Thursday, March 21, 2013
Not quite spring yet
It was a very frigid -9F this morning but it's still spring and the sun looks warm at least. In the meantime I took a few pictures around the house and neighborhood yesterday to document the season.
Here's the pile of snow the city has dumped next to the ice rink a block from our house, with Missy grudgingly posing in front of it to give an idea of its size.
I finally got around to shoveling the back deck yesterday, and the drifts were deep. Very deep. Ridiculously deep.
Even out in the open where there's no appreciable drifting of snow it's deep. Fifteen inches worth of snow still to melt before it's really spring.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Con of the North 2013
Last weekend I went to the biggest gaming (not gambling!) convention in the Twin Cities, Con of the North, which was held again this year at the Holiday Inn hotel on the east side of St. Paul. It's the one con I go to that's been an easy commute to and from my home in Wisconsin, but sadly it's moving next year to a new hotel on the far western side of the metro area because it's been getting bigger. (Over 700 came this year.) As usual, I got my board gaming fix in with not one, but two marathon games over the weekend, first on Friday with an eight hour game of Titan from 6pm to 2am. I had a ticket (that's what you get to reserve a spot for a game) for a WWII miniatures game on Friday evening but it was cancelled, so while I was wondering what to do I sat down to play a few quick games of Zombie Dice with Richard Tatge and Brian Anderson, and Don Bailey came up and said he was playing Titan and asked if I'd be interested in joining them. I did and had a great time playing an old game (Titan came out in the early 1980s) that was new to me, and had fun thanks to the other players being o.k. with me getting some mentoring from Don so I wouldn't just be the fresh meat du jour served up to the other players. I went home tired because I had gotten up early to go to work on Friday, but it was worth it.
It was rough waking up on Saturday morning in time to make a 10am session of an aerial combat miniatures game, Spitfires and Messerschmitts, and thankfully I got a spot even though I was an alternate (which made it important for me to make it in on time). I was on the British side and while we lost two out of three matches to the Germans, we found out later that the gamemaster's son was on the German side, so they had a ringer and we had some consolation. Here's a couple of images I took of our combat in the sky:
We had some issues with command and control on the British side that sometimes had us flying around in circles, much to the Germans' amusement. (BTW, the game board was beautifully done, with cotton clouds lending a nice touch.)
That's my Spitfire on the right, staring down said ringer's Messerschmitt. I tried, but the dice were cruel and I got shot down. Curse you Red Baron!
Later on Saturday afternoon I played a couple of Columbia Block war games, first Bobby Lee, which was a U.S. Civil War game with various scenarios, and I got to play both an 1863 session where I learned the hard way that you didn't win as the Confederates by slugging it out with the Union, but by taking advantage of the Rebel's greater mobility and advantages gained from fighting on friendly territory. So when I played another session that started in 1861, even though I lost the First Battle of Bull Run (thanks again to poor die rolls, but I have to admit the Union side's commander did a better job than his real life counterparts did) I was able to regroup and risk a foray behind Union lines from the Shenandoah Valley into Pennsylvania (which in real life was a big headache for the Union as well) that caught my opponent off guard and kept the game from being a slow walk to Richmond for the Union side. I had so much fun with those two games that I decided to skip the game I had scheduled for 6pm (in part because I reviewed the game earlier in the afternoon and wasn't really that taken by it) and instead played another block game, Hammer of the Scots, set in early 13th century Scotland. My opponent wanted the Scottish side and I was happy to take the English, and we chose the William Wallace scenario. It went badly for me at first as I made a mistake in the Scottish Lowlands that cost me forces while Wallace ran wild in the middle of Scotland, but my opponent didn't move fast enough to seize the Highlands before the English regrouped and I managed to trap Wallace and kill him with a combined force of English Knights (Lancaster and York) and Scottish nobility (Robert the Bruce) that was friendly to the English side, and after that it was just a mopping up operation for the English. So no freedom for you, haggis eaters!
