Fishing and Texas Hold 'Em...

Well, missed a day, for I was out all day yesterday at Seneca Niagara Casino. Broke even on the slots (literally -- spent $40 and cashed in a voucher for $40 when I left), and lost about $60 playing poker for about 6 hours. I lost one hand to quad 7s (I had a full house, dammit, and lost a huge bet) and another to a straight where the guy had been betting a 5/6 off-suit. Frankly, I couldn't believe anyone would be that stupid, praying for a 4 on the river, but he was, and beat my pair of Kings. Oh well, as I lost >$100 in those 2 pots, I can consider myself a bit unlucky, eh? A $40+ win otherwise.

All in good fun, and there was an older gent at my table who I learned a few tricks from, worth the price of admission. My friend Bill, who I met there, seemed to be up a couple hundred when I left, so it wasn't a total losing day for Brighton teachers.

On Saturday, I did something I haven't done in quite some time -- I got my fishing gear together and drove down to Hemlock and Canadice Lakes in the late afternoon/early evening. Decided to see if I could hook a few nice smallmouths. In the end, no real luck -- I had 3 nice hits, and I also had a small (8", maybe) bass spit the hook out just as I was getting him into shore -- but it was a beautiful time.

Canadice is the smaller one -- you'll notice NO development on the lake shores.

Solitude. No other people save for a couple kayakers who were soon gone. I realized then how much I miss communing with nature. I need to get my life back on track, as I don't get out of town enough. And I live in an area that is a nature lover's dream.

Oh well, gotta work (at school) Tuesday and Wednesday, then do more house work, then some Cheyenne training, but I gotta fit in some nature time, too. If only Cheyenne listened better, I could take her too -- which is an ultimate goal.

Morning errands...

After I showered and shaved this morning, I remembered that I had thrown out my old toothbrush yesterday and not replaced it. So, add "buy new toothbrush" to the list of errands.

I told Cheyenne we were going for a ride, so she happily hopped in the car, and off we went. As I was pulling out of the driveway, thinking of all the quick stops I'd have to make here and there, I suddenly realized that today and tomorrow a local game store, Millennium, was having a clearance sale in their annex (the empty storefront a couple doors down that our group meets in). So, after a quick stop at Starbucks, off we went.

There was a lot of "stuff" there. Unfortunately, it was either junk (4 copies of Alpha Omega?), or I already had a copy (2 Struggle of Empires or 1 Clash of Titans, among others). There were a ton of old euros there, too, including some goodies I already have, such as Mississippi Queen. The majority of the annex, however, was taken up by Collectible Card Games (CCGs), figures, and role-playing supplements. Amazing how much of that stuff is out there...

In the end, I picked up a mint, unpunched copy of Legends of Robin Hood for $5. Figured I could use it in class next year (maybe) when we do the Middle Ages. A few other games were tempting, but I boldly held off...

Now, back to packing up books and games, with the carrot of Poker at Seneca Niagara keeping me moving forward.

And, oh yeah, I still have to brush my teeth...

Freedom (well, kinda)...

Sleeping in on a weekday. Woo-hoo!

Depositing the summer's check's (5 check's worth up front, since I take the 26 equal pay period option, added to Bush's tax rebate). Woo-hoo!

Having Cheyenne jump on the bed at 9:30 and stare at us, saying, "Why the Hell aren't you up yet?" Bad dog!

Deanna's parents are here, and they're helping with the house -- doing work in and painting the basement. They are good, nice folk, and I'm feeling guilty that Deanna is "making" them work! I, of course, just want to kick back and relax for a few days, but it looks like I'll have to start working today...

Packing books and games seems to be the first order, and I also have to power wash the house and the deck. We have to paint the deck, too, but that shouldn't be too bad. A colleague's daughter is interested in looking at the house, and that would be cool if it worked out, though I think we're pretty much out of her price range. So that being the case, we'll probably shoot for mid-July to officially get it on the market (but I can hope things work out!).

All this will curtail gaming for a while, though I'll have my "favorites" box and my "WBC" box handy (much cross-over between the 2, obviously). Maybe I'll do another Israeli Independence and post an AAR as that doesn't take too much time.

On Sunday I plan to go with a couple friends to Seneca Niagara Casino and play a bit of poker. About 90% sure I'm going, as this may be my last "play date" for a while. Other than a little online, I haven't played as much Texas Hold 'Em as I'd like to as of late...

