kings could help here. Or so I thought. Both my Aces were black, hers was the Ace of Hearts. The 3 cards on the flop were Hearts, and then the turn was a Heart. I didn't even have to wait for the damn river to see I was screwed! Unbelievable... I finished in 3rd, in a match I should have won. Shoulda, coulda, woulda... At least I broke even for the night again, and, in spite of losing 2 big "all ins" I should have won, I had a lot of fun.

Can't wait for the next game, I'm due for a win...

I've gotta say, Texas Hold 'Em may be my favorite game. Not only is there a ton of strategy, but it's a great psychological game. I've been blessed with an excellent "poker face," and this helps. I've itching to get back to the casino to try to do better there than I did last time. I think decades of competitive wargaming have helped to hone my poker skills, and for that, I'm thankful. If I could only win Lotto, I'd head for Vegas and try my hand against the big boys (I'm more than willing to take my lumps, in order to learn, but I can't afford to "learn" from the best on a teacher's salary, LOL!).

Snowflakes???

2008-10-22T08:39:00.004-04:00

Had some wet snow hitting my windshield this morning.

IT'S BACK!!!

Oh well, living in Western New York, we're used to this sort of thing. I am, at least. It drives Deanna crazy -- she needs one of those winter "seasonal affective disorder" lights. I should look into that, as her mood can really get dark...

Anyone know any good Internet sites for radio/picking individual songs? Just something to have on in the background. I like to have classical music going when the kids are working, and my old CD player just went on the fritz. I found "Radio Margaritaville," which I love, but which isn't really appropriate for the classroom -- "Wasted away again in Margaritaville," and all that...

I know Mike and Bill are continuing their molasses-like game of Third World War tonight. I have to head to Irondequoit to do a few errands, so I'll probably stop by and watch the blitz, err, sitzkreig for a bit. On Thursday, Greg D. is having game night at his house. I'm fishing for a game of Espana 1936, hope I get a bite!

One of Deanna's co-workers is in a band, and they're playing a local bar on Friday, Johnny's Irish Pub, so we'll stop by for a bit. I must admit, I don't like Johnny's -- it's one of those places with a bunch of regulars who tend to be unfriendly to newcomers. Last time I was there, years ago with Mike Cardwell, guys kept on glaring at us. Maybe they thought we were gay, LOL! I dunno... I would never set foot in this place on my own volition, hope Deanna won't want to go there again, either!

Cheyenne's new bump on her head seems to be going down, so we're hoping the tissue there is just still fragile, from the first one. She's playing in the "small dog" room this week, so she probably won't bump heads with anyone! At 48 pounds, she's kinda a "tweener," a more medium-sized dog, who acts like a big dog, but loves dogs of all sizes.

I went out to Shutt's cider mill over the weekend and got some excellent apples -- Pinatas. I've never had these before. They're like Honeycrisps, but a little "tarter." Really tasty. Some Macouns, as well. I love getting nice, fresh apples from the orchards around Sodus. Yum!

Tuesday, Tuesday...

2008-10-21T11:18:00.003-04:00

Great Sabres game Friday night -- a 5-2 victory. Afterward, Bob and I went out for wings, and then I drove home, quite pooped, but entirely worth it. I really enjoy the Sabres, and getting to hang with a friend for a night while watching them live makes it even more fun.

At Millennium, it turned into a Rob vs. Jeff Burdett day. We started with Twilight Struggle, a game I hadn't played for ages (and don't really like, due to the sharks and the card combos). Having been away for a year or more, though, I approached it with fresh eyes, and had fun. I was the Soviets, and Jeff's Americans had the lead (a small one -- 1 to 5 points) for most of the game. The last 2 turns did it for me, however, as Africa scored 20 VPs for me over that span, and I was able to pull out a 20+ point victory. Great fun. We then turned to For the People, another game I used to like, but have tired of (too gamey). I was the South, and decided that I wouldn't play a gamey game (no weird Lee-led invasions of Ohio, for instance). I had to leave 1/2 way through (minor emergency at the house), and my position was real good. No states had fallen, no resource centers had been destroyed, and I held Kentucky and West Virginia. I was up by about 20 in SW. Bill Peeck took over, and he says he was on his way to winning when they got kicked out at 9:45. Two nice games that have been wrecked by "gaminess." Too bad -- I guess I'll pull them out once every year or so and have some fun vs. "non-sharks."

Probably more gaming later this week, have to get things organized...

TGIF...

2008-10-17T08:49:00.002-04:00

These 4-day weeks are killin' me!

And, to make it worse, the next 3 weeks are 5-day weeks. How the Hell will I handle that?!?! I guess I can look forward to Veteran's Day, then Thanksgiving...

Last night, I popped by Mike's for about an hour to watch him play Bill in Third World War. I got there in time for combat, and I think they went through about 8 combats. I helped them with the modifiers and charts, but man, that took forever. I definitely know that this game ain't for me, that's for sure! I dunno, I think I really do hate hexes...

