Snippets and Wisps

Favorite Foto Friday - MInnehaha Falls

2012-01-27T15:23:00.000-06:00

On our honeymoon, and on our 25th anniversary, we visited Minnehaha Falls in St. Paul. Since I will spend some time in St. Paul this weekend, I thought of this Favorite Foto. I wonder what it looks like in Minnehaha Park in January?

Interlude – Distraction of the Name

2012-01-25T21:25:00.000-06:00

Why was he named Ferris? Did you ever wonder that? I did; I bet you did. Sorry to break into the story like this, but itoccurred to me, and the thought wouldn’t leave me alone, which is a strange feeling,but it happens sometimes. It happensmore often lately, which is why I reallyneed to finish this, but I’ve learned that it’s best to just get the thoughtout, let it run its course, and then I can get back to what I was doing. So, I’ll ask again.

Why was he named Ferris? You know it had a purpose. Writers think about these things. I mean, it’s hard to be as clear cut as our high school English teacher,Mrs. H, made it seem when she taught me that, of course, Jim Casy was theChrist figure in The Grapes of Wrath, and it’s clear because his initials are“J.C.” as in Jesus Christ. But I’mgetting off track here. I was talkingabout Ferris. You know who I’m talkingabout, right? Ferris Buehler, from“Ferris Buehler’s Day Off,” which is a funnier movie the third time you watchit than it was the first time, which is strange I think, but it’s true. Anyway, rambling again, so back to thepoint. The guy who wrote that movienamed him Ferris. Why? Well, I never had to write an English paperabout it, which is too bad because I think that paper would be a lot more funto read and to write than the one about The Grapes of Wrath, because, really,as soon as a teenage boy is done reading The Grapes of Wrath all he can think about is that last scene, so how is he supposed to write about the wholebook? Anyway, like I was saying, if Ihad to write a paper about “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off” I’d talk about hisname. Honestly, have you ever known aguy named Ferris? Of course not. Well, if you have, it still doesn’t disprovemy point, if I ever get to it, because even if you do, you have to admit thatit’s an unusual name, so clearly the writer put some thought into the choice. So what did he mean? Clearly something, And I think I know what it is, and if I everhad to write that paper, I’d tell you.

But the real point is: I am writing this. And my name isJacob. Not because I decided it shouldbe. It just is.

It's true I have thought maybe I would change it, if I werereally writing this as a story to get published or something. But I’m not. I’m writing it to you, and I am pretty sure you’d be confused if youstarted reading this thing and I had some other name. I mean, maybe not. But I would be. Confused, that is. If I read it and the name were not my name.

OK, this is strange, why did I just write all that? You must not be used to coffee. I wonder why? I know was.

Anyway, let’s get back to this. I don’t know how much longer I have. And I need you to read what I need to write.

=====================

{ One or two pieces of the story occur between the last interlude and this one. The Coffee Shop for sure.}

[©Steve Will, 2012]

The Meaning of Goodbye

2012-01-24T18:00:00.000-06:00

On Sunday I said goodbye to my daughter, Leah, and my wife Sherry, as they headed back to school. For five weeks, I had been able to share our home with them while they were between semesters. As I said goodbye, I fully realized it was over.

Soon, Leah will be graduating and heading into the "real world" of life as an actress. This was one of the few, last, precious times I would see her living "at home."

Sherry still lives here, of course, but she spends her weeks living in the apartment by the University, and she was beginning a two-week absence from our home. I knew I would miss her. I always do. It's just harder to get accustomed to when we've spent some significant time together, as we had over the Christmas break.

This moment -- the goodbye -- reminded me again that the most important things in my life are not "things" at all. They are people. The relationships I have are so important. And, because I would be having a chance to see some friends this week, I let myself be melancholy for a little while, but then I started the anticipation of the fun I could have with my friends.

Missing someone who is important to you can coexist with enjoying other people. Being able to experience both longing and enjoyment at the same is part of a healthy life, for it allows us to live in the present, while simultaneously appreciating the past and looking forward to the future.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 81

2012-01-23T12:30:00.000-06:00

As I said last week, the final few days of Leah's break contained movies. She had been told by friends that they were surprised she had never seen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" so we saw that. And we finally got to see "The Help." Lots of movies worth seeing. (I find it hard to believe I liked Ocean's Twelve better than Ocean's Eleven, but that's what you get sometimes when you rate things immediately after seeing them...)