OK, off to packing!

Woo-hoo!

This is it...

Last day of school.

Kids are gone for the summer.

Some morning meetings for me, then room clean-up, then summer.

Woo-hoo!

I actually have much to do today -- I am a horrible "filer," so I have stacks of paper everywhere.  I know what they're for, and I can easily place my hands on what I need, but since my room is used for other things over the summer, I need to file stuff away or it will disappear.  Gack...

I also have to clean up my crappy old Mac computer.  I'll (finally!) be getting a real computer for next year (hopefully soon), and it can't happen soon enough.  Depending on my set-up at the new place, I might even be able to use the new guy as my "main" computer.  Never could do that with the kid's toy they call "Macintosh."  Ugh...

Anyway, the end of a school year is always a little bittersweet.  No, don't get me wrong -- I need the summer for fun and rejuvenation -- but it's a little sad seeing the good kids (which, frankly, are most of them) move on.  Some remember you fondly through the years and visit, others seem to forget about the time they spent in your classroom.  I had a slew of good kids this year, and I hope they ones that made me cards promising they'll visit me every school day will at least visit a little.

But enough of that.

I really, really need summer!

Old Memories Flooding In...

Bill and I played Thirty Years War last evening.  I conceded in Early War, during Turn 6.  I remember now why this hasn't always been on my list of favorites...

This game is very, very fragile.  A couple good rolls on one side, coupled with poor rolls on another side can devastate one of the players.  We went into Turn 6 on fairly equal footing.  Bill moved his Bavarians west to smack a smaller stack of protestant units.  I then moved my "killer stack" with Mansfield to relieve the smaller force.  We got a roll of 0 (me - bad)/9 (Bill - good), and I had to retreat.  During the retreat I lost 2 generals (20% chance on each), so that force was stuck (didn't have enough command to move it).  Bill moved the Spaniards in to finish off the smaller stack (no retreat -- all units and both leaders died).  Now, since my larger stack couldn't move (well, I could move 2 of the 7 units off, which would only allow the Catholics to whack them separately), I had to stay and face a joint Spanish/Bavarian army.  They moved in, and I won the battle (10 losses to 9, I believe), but my now decimated units were completely leaderless.  At that point, we decided to call the game, as Bill's Catholics had 3 large stacks and I had a little leaderless stack and a stack of 3 militia in the south.

It was ugly.

Now, I realize that extreme results can skew any game, but we just had one extreme result.  The other battles were close (and I even won some).  But the attrition and the leader losses (including losing King Christian earlier which meant all 4 Danish veterans left the game) worked together to make the Protestants impotent.  I believe this was a big problem when I played 6 or 7 years ago.  The inability of armies to avoid battle means that once losses start spiraling, the other side can just catch whoever they want and attrit them to death.

So, this second game was not really satisfying at all.  I'm certainly glad we broke the game out to play, and I'll probably hang onto it, but I think it's too fragile of an engine to keep putting in my "to play" pile.  Once in a great while, perhaps, when I forget why I'm not constantly playing.

The Solstice has come and gone...

Alice Cooper -- "School's Out:"

Well, technically, we seem to have had our longest day a few days back, so it's all downhill from here, eh?  The dark days of winter approach.

Wait a second, not quite yet...

Wrapping things up at school -- end of term grades can be a real bear, and now is when parents begin harassing you about "placement for next year."  Then off to have a spot of fun.

Sent my Aunt off last night with a nice party.  Greek food and a lot of wine made everyone happy.  Man, I just love baba ghanoush!

Bill is coming by today to play Thirty Years War.  I think I need to be hyper-aggressive with the Protestants early on and see what happens.

I'm still at a loggerheads, trying to decide what games to pack away and what games to have available.  Of course, I want them all available, but that ain't gonna work, so I do need to decide.

Moving sucks, but at least life with Deanna should get better, as it'll just be her and me, for the most part.

Praise Allah for that...

The Final Countdown...

Dang, missed posting yesterday.  Oh well, as the summer winds on, and I get away from the house, I'm sure there will be more of that...

Very busy day yesterday, with my Aunt, with grading and with getting the house ready for selling.  At least Cheyenne got in a great early afternoon "play date" with Sally, my Mother's English Setter.  She slept for the rest of the afternoon, very "un" Cheyenne-like!