After school today, I'm heading to Bob Titran's place on Grand Island. Then onto the Buffalo/Vancouver hockey game. I hope to leave Buffalo late tonight after a win, as my last 2 trips to games have seen Sabres' losses -- including 2 years ago a double-overtime loss to Ottawa in the playoffs when my vehicle needed to be towed back to Rochester. I call that, my $1,700 nightmare evening...

And the fun doesn't stop! I'll be at Millennium this Saturday for my group's monthly meet. I have no idea what I'll be playing, but I know I'll have fun.

Sunday will be spent correcting math tests in front of the football games. Ugh, don't even want to think about that!

Well, I'm happy with my schedule for the next 36 hours or so, and I'm even happier that Cheyenne is back to normal. Now, if the Sabres win, it will be a great weekend!

Busy Week...

2008-10-16T14:18:00.004-04:00

Man, but it's been non-stop this week! A lot going on at school and continual packing/moving at the homestead -- seems like I haven't had a chance to catch my breath. And Deanna and I have had no time to ourselves, and we need some...

Life really zooms on, sometimes.

Man...

So, I'm thinking I deserve a nap this afternoon. Just a little one, but I've really gotta get "rejuvenated!" A bunch of grading to get to this evening, then over to Mike's to watch a little Third World War and find out why Bill's been avoiding me -- LOL!

Last night, before I went to bed, I decided to order Conflict of Heroes. Now, I'm not much of a tactical guy, and WWII ain't my era. Add to this equation that I already own and love Combat Commander, and one needs to wonder why I did this. I guess I'm both a sucker for a good game, and an addict, to boot.

D'oh!

I'm trying to resist buying Clash of Monarchs, a game I'm pretty sure will be much too "gritty" for me, but my resolve is weakening. Why does this always happen to me?!?!

Oh well, one can never have too many games. Until one has to begin packing them away.

D'oh again!

Finally, I need to vent about Consimworld. That place is really turning into a cesspool. All the wackos, left and right, are getting real nasty, making the place a "my candidate rocks, yours sucks" bulletin board. Guys, we're supposed to be chatting about games, there. Man, I have no patience to most of these buttloads...

OK, enough of that. Off to lalaland for a bit, then one more day of school after which non-stop fun (which I need) begins -- Sabres, then gameday.

Yee-haw!

Veggin'...

2008-10-15T12:26:00.003-04:00

Tonight will just be an evening of veggin' out, correcting papers, and watching the Sabres game, as I am pooped! All those days off and sleeping in spoiled me -- now I can't get to sleep at night, yet I have to get up at 5:55 when my alarm starts going off.

Ugh...

Looks like no gaming this week, though our group's monthly meet at Millennium is on Saturday. So, once Friday hits, I'll have the Sabres' game that night, then gaming all the next day. Not a bad deal, just have to get through 2 more days...

Mike and Bill are playing Third World War on Thursday at Mike's, so I'll probably stop by the see that. I'm not really interested in the game (too many damn hexes!), so it'll just be for the beer and to shoot the shit. Haven't seen Bill in ages, actually!

And on the Niagara Boardgaming Weekend front, spoke with Marty Sample last night and it looks like he'll be coming in from New Hampshire! Too cool! Looking forward to NBW even more, now. Mmmmmm... Niagara Falls in February!

Y'all should be coming, ya know...

Back to the Salt Mines...

2008-10-14T10:49:00.004-04:00

Rather an unexciting weekend, though the Sabres won (twice!) and I got some solo plays in of Hold the Line. Most of the weekend I was growing more and more concerned with the growing lump on Cheyenne's head. It got to the size of a golf ball, and was quite worrisome. Gypsy, my "dog of a lifetime," died last year from effin' lumps -- mast cell tumors. So, seeing something like this grow on Cheyenne wasn't good for me.

Went to the vet's Monday morning, and she'd noticed it had grown since Friday -- not good. Decided to aspirate with a needle to check what was going on inside there via a biopsy. So she took a reluctant Cheyenne into the treatment room, and came back about 5 minutes later with...

...NO LUMP! Evidently, Cheyenne must have really whacked her head, as this was a huge hematoma. But it didn't even hurt her! Anyway, it collapsed when blood was drawn, and I got a call later in the day that all the vet found was "stagnant" red blood cells and a few white cells, all what one would normally find in a 5 day old bruise.

Whew...

A huge relief, I don't think I could have gone through all that crap again, especially with a seemingly healthy, happy, young dog.

In other news, the Sabres are 2-0, beating Montreal in a shootout Friday night and then crushing the Islanders on Long Island, 7-1 yesterday. I will be going to the Vancouver game this coming Friday, looking forward to it. I think this team has the skill and attitude needed to win in the NHL, and last year might have been the kick in the butt they needed to just get going. Let us hope...