Ocean's Eleven	75	Sorry, Sherry, but I like caper movies. This was not as good as "The Sting" but certainly had the style. And wow, lots of actors: Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Roberts, Garcia, Reiner, Gould, Cheadle. [Originally reviewed in Edition 11.]
Monty Python and the Holy Grail	83	And now for something completely Python. Actually, it’s less Pythonesque than one might expect – there is a story running through it. But there was plenty of irreverent nonsense!
Mystery Men	78	A send-up of comic books that is a comic book at the same time. I laughed so hard at this when I first saw it, and I still laugh. The Shoveler is the best. It’s still the best thing I’ve ever seen Ben Stiller do. But, I will admit, it’s not for everyone.
Shakespeare in Love	92	Tremendous weaving of what might have been with what probably was with what never could have happened.
Ocean’s Twelve	77	Caper films are best when you like the thieves (we did,) they pull off complex heists (they did,) and there are surprising payoffs (there were!)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine	88	Very fun, and since I didn’t know most of the story ahead of time, I got to be surprised. “The best X-Men movie?” Not quite. But very good.
Mamma Mia!	74	This was fun! It took a few moments to get going, but once it started, it kept delivering: smiles, laughs and songs. Stay through the first set of end credits!
Help (The)	86	When your movie is going to tell a story, and everyone knows the general story going into it, you need to make it excellent. They did. Bravery was required, and these women found their bravery.

[P.S. Clearly I liked the fourth Mission Impossible more than most of my friends. Ah well...]

No Photo - Just Video

2012-01-20T15:00:00.000-06:00

Today I am imbedding videos which I have found interesting, entertaining, funny or touching over the past few months. I have shared all of these on Facebook, so for some of you, these are repeats. For others, I hope you enjoy them.

And, selfishly, for me, I want to keep track of them.

The first one is in the "touching" category. It is also an excellent example of why the SOPA/PIPA laws must not be passed. Why? Because according to SOPA/PIPA, someone could complain that this girl was using a song without permission (which she was, when she posted it) and youtube.com itself could have been shut down.

Anyway, her story is touching, and here is the link to the Minneapolis Star/Tribune story where I read about it.

The second one is viral this week, ahead of the Super Bowl (did you know we can't technically use that term?) Anyway, I think it's genius in two ways. First, having the dogs do this piece, in costume, hits so many right notes (to pun, or not to pun....). Second, to release it a few weeks ahead of the Big Game is a great way to get a jump on the hype.

While I'm on the music/video theme, this one made me smile so big at Christmas time. And I have learned that the creator was from Luther College, my alma mater, so that's cool, too.

There was a semi-mini-faux "war" between William Shatner and Carrie Fisher concerning whether Star Trek or Star Wars was better. You can find those videos easily enough, but the one I really liked was George Takei's "peace" plan, which involves finding a common enemy.

Finally, a video I can't imbed, because the youtube source video won't allow it. It's of a contortionist/archer, and I think it's incredible.

The Illusion of Choice

2012-01-19T17:00:00.000-06:00

I find this interesting.

And, yes, I follow Robert Duncan McNeill on Twitter.

And Jewel Staite. And (as I have mentioned before) Wil Wheaton and Nathan Fillion.

Dragon and Angel and Spiders, Oh, My!

2012-01-18T17:00:00.000-06:00

I mentioned a while back that one of Leah's goals over her Christmas break was to learn to play Magic: the Gathering more expertly. We took care of that with some one-on-one lessons, and some games. She also wanted to bring a deck of her own back to New York so she would have something of her own she could play with friends. As a father and a lover of deck design, this was an exciting request -- and challenge -- for me.

If Leah's only going to have one deck, what sort of deck should she have?

If the deck is too weak, she won't want to play it more than a couple of times. If it's too strong, her friends won't want to play with her more than a couple of times. But a deck's "strength" is really a relative statement -- relative to the kinds of decks it will play against.

She and I know very little about the mix of cards from which her friends will build their decks. What do we know? The people she'll be playing with have some cards, but not many (certainly not when compared to the number I have.) And we know the cards are from "older" sets. So, if she has too many new cards, with too many unfamiliar abilities, her friends might get frustrated. And if she has too many rare and powerful cards, she might face the same thing. So I decided I had to limit the rares to just a few. And it seemed reasonable that the entire mix of cards in her deck stay away from tricky abilities (mechanics) which would lead to rule questions or arguments.

Also, I had taught her about the general "flavor" of each of the five colors in Magic, and I wanted her deck to reflect the "typical" attributes of whatever colors she was playing.

This raises the big question of "color." If you only have one deck, and you're a relative novice, what color or colors should your deck be?

I decided that, to help ensure she could have a more varied experience, and because I don't want to have to narrow down my options, I would build two decks. And each of those decks would be a two-color deck.