Since I was short on sleep I didn't stay late and after spending an hour playing Unreal Tournament and getting killed dozens of times by kids who were far quicker draws than me, I had one more go at aerial combat with another WWII miniatures game before going home to get some much needed snoozing. Sunday morning I made it in bright and early at 10am (that's early for gamers) to play my second marathon boardgame, Mega Advanced Civilization, with eight other players. This version is one that's been significantly augmented from the old Avalon Hill Advanced Civilization to add more trading cards, more calamities, and many more civilizations to play. There were a few minor game balance issues, but it played well and I liked it very much. We drew lots for first choice of civilizations and I got the #7 pick, which I sort of preferred as it's easier going later since you can see how the other player's choices pan out. I took Babylon as I didn't want to play anything too challenging given I wasn't familiar with the new aspects of the game, and because it let me be at an end of the table so I had room for my backpack full of pop and munchies (I wasn't the only one brown bagging it, of course). Here's a picture of the board after we were all set up and getting underway:
Yep, that's one BIG board! Even with nine of us playing, we still didn't use the entire eastern side of the map. Up to sixteen players can play, but we definitely had our hands full at nine. Remarkably, we were able to keep things moving well and only got bogged down when we were getting more trade cards and spending more and more time trying to make deals with each other. I was happy enough to get along with my two closest neighboring civilizations with no conflict due to disputes over territory. The Assyrian player kind of surprised me by not contesting three city sites that Babylon really needs to do well, and as a result I had a pretty good run and I would have won at the end when we called time but I got hit by the Flood calamity (which is particularly bad for Babylon) on the last turn we played and I lost two cities so my score took a hit and I came in second to Nubia, who had the best place to play on the board and took advantage of it accordingly. The calamities were fairly kind to me otherwise, while the western side of the board suffered from civil wars, epidemics, and other nasty major calamities while the eastern side mostly only got minor ones that didn't set them back too much. Poor Egypt really got hammered both by calamities and from other civilizations pushing into their turf, particularly Nubia and to a lesser extent Assyria. But the guy playing them took it well and we all had fun bantering with each other during the game. It was definitely the highlight of a very fun con overall and even though it's going to be further away next year I'm sure I'll be going again and will probably get a room at the inn so I can get more sleep too.
It was rough waking up on Saturday morning in time to make a 10am session of an aerial combat miniatures game, Spitfires and Messerschmitts, and thankfully I got a spot even though I was an alternate (which made it important for me to make it in on time). I was on the British side and while we lost two out of three matches to the Germans, we found out later that the gamemaster's son was on the German side, so they had a ringer and we had some consolation. Here's a couple of images I took of our combat in the sky:
We had some issues with command and control on the British side that sometimes had us flying around in circles, much to the Germans' amusement. (BTW, the game board was beautifully done, with cotton clouds lending a nice touch.)
That's my Spitfire on the right, staring down said ringer's Messerschmitt. I tried, but the dice were cruel and I got shot down. Curse you Red Baron!
Later on Saturday afternoon I played a couple of Columbia Block war games, first Bobby Lee, which was a U.S. Civil War game with various scenarios, and I got to play both an 1863 session where I learned the hard way that you didn't win as the Confederates by slugging it out with the Union, but by taking advantage of the Rebel's greater mobility and advantages gained from fighting on friendly territory. So when I played another session that started in 1861, even though I lost the First Battle of Bull Run (thanks again to poor die rolls, but I have to admit the Union side's commander did a better job than his real life counterparts did) I was able to regroup and risk a foray behind Union lines from the Shenandoah Valley into Pennsylvania (which in real life was a big headache for the Union as well) that caught my opponent off guard and kept the game from being a slow walk to Richmond for the Union side. I had so much fun with those two games that I decided to skip the game I had scheduled for 6pm (in part because I reviewed the game earlier in the afternoon and wasn't really that taken by it) and instead played another block game, Hammer of the Scots, set in early 13th century Scotland. My opponent wanted the Scottish side and I was happy to take the English, and we chose the William Wallace scenario. It went badly for me at first as I made a mistake in the Scottish Lowlands that cost me forces while Wallace ran wild in the middle of Scotland, but my opponent didn't move fast enough to seize the Highlands before the English regrouped and I managed to trap Wallace and kill him with a combined force of English Knights (Lancaster and York) and Scottish nobility (Robert the Bruce) that was friendly to the English side, and after that it was just a mopping up operation for the English. So no freedom for you, haggis eaters!