In between bouts of moving, boxing, and cleaning up my "new" gameroom, I had Hold the Line out. I played one game of Hobkirk's Hill (American victory) and two games of Eutaw Springs (both British victories). Of course, solo play is, at best, something to do to relieve boredom (or take one's mind off dog issues), and this game definitely suffers when there aren't 2 playing -- plans take a while to unfold, ad it's very hard to be the attacker when the defender (also you!) knows exactly where the main attack is headed! But fun, all the same, as the game's quick and easy.

Class for "hematoma-less" Cheyenne tonight. I need a nap...

Ile-de-France Rocks!

2008-10-10T08:41:00.003-04:00

Mike and I played through 5 turns of Warriors of God last evening, and my French were up to 28 VPs (30 is a victory), so we decided to call it. A brutal game that was close early, then I got some lucky area control rolls which built up the "empire." Bertrand, the 4-3 leader, led an invasion of England, which gloriously succeeded. He promptly died, but there was enough strength in England to keep it French for a while, while 3 English noblemen rotted in French prison. Since the French were winning the battles and had the areas, we both saw the writing on the wall...

Damn fun game, and we plan to play again, switching sides. Finally, I'll get to be the "good guys!"

Cheyenne's head lump is still there -- she looks like a conehead from the old Saturday Night Live. But it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all, so that's good. I have a vet appointment for 3:00 PM today, and I'm hoping a quick cortisone shot (or something) will get her back to normal. Poor girl...

My friend at work informed me this morning that she can't go to the Sabres/Canuks game next Friday (the 17th), so she offered me the tix for 1/2 price. Too cool, I couldn't say no! I'm looking forward to the NHL season getting started for Buffalo tonight vs. the Canadiens, as I'll hang out and watch it on the tube tonight. Deanna's going out with the 2 other English teachers on her team tonight, so I can have "manland" kick in. Go Sabres!

Funny thing about the NHL -- I really love watching the Sabres, but I wouldn't say I'm an NHL fan. When the Sabres aren't playing, I can't get really interested in the games. I enjoy the international game (bigger rinks, no fighting, penalties consistently enforced) much more, and hope the NHL keeps heading in this direction. But for now, I can't get real excited about an Anaheim/Philadelphia game. Oh well...

A 3-day weekend coming. I will continue to move/clean up my game room, as I've got a lot of cataloging to do. I'd also like to sell a bunch of stuff, gotta get moving on that...

Doggie Bumps

2008-10-09T17:41:00.003-04:00

Had today off school for Yom Kippur. Even though I'm not Jewish, I decided to atone for my sins. Therefore, I worked extra hard on cleaning up the gameroom...

Noticed a while back that Cheyenne has a big ol' goose egg on the top/back of her head. It doesn't bother her when I touch it, so she didn't bump into anything or get hit there, I don't think. She's been in the basement with me for most of the afternoon, so I'm guessing it's a spider bite. I gave her a Benadryl, and I hope this helps. After what I went through with Gypsy and her mast cell tumors, finding a big bump/lump on my dog is definitely something that can panic me.

I am headed over to Mike's tonight for some more Warriors of God. I think we're going to try the 100 Years War scenario again, and Mike's going to try to keep his leaders alive! I've gotta admit, I enjoy the game, chaotic as it is. Looking through my game collection, it's probably the best IGS game in my opinion. Fun is most important to me. And though the game is procedural heavy (something I tend to dislike in wargames), it isn't a bad thing here, as the game is so easy and light. I think the whole "procedural heavy" stuff really hurts more complicated games -- I just want to play the situation, not the rulebook!

Well, off to box up some old Avalon Hill stuff, then over to Mike's.

Outdoor Education and BACSIM

2008-10-07T12:10:00.004-04:00

Last Thursday and Friday, I was running a low ropes course for teams of kids at their 6th Grade Outdoor Education. They have a good time, and need to work as a team to complete 5 tasks at my station. But the best news was that I caught 2 snakes! On Thursday, I found an 18" garter snake (who liked to bite me, LOL!) and proceeded to scare the snot out of a 7th Grade Chemistry teacher. On Friday, I found the most beautiful emerald green grass snake, about 10" long. It didn't bite, and once it calmed down, it curled around my fingers for the next hour or so. I let her go in a nice sunny patch before I left, well out of the way. A gorgeous creature.

On Saturday, headed out to BACSIM at UB for the day. Started off by playing some Hold the Line, which is a really nice game. Played the Harlem Heights scenario, and the Americans pulled out a win on the last turn (Turn 22), by killing a Light Foot I couldn't get back to my lines. Some folks will write this off as just a bunch of dice rolling, but there is nice strategy here. I like it, and plan to play a lot more.

Next up was a 5-player New World: A Carcassonne Game. I'm not a big fan of Carcassonne, but I liked this adaptation. We all started out on the East coast of the soon to come US, with the cities Plymouth, New York, and Jamestown already there. As you build Westward, you can place shopkeepers, robbers, farmers, and trappers. A "gotcha" in the game is that as something is scored, one of 2 "Surveyors" moves West. If you get a meeple caught East of both Surveyors, it's removed from the game. This makes the West, and expansion there, more important than trying to "fill in some blanks" in the East. It was decent, I'd play again.