We are winding down at school.  Classes today and Tuesday, then all 6th graders go to Sea Breeze Amusement Park on Wednesday.  I have 3 groups to monitor -- just have to have them check in with me every 90 minutes or so, to be sure everyone's still alive and kicking.  I get to hang out in the sun, trying to get some pasty white skin not so pasty and white.

Gaming-wise, Bill and I will be starting up Thirty Years War again this week, with me as the Protestants.  Not sure if Mike and I will be getting together.  A new pbem game of Here I Stand is also just starting, and I'm the Pope.  Time to go burn some Protestant Heretics (I can have it both ways, LOL!).  

I also just ordered Espana 1936 from Boulder Games (arrival date end of June, projected).  I am very excited about this one, as the Spanish Civil War is high on my list of "cool" game subjects, and has been ever since I read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.  Of course, that prompted me to read real histories on the war, and the nastiness of this conflict, along with the cornucopia of different units, makes it an interesting game situation.  Besides, Charles Vasey gave Espana 1936 two thumbs up, and we have similar likes/dislikes when it comes to games.  I'll be getting the English edition...

So, I'll have to get my final grading done for report cards, then it's summer, sweet, beautiful summer!  I hope we get the house sold quickly, so I can enjoy it.

Monthly Meet at Millennium...

Had a great day playing games. I hate to be lazy (again), but it was another long day, so I think more detailed reporting will have to wait.

I bought the Ticket to Ride card game, but never played -- it looks interesting, so I hope to get to play it soon. I understand some folks are disappointed in it because it isn't Ticket to Ride, the board game, but I shan't be making any comparisons.

I first played We the People with Frank Mestrve. Frank bid 3 and took the Americans. He beat me, 9 colonies to 4 in 1780. I could whine about cards and battles, but I won't...

Frank and I then moved to Hannibal. Frank took Carthage and resigned right before Scipio Africanus was a bout to come in. He hadn't penetrated Italy, and Varro had taken most of Africa for the Romans.

Switched over to a 5-player Santa Fe Rails. I thought I had the game won, so I refused to buy a branch line and the game ended early, with everything dead-ended. Unfortunatley, Mark Gartland put down an L.A. worth 14 points while I put down a Portland worth 7 points. Mark won with 84 points, I was second with 82. Miscalculation!

Agreed to play Struggle of Empires even though I hadn't read the rules (I always like to read rules first!). Ending up being in a dominant position in Europe (the Hell with the rest of the world!), and pulled off the victory by 5 or 6 VPs. A really nice game I will be hoping to play more.

Ah, now time to relax...

Long Day...

Trying to get the daily post in before I hit the sack.

Since I was last here I've:

1. Seen Boz Scaggs -- a most excellent show at Rochester's Jazzfest. I'll write more one of these days when I'm not exhausted.

2. Had Medieval Day today at school -- the Medieval Science experiments went off well, and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. I dressed up as a monk -- the pic here isn't me, but it's actually fairly close to what I looked like today! Where the Hell did they find such a funny-looking fella?

3. Saw my Aunt Joyce come into town to wrap up my Grandmother's estate. Stayed over at my Mother's house this evening reminiscing and drinking too much wine.

Now I've got to get to bed, since the Rochester Gamer's monthly meet happens tomorrow. The fun never stops, I tell ya!

Jazzfest and Key Limes...

Just a Zyzzyva quickie today, as all indications portend this to be a very busy day!

First off, Deanna and I will be going to the beautiful Eastman Theater tonight to see Boz Scaggs, as part of Rochester's Jazzfest. I look forward to nice evening with Boz and the boyz.

Here's a little Lowdown for y'all...

Before that, however, I have a "Math" meeting at a teacher's house after school. Everybody's bringing food, I was tasked with dessert for 8. So I made a Key Lime Pie last night, drizzled with chocolate.

Basic recipe is quite easy (I use a pre-made Oreo pie crust instead of graham cracker -- more chocolate!):

3 Egg Yolks
14 oz. can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 Cup Key Lime Juice

Mix together well, pour into pie shell. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Drizzle melted dark chocolate over the top as it's cooling. Refrigerate overnight, serve the next day.

Yum!

Not exactly mine, but close (and the filling looks just like mine):


And Medieval Day tomorrow -- wish this "Mad Scientist Monk" luck!