Since I was short on sleep I didn't stay late and after spending an hour playing Unreal Tournament and getting killed dozens of times by kids who were far quicker draws than me, I had one more go at aerial combat with another WWII miniatures game before going home to get some much needed snoozing. Sunday morning I made it in bright and early at 10am (that's early for gamers) to play my second marathon boardgame, Mega Advanced Civilization, with eight other players. This version is one that's been significantly augmented from the old Avalon Hill Advanced Civilization to add more trading cards, more calamities, and many more civilizations to play. There were a few minor game balance issues, but it played well and I liked it very much. We drew lots for first choice of civilizations and I got the #7 pick, which I sort of preferred as it's easier going later since you can see how the other player's choices pan out. I took Babylon as I didn't want to play anything too challenging given I wasn't familiar with the new aspects of the game, and because it let me be at an end of the table so I had room for my backpack full of pop and munchies (I wasn't the only one brown bagging it, of course). Here's a picture of the board after we were all set up and getting underway:
Yep, that's one BIG board! Even with nine of us playing, we still didn't use the entire eastern side of the map. Up to sixteen players can play, but we definitely had our hands full at nine. Remarkably, we were able to keep things moving well and only got bogged down when we were getting more trade cards and spending more and more time trying to make deals with each other. I was happy enough to get along with my two closest neighboring civilizations with no conflict due to disputes over territory. The Assyrian player kind of surprised me by not contesting three city sites that Babylon really needs to do well, and as a result I had a pretty good run and I would have won at the end when we called time but I got hit by the Flood calamity (which is particularly bad for Babylon) on the last turn we played and I lost two cities so my score took a hit and I came in second to Nubia, who had the best place to play on the board and took advantage of it accordingly. The calamities were fairly kind to me otherwise, while the western side of the board suffered from civil wars, epidemics, and other nasty major calamities while the eastern side mostly only got minor ones that didn't set them back too much. Poor Egypt really got hammered both by calamities and from other civilizations pushing into their turf, particularly Nubia and to a lesser extent Assyria. But the guy playing them took it well and we all had fun bantering with each other during the game. It was definitely the highlight of a very fun con overall and even though it's going to be further away next year I'm sure I'll be going again and will probably get a room at the inn so I can get more sleep too.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Monday, December 24, 2012
First day of winter
Erin, I and the dogs went for a walk along the Willow River in New Richmond last Saturday afternoon and we had a fine time enjoying the beauty of the season. Of course we took our cameras along and of course we took pictures of the dogs, who otherwise were busy doing more fun things.
Here's an image of the Willow River in winter.
A close up of the icy flow.
The dogs posing nicely in the glow of the setting sun.
Missy in a contemplative pose.
Erin scoping out the fading light.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Thankgiving up north
Erin and I and the dogs went up north to visit our friends Donna and Terry in the R.M. of Piney, Manitoba over the Thanksgiving holiday (the U.S. one, not the Canadian Thanksgiving which is in October) and we had a lovely visit and got in a lot of walks in the woods. It was very warm the day we left with temperatures in the 50F range, but it got colder soon enough and we had a few inches of snow fall on Thursday and Saturday afternoon & Sunday morning. We also got in a trip to Roseau, Minnesota (Terry and Donna live very close to the U.S. - Canada border) to check out a craft show at the high school there and an art gallery that Donna likes where I purchased some pottery. Erin had a great time talking with a local wildlife photographer and I also found a pair of alpaca socks I liked. Then we stopped by the grocery store to buy a few more food items for our big turkey dinner on Saturday which was very good as Terry loves to cook and is a very good cook indeed. I did take some photos with my little Canon A2200 camera as part of the trip too, so here they are:
When we first arrived, the cats knew something was up and they didn't like it at all. They spent the weekend avoiding the dogs, but did have access to the house at least, as the dogs weren't allowed in the house.