Finished up with MMP's new Storm Over Stalingrad. This is an area movement game, with cards that affect combat. Game was decent, and my Germans came up one area short vs. Mike Cardwell's Soviets. Very bloody! The very few areas (and avenues of approach) might make this one stale, quickly. We shall see. There is an awful lot of luck in the cards, and the game can often hinge on an artillery/bombing barrage and/or a sniper duel (assuming one has the cards). One thing I didn't like was watching Soviet units retreat back and forth between the same 2 areas. Yuck. I think MMP's "IGS" line has some decent games, but very little that's special. As always, I'll be trading for these, so, as long as I get a play, I'm moderately happy. One really wishes some of these Japanese designers would make some new games, and not just get old ones reprinted.

Anyway, it was a fun day -- I spent a lot of time watching other games and chatting. I was pooped by the time I got home. Now, a Poker night this coming Wednesday -- can never get enough gaming!

Da Raiders, Gaming, and the Great Outdoors...

2008-10-01T16:56:00.004-04:00

Well, the living zombie Davis finally fired the best coach he's had since Gruden. A talented team that will probably languish in another 4-12 season. Davis has gone from football genius to football joke, and I hung on for way too long. The man is a complete bag of shit, and, frankly, that's being unfair to bags of shit. I still want to bleed silver and black, but I really can't do that anymore without feeling really dirty. No, I'll start rooting for the Toronto, uh, Barfalo Bills as my #1...

Ugh, my favorites (or former favorites as long as Davis lives) in football give me pause to hate the game. Between Oakland in the NFL and Syracuse in the NCAA, 2 proud franchises have certainly hit rock bottom. At least there's nowhere to go but up. At least I think that has to be the case...

Keep laughing, baby, you're free!

Played Poker the other night at a work friend's house, and even though I was exhausted and light-headed from the bug, I hung in there, finishing just out of the money. I lost my chance to make it into 3rd position (out of 8) when I went all in with A/Q of hearts. Of course, the flop had a 9 in it, and the other guy's call of unsuited A/9 beat me, as a 2nd 9 came up on the river. Ugh again! It was fun, and I had time to watch the end of the football game...

Tonight is Warriors of God at Mike's place. We did the "Lion in Winter" scenario last time, so I guess we'll tackle the "100 Years War" this evening. Then on Saturday, "Mr. BACSIM" is hosting the Buffalo group's 4th Anniversary bash. I will be there, and even Mike threatens the same! I hope to get in a 4-player Successors, and with a bigger than usual crowd, this just might happen. I'll bring that and a few other games, and happily get into anything.

Tomorrow and Friday the 6th graders on my team are out in Rush, NY for "Outdoor Education." The kids are put on teams of 11 or 12, and perform 12 team activities over a 2-day period (they stay overnight on Thursday). I'll be heading up the Ropes course, where they have to work as a team to overcome obstacles involving, you got it, ropes! They have a lot of fun, and, frankly, so do I, but it is exhausting! I think I'll be crashing at about 6:00 PM Friday so I'll be able to drive to Buffalo Saturday morning.

Only downside is the predicted weather. Low/mid 50s and intermittent rain. Gotta remember to bring my umbrella and silicone my boots this evening...

And if I don't get a post in tomorrow (I will try...), it's because I was at the camp all day, so give me a break!

Lapse...

2008-09-30T18:20:00.002-04:00

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...

2008-09-26T11:00:00.003-04:00

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...

2008-09-25T07:54:00.008-04:00

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...

2008-09-24T15:28:00.004-04:00

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

2008-09-23T08:24:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-23T08:01:00.003-04:00

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...

2008-09-22T07:22:00.004-04:00

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...

2008-09-15T08:41:00.003-04:00

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...

2008-09-03T12:15:00.002-04:00

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...

2008-09-01T16:49:00.002-04:00

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.

Getting Back Into the Swing...

2008-08-31T21:32:00.002-04:00

Well, I have had very little computer time, as Deanna is hogging our home computer and I had to turn my old school one in the other day (and won't get my new PC laptop until Tuesday).

So I just wanted to sneak in and apologize for the lack of posts this week, while letting y'all know I'll be "back to normal" once school begins.

Much to post about -- bass fishing, gaming, school, moving, dog training (she's getting there, Marty!), etc.

Give me a few, then we'll be back to normal, a post a day, I hope!

Back to School, kinda...

2008-08-25T14:06:00.002-04:00

Well, here I am sitting in my room, looking at all the work I have to do.

It's lot...

Go for the Gold...

2008-08-23T21:49:00.004-04:00

Had fun Thursday night -- 7 guys showed up at Greg's house, and after the obligatory "What will we play?" discussions, we broke off into 2 games. A 6-player Here I Stand broke out (tournament scenario), while Jeff Burdett and I played the "Lion of Winter" scenario from Warriors of God. It was a close game for a while, then my French got some lucky control rolls (while Jeff's English didn't) and the VPs started to add up. Jeff commenced an epic battle in Ile-de-France, but greater French numbers won over superior English leadership. It was a real bloodbath, however! When VPs got to 23 for the French on Turn 7, we decided to call it a game, and this let Jeff get home earlier than planned.

I was thinking of heading home myself, but I got roped into replacing the Ottoman player in the HIS game. His position was decent, and I got some more Piracy VP, as well as taking Tunis, so I was in the mix when we called it a game. France had invaded England and taken Bristol -- something you don't see much in this game.

Greg has a great downstairs gaming/home theater/kids' rec room set up. He's threatening to do this on a regular basis, and I hope he does! Next time, we'll decide on games in advance, and I think I will go with Espana 1936...

Tonight, I think I'll set my alarm for 2:30 AM to watch the basketball gold medal game between the US and Spain. I'm glad the punky team that played in Athens lost, but I'm really rooting for these guys -- they're not only the best athletes, but they are definitely a team. I expect them to beat Spain by about 30, but am actually hoping for a good game. And, as the saying goes, "on any given day..."

Realtors and Gaming...

2008-08-21T15:29:00.003-04:00

Sorry to have been delinquent these past few days -- we've been like busy little beavers on the house...

Man, but it's never ending.

The realtor came by Tuesday night, and we decided to officially put the house on the market September 8th. Still a ton to do before then, and school will be starting. What a drag... The initial price is fair, and I hope we'll be able to get something close to it. Once all fees are paid, I'll be happy to break even. The joys of home ownership...

All this has put a crimp on my gaming and social life, though Deanna and I went out to a movie last night, Tell No One. A nice thriller/mystery, in French, with subtitles. It was good to get out of the money pit for a while, and we haven't had a "date night" for waaaaay too long.

Tonight, I'm going to Greg D's in Irondequoit for what he hopes will be a regular Thursday night get-together. That would be cool! Looks like I'll be bringing Warriors of God and Espana 1936, but would be open for a multi-player game of Here I Stand. Any way, it'll be fun.

Well, I'm still waiting to hear back from the tile guy, and I owe Cheyenne a walk, so ciao for now!

Williamsport, My Own Private Hell...

2008-08-18T22:06:00.003-04:00

Williamsport currently has the Little League World Series. It also had my vehicle for the past 8 days.

I got it back today, finally.

Yay for me...

Cost me a lot of money and about 7 hours of my life.

I hate Williamsport...

Deanna and I packed Cheyenne in her van and left at about 9:30 this morning. After about an hour, we popped in a children's book, So B. It. She finished it on the way back, and said it was good, so I'll have to finish it myself sometime.

Around 11:30, got to the big Pennsyltucky rest stop in Tioga. Bathroom breaks for both Deanna and Cheyenne, then back to Route 15 S.

Got to Mansfield, PA a bit after noon. Stopped at McDonald's for lunch. I had the Caesar Salad -- it's actually pretty good. We bought a plain burger for Cheyenne since she was being so good, and gave it to her, bun-less. That pleased her greatly! Ate at a picnic table in a little park there.

Back on the road, and we hit Williamsport around 1:00. The address for the place was "East Willow," between 3rd an 4th. We found 3rd, then the next street was 4th. What the Hell?!?! Doubled back, and found that "East Willow" was an alley. Great, maybe the car guy's next to the abortionist...

We finally found him, by spotting my RAV parked in what looked to be an abandoned lot. I found the guy, and he told me how hard a job it was, as the underside of my engine was in bad shape due to weather (i.e. salt on the winter roads). I paid him, and, thankfully, the vehicle seemed to be working again.

We left the place with Cheyenne riding with me, and Deanna following.

My a/c didn't work.

It was 90F today.

Cheyenne and I were hot.

I think I'm refusing to ever stop again in Williamsport -- McDonald's, gas stations, etc. along the way will have to be in different towns.

Millennium Game Day, No Car...

2008-08-17T11:21:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was our monthly meet at Millennium, and our 8th anniversary of the club's founding -- something I started when I moved back to Rochester from the DC area. Bill Peeck and Steve Cuyler mostly run things now, and they got sub platters, pop (soda for the rest of y'all!), and a cake (believe Jack Morrell did this) to celebrate. Most people gave Bill 5-10 dollars for his efforts (and he paid Steve and Jack), though some slackers didn't contribute. Bill was too nice to demand payment for food, but I was ready to call several folks out who wolfed down "free" food (one woman had 2 sub sections, 2 pieces of cake, and a plateful of chips, yet didn't pay...), but Bill told me not to. Oh well, just geeks being losers...

Anyway, I played 2 games of Traders of Carthage, and 1 each of Alhambra, Pacific Typhoon, and Iwo Jima. We had intended to play Kutuzov, but only Jeff Burdett knew the rules, so we decided to push this back until we all knew.