The dogs were allowed in an addition called the Treehouse where they had a great view of the outdoors. They of course wanted more, and they did get to go out often. This is Missy and Ceilidh at the window.
The dogs also liked just hanging around with us in the Treehouse, with Tucker snuggling up next to Erin here.
Here's Tucker at the edge of the woods on Thursday morning, waiting for us to catch up.
There were two or three deer that came around occasionally when the dogs weren't out, and we also saw a few recent wolf and older bear tracks on our walks.
After it snowed on Thursday, Tucker was having a great time.
The dogs all crashed out on the couch in the Treehouse on Saturday, probably dreaming of leftover turkey.
Ceilidh and Tucker waiting for me to come down from the deck to throw the Chuck-It (a canvas frisbee toy) for them on Sunday morning.
One last walk in the woods later on Sunday morning after some more fresh snow as the front was moving through with a cold wind blowing the snow around.
Yup, it's cold.
When we first arrived, the cats knew something was up and they didn't like it at all. They spent the weekend avoiding the dogs, but did have access to the house at least, as the dogs weren't allowed in the house.
Monday, November 5, 2012
My niece's wedding
I went to my niece Madigan's wedding back on September 22nd in Des Moines, Iowa and had a wonderful time with my family, including my father who was Skyped in from his home in Florida for the reception after the ceremony. I didn't have any formal part to play, although I did pitch in to help after I checked in at the hotel downtown.
First, I headed straight to the reception venue, which was the Triple-A baseball park just south of downtown. My sisters Andrea (mother of the bride), April and my niece Jamie were busy doing flower arrangements and got me to help even though I had no experience with it. Which I did o.k., I was told.
My sister Andrea.
My niece Jamie and my mother at the temple.
The bride and groom, with my sister and brother in law Jeff just to the right next to the brightly colored bridesmaids.
Andrew and Madigan exchanging their vows.
And sealing the deal with a broken glass.
Outside the temple afterwards.
The official announement!
The happy bride sharing the news at the reception.
My sister April and Madigan celebrating.
A memento of the new family name, autographed by all of us wishing them much joy and happiness.
The bride and groom, with my sister and brother in law Jeff just to the right next to the brightly colored bridesmaids.
And sealing the deal with a broken glass.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Minnesota State Fair
Here's another catch-up post for this new blog. Erin and I have been regular attendees of the Minnesota State Fair for many years now and we went again this year. For the first time we went on the fair's opening day because I wanted to hear a couple of bands who were playing on the fair's first two days. It turned out to be a nice day with only a bit of drizzle at times until 10pm when the rain started just as we boarded the shuttle bus back to where we'd parked. Highlights included seeing the rabbit and pigeon barn, taking in the art exhibit where Erin enjoyed talking with the Artist of the Day while he was at work, and the "gotta have 'em" garlic fries. Some photos too:
The line waiting for the shuttle bus at the Roseville High School park 'n ride at 9am. The cooler in the lower left corner was filled with bottled water that the church next door was handing out to everyone who wanted one, which was very kind of them.
There was this lovely herd of horses just inside the front gate that Erin liked enough to have me pose with them.
Todd Menton and band playing their first set at the International Bazaar stage. We took home a few of Todd's CDs, naturally.
A view of the Mighty Midway from the double ferris wheel. We also had fun riding the aqua bumper cars, which steered like cows.
Erin liked the gargoyles lurking over one of the midway funhouses.
I had three midway tickets left, which was just enough to play one of the midway games. I was lucky/good enough to win a prize, and I picked the squid hat. Erin thought it looked pretty good on me.
Erin enjoying getting off her feet in the sky chair ride on our way over to the pet barn.
An overhead view of brightly colored antique corn shellers in action.
A rainbow coalition of antique farm tractors. And then the camera battery ran low and that was that for taking pictures.
I had three midway tickets left, which was just enough to play one of the midway games. I was lucky/good enough to win a prize, and I picked the squid hat. Erin thought it looked pretty good on me.
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