I had fun, and I especially like Iwo Jima's mechanics, though I'm thinking the Japanese almost can't win. I posted the following on CSW, and will be interested to see what the answers are:

Come on, this is a fun little game, and with all the clamor and whining about the handling of the Operations issue it was in, I'd suspect 100s of folks, at least, would have been playing by now. Well, you should be!

Anyway, played again yesterday. My Japanese held on well, and jumped off to a big lead (23-2 at one point), but then the inevitable "wearing down" began, and the final score after Turn 8 was Marines 46, Japanese 25.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get the Japanese to win...

Some observations on why it's so hard for them:

1. The cave/safe to land/beachhead reduction. While Adam's clarification that 1 hit (not 1 damage number) makes it easier for the Japanese to get rid of "safe to land" markers (for a couple turns, anyway), it also makes it easier for the U.S. player to go "cave hunting." Send a plane (or target an artillery) to each area you want to expose/destroy a cave, and odds say you'll get at least 1 hit on 4 dice, destroying a cave. In two turns, all caves in the area are collapsed -- bad news for the Japanese!

***My opponent and I discussed how a nice balancing factor (especially given the confusion I had with this in the initial rules) might be to let the Japanese remove beachheads/safe to lands with just 1 HIT will the U.S. would need to inflict 1 DAMAGE FACTOR to remove a cave***

Thoughts?

2. U.S. Tanks are almost impossible to stop. The only way is to get them with anti-tank defensive fire -- after that, they're pretty much invulnerable. The tanks really only need be concerned with the 4 airfield areas, so infantry can go in first and find out where the anti-tank units are. Once these are no longer a worry, the tanks can pretty much act without regard to their safety, as it takes a Herculean effort for the Japanese to inflict even one hit on 2 or 3 tanks stacked together.

3. U.S. bombardment is the game winner -- the infantry can take 30-35 step losses, if need be, in order to expose the areas the U.S. needs to bombard. Find an area with juicy targets, roll 20+ dice, and the Japanese no longer have a "happy area!" When artillery exposes itself to fire (as it needs to do vs. airfields/beachheads), boom, instant target!

4. The game is a grind, and there just don't seem to be enough Japanese steps to hang on for 9 turns, especially with the "easy" cave reduction. By turn 6 or 7, things get critical for the Japanese, and this gives the U.S.3 turns (at least) of 10 VPs for all 4 airfields.

I imagine the Japanese could win early, by rolling really well and crushing the initial invasion, but once things get going, I'll be damned if I know how to stop them. I think the rue change we talked about above might help, and I'll try it the next time I get to play. This is a real "neat" little game, and I just want to see folks playing and enjoying it, as well as seeing the Japanese winning.

Thoughts?

Right now, I'd bid 10-15 VPs for the Marines -- way too much for balance in a game where 40 VPs wins. Hope to get some "official" help...

Wish me luck getting my vehicle tomorrow (Monday). If I can't, it'll be there all week, as Deanna has school training Tuesday-Thursday, so she can't take me. Any of you want to drive me down? ;-)

Post WBC Doldrums...

2008-08-15T14:58:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, I started getting all plugged up, and just wrote it off to ragweed, as that bastard of a plant is sending its nastiness into the air early this year, according to the news. So I began popping Sudafed, yet I was feeling worse and worse.

Actually contracted a bit of a head cold, which is (finally) doing better after about 40 hours of sleep in the past 48. Looking forward to feeling right for the Millennium get-together tomorrow.

I am still "car-less," however, as the work won't get done until Saturday, it seems. So I'll be picking the RAV4 up on Monday -- more than a week after I broke down. When folks have you by the balls, you wish they'd be a little more considerate. Oh well, no sense it getting an aneurysm over something I can't control...

Back to bed.

WBC, Conclusion...

2008-08-13T12:40:00.003-04:00

Another fun con, as always (though the ending with the car drama sucked!), and I hope you enjoy reading about the games I played there.

Next year I'll probably do more wargaming, and less eurogaming, but we'll have to see.

There are so many great people that make WBC "the con" for me, above and beyond the fun crowd of friends from Western New York. Hope to see all of you next year, and beyond!

WBC, Day 7 (Afternoon)...

2008-08-13T12:07:00.003-04:00

Driving out of Lancaster, I finish up the book I'm listening to, The Devil's Feather, by Minette Walters. Good book that leaves you wondering exactly what they did at the end. I start up my next book, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Andrew McCall Smith. It's enjoyable so far, and a nice change of pace from the darkish earlier book.

South of Lewisburg, I stop for lunch at a Chinese place. Mistake. Bad food that won't settle in me for a couple of days. Ugh...

My RAV4 is revving high sometimes, especially when I have it in cruise control and am going uphill. Hmmm... Something more to spend money on when I get back to Rochester.

In Lewisburg I fill up the tank, at $3.67 a gallon, which is considerably cheaper than anything we have in New York. The revving problem is getting worse, and I'm having some difficulty making it up hills at speed. I'm getting worried, and begin putting my hazards on when I travel up hill, to warn folks I'm going slowly. Figure the trip to Rochester is going to take more than 5 hours...

North of Williamsport (between Hepburnville and Trout Run), I'm going up a hill at about 10 MPH -- something is really wrong. I begin to smell a funny smell, and smoke comes out of the engine.

Shit.

I pull over (luckily this stretch had the right lane blocked off so I wasn't right next to traffic). I pop the hood and the engine is smoking.

Lovely.

I call AAA.

Two scuzzy vehicles pull over as I'm on the phone. Uh-oh, figure I'm about to be robbed or something. Keep talking to AAA. I get put on hold as he's contacting a towing company. One of the guys from the scuzzy vehicles walks over and shakes my hand. Tells me Jesus wants us all to help each other. I'm relieved, as I don't think they're out to rob me anymore...

I know they can't help, as I suspect it's the clutch. A couple guys look and confirm that, wish me luck, tell me "Jesus loves you," and drive off. Oh, they offered me some water first, which was nice. Pennsylvania, ya gotta love it!

Still trying to get hooked up with a tow truck, another car pulls over, ahead of me. It looks like Mike Cardwell's car, but I thought he left early morning, so just another good Samaritan (or thief, who knows...). But, lo and behold, it is Mike!

My spirits immediately rose, and Mike hung out with me until the flatbed arrived. We followed it back to Williamsport, left it at a Monro Muffler (all that was open on a Sunday afternoon!), and packed my stuff into Mike's car and headed back with him.

The RAV4 is now at "Automotive Specialists" in Williamsport. It is the clutch. I will be going back down there this Friday to get it. I will be out about a grand.

Oh well, it could have been worse (much worse) if Mike hadn't driven by. I owe him, BIG TIME. We had a nice drive back to Rochester, in a car with working a/c. Man, Mike was a life saver.

And, of course, my WBC adventure ain't over yet...

WBC, Day 7 (Morning)...

2008-08-13T11:52:00.004-04:00

Wake up.

Take my crap out to my vehicle.

Shower, dress, and head down for coffee and then the Ingenious semi at 9:00. My last chance to score a wood. I'm at a table with 3 guys who know what they're doing. The game advances, with a lot of defensive plays. All the other players get one (or more) of their colors to 18, giving them multiple plays, I never do. But my colors are all moving steadily up the chart, while they all have one (or more) problems. I play defensively, trying to block off yellow, which 2 players need. I see an opportunity to end the game, and do. Scores are 11-10-9-9. I have 11. Woo-hoo! A final I make that I can actually play out...

We break for 1/2 hour, as one of the finalists, Bruce Reiff, has to pack up and check out. The final board is me, Bruce, Pete Stein, and Andy Latto (of the 4 woods!). Two Cabbies and a shark playing against me, I'll do my best but I could easily pull 4th. Another defensive game, as no one is letting anyone get something "cheaply." Very excellent play here, the best Ingenious game I've ever had, frankly (guess it makes sense in the finals). Andy makes what will be his last play to get up to 11. I'm also at 11, but Andy has the tiebreaker (his #2 is at 14, mine is at 13). Bruce is next, and there are, potentially, 3 plays left to be made. One of them is on purple, which would bump me up to 12, and the win. Bruce, however, gets orange to 18 on his first play, plays again, and I never get another play. Bummer. Final scores were:

Andy 11/14
Rob 11/13
Bruce 11/12
Pete 9

Wow! About as close as you can get! I tasted victory, but it slipped away in the end. And yes, this was one of Andy's 4 woods! I walk over to registration with Pete, pick up my 2nd place plaque, and am happy to not be going home empty-handed.

(Didn't check on Facts in Five, of course...)

Make the rounds to say "farewell" to buddies I won't be seeing for another year, then head out to the vehicle. Leave the parking lot at around 11:00ish for the 5+ hour drive back to Rochester. Another year of great fun, even if my "wins" were disappointing. But, frankly, while I enjoy winning, having fun is much more important, and I had fun.

WBC, Day 6...

2008-08-13T11:03:00.008-04:00

Saturday arrives -- always a bittersweet day at WBC, for there is a lot going on, yet you know the end is near.

After coffee, I headed down to the Kaiser's Pirates semis, hoping I could do something right in a semi... The GM/designer, Jim Day, took 12 players (which included a couple of alternates) to make three 4-player tables. The three winners and high second would advance. I was at a table with Joel Tamburo, Carol Caler, and Paul (?). Joel jumped out to a big early lead, and I brought the table's attention to this -- don't go after the merchantmen of the leader, for they can potentially generate points for him. I believe Joel was up by 15+ points over me at that point, and the whining began. Holy shit, but it was annoying, so much so that Carol held up her "No Whining" button every time Joel took his play. Thankfully, I passed him at the end (due to 50 points in prize ships!) and won the semi, 82-77-55-44. Unfortunately, Joel's 77 got him high second, so the whining would continue into the finals.

We started the finals at 11:30, and I had a 1:00 Galaxy semi coming up, figured, no problem. But wait, even though the heats and the semis had been one game, the finals would be played out with the tournament rules -- 3 hands, points for scoring in each round. I knew we'd never make it, and I almost withdrew before we started, especially because I wasn't looking forward to another 90 minutes of whining before I left. Funny thing was, Carol Caler gave me her "No Whining" button for the finals, saying, "You'll need this with that guy!" So, I decided to play as long as I could. I won the first round, so was up 4-3-2-1. About mid-way through round 2, Marty Sample called from the Galaxy room, telling me they were about to start. So I respectfully resigned my position, and it was taken over by Jim Day. I found out he ended up winning (of course...), but I was given 4th, since I couldn't win off of his play. I'm pretty sure I would have won if I had stuck around. Alas... I am getting a nice t-shirt of the German ocean liner turned raider, the Berlin, which will be cool (all 4 finalists got to pick a ship to put on their t-shirt). At least no more whining from Mr. T...

I raced to the Galaxy semis, making it just in time. I was disappointed to have to leave the Kaiser's Pirates game, but this was my team game after all, and, Hell, I need to try to score points for the boys! We were set up in five 4-player games, with winners advancing. My table had two 16ish year old players and Jed Shembeda. The whole Shembeda family is good at Galaxy, and I've played with Jed before and know he's an excellent player. So, I figured my chances to advance were 50/50, as it would be either me or Jed -- unless we completely screwed each other (though, to be fair, I think we'd both rather see the other advance than a kid who squeaked in because we pummeled each other!). Excellent game that went back and forth. Jed made the last play to end the game, revealing his Imperial secret base, becoming Governor there, and playing a "10" on the Imperial world, killing off the ECups. This killed my secret base (-5 points), and since Jed was Imperial Governor, so he bumped up one of his bases on Imperial column. Final score was 12-7-2-1. Before Jed's last play I had him 12-11. Oh well, no shame in losing to a good player and a good guy. No points for me in the team tourney. Ouch...

Hung out for a bit, had a few beers, then went off to the Ivanhoe semis. The starting player got off to a big lead, then was brought back to the pack. The guy next to me kept on duking it out with me for a blue token, even though he had one. This weakened my hand (even though I eventually won the tournament), and allowed the "quiet man" sitting diagonally from me to smash us in 2 straight tournaments and win the game. The winner was Andy Latto, and he went on to win this tourney and 3 others, giving him 4 woods in 2008. Man!

Not a lot of disappointment about Ivanhoe, as I really don't care too much for the game, it was just something to do (though the guy to the left of me played a dumb game -- the multi-player game bane, eh?). Looking for something to do, I heard that the Facts in Five game would be starting shortly. So I headed there, as I like trivia. Here, everyone plays 5 games, and the categories and letters for each game have been done beforehand by Arthur Field, the GM. He tries to make categories/letters that have only a few correct answers. To give you an example, we had Maryland Counties, English Premiere Soccer League cities, last names of Harry Potter characters, German field marshals (von not included!), Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, London Neighborhoods, etc. These were hard puzzles, and we had 5 minutes for each game. After the game, the sheets were corrected by another player, then passed in. When all 5 games were completed, they were collected and scored again by Arthur and his wif that evening. I did OK, scoring 66 out of a possible 125 points. Had fun, and went out to find more "stuff" to do. Imagine my surprise when, a couple days ago, Arthur posts the results on CSW. The winner scored a 69 and "Rob Winslow was hot on his heels with a 66." LOL! This was a 2-plaque event, so I left a 2nd place "blue wood" back in Lancaster! I never thought to check at registration to see how I did. Guess my fount of useless knowledge is as good, or better than most peoples', LOL again! So, I'll have to pay Don Greenwood to send it out to me. Why not? Facts in Five is now on my list for future WBCs... Could a new favorite game be emerging???

After dinner, I was talked into playing Naval War. I dislike Naval War, and hadn't played for probably 20 years. But, what the Hell, I figured I wasn't winning anywhere else, might as well try here (not knowing about my once and future brilliance in Facts in Five, !). I get to my table of 6, and immediately take a tiny first round lead. Several people at my table are idiots, and play a stupid game. I end up in 3rd when all is said and done, the only good news is that one of the idiots didn't win (a nice guy and decent player did, so that was good). 3 hours of my life I'll never get back. Please shoot me next year if I ever even think about this stupid game...

At the bar that evening John Foley shows up and watches a 4-player Kaiser's Pirates "drinking" game among me, Bob Titran, Grant LaDue, and Frank Mestrve. Bob ends up winning, Grant was second, I was third, and Frank was last. I admit, I don't remember much of this game...

I did have the common sense to pack stuff up earlier in the evening, as I don't even recall going to bed that night. Mixing beer with rum and cokes -- ugh...