Deck 1: Red/Green. From Red it needed to have direct damage, some firebreathing and a couple of sneaky tricks. From Green it needed to have efficient creatures, land selection/acceleration, creature growth and protection from fliers. Red/Green is probably my favorite two-color design choice, so it was very easy to select possible cards for the deck. It was very difficult to narrow down the options. But I think we ended up with a fun deck. And, yes, it has the dragon and spider pictured above.

Deck 2: White/Blue. From White it needed cool creatures with simple combat abilities and ways to negate the best cards the opponent has. From Blue it needed ways to counter an opponent's strategy and methods to get more cards. And from both, it needed to fly. Naturally, having been around the game for many years, Leah had one request for a specific creature: Serra Angel.

Before she leaves, we will pit these decks against one another a couple of times to see if either of them needs some alterations. The White/Blue deck might have a bit too much land. The Red/Green deck might not have enough "finishing" cards. On the whole, though, I had a great time thinking about what to build for her enjoyment, and it was really nice to put the decks together with her participating the whole time.

Watch out New York: here comes a Magic-playing actress!

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 80

2012-01-17T12:00:00.000-06:00

For more than three weeks of Leah's vacation, we watched almost no movies. Then, all of a sudden, the flood started.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows	90	Mystery, deduction, action, suspense, and one of the greatest villains ever written. Better than the first, and worth seeing many times.
Hearts in Atlantis	79	Surprise! Another Stephen King story becomes a good movie. Not horror. The tiniest bit of mysterious activity, but mostly about a boy growing up. (And, double surprise, the boy is an eleven-year-old Anton Yelchin – the new Chekov!)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	95	A spectacular, action-packed, moving end to a brilliant series. Bravo!
Thor	72	Beautiful. Images inspired by Jack Kirby. OK, they ignored the actual story, but sometimes that’s better for the franchise. It was better here. Still, this ranks below Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Batman Begins. But much better than Spiderman 3.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol	80	Action! Cool spy ideas. More action! Twists! More action! Stunts like you’ve never seen, and, yes, action!
Crazy, Stupid, Love	76	Not what I was expecting. So many love relationships, so many complications. I liked this a lot. No easy answers.
Sister Act 2	69	Fun. Love that music! Predictable, but I still love seeing it – or having it on in the beackground. That last piece is awesome.
Sleepy Hollow	77	Love the atmosphere. So many excellent actors, and such a deep, dark mood. And a fun mystery, too.

D&D's Big Announcement

2012-01-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

If you're a "Dungeons and Dragons" (#DnD) player, you probably have an opinion on "Fourth Edition."

Over the decades since #DnD was introduced, it's been revised a few times. Each time, players had to get used to new rules, adapt their characters and their play styles, and of course buy new books and materials. I've been around for all the major transitions after the first (among our group, only Craig had the original rules, as I recall, and we didn't play them.) Being an optimist, I typically thought that each new change was good, the new editions seemed like natural extensions to the existing rules, so I bought the new material pretty quickly. This despite the fact that didn't play for at least a decade. I

Then came "Fourth Edition."

4th was very, very different. Reading the rules, it was clear that the development team had been influenced by -- or perhaps was trying to capture the feel of -- Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games such as World of Warcraft. Sure, most of the traditional #DnD classes and races were there (but not all of them!) but the game play and character design was very combat-centric. Characters no longer started out fairly weak, but rather fairly strong. Advancements in levels were very focused on improving the character in combat situations. Sure, there were non-comabt options, but if a character chose those -- for the character-building role-playing which was a key component of prior editions -- then that character was at a significant disadvantage in a fight, and might even be a very weak point in a group situation.

It took me a long time to decide to buy 4th. I've been running #DnD for my "Dude Friends" for years, and now for my "Son Group" for a year or more. I never tried 4th with either group, because of the drastic change which would be required.

But I did buy the books.

And now Wizards of the Coast has announced that they are creating yet another edition! It even made the New York Times.

I'm not upset about the money, to be honest with you. I buy games pretty frequently. Sometimes, they never get played. Most often, I play them, but every once in a while, a game sits on a shelf, having provided me nothing more than a cool thing to read, or the anticipation of fun. 4th Edition #DnD might be just that. I have enjoyed reading it, and I really like a few of the new concepts (Minions -- great idea.)

But now that the creation of "5th" has been announced, I doubt I will ever play 4th.

Amazingly, the designers are asking for input from the gaming community. That should be interesting. For every three #DnD players, there are at least four opinions on how things should work. The consolidation of ideas will get geometrically difficult.

But the motive is good. I bet 4th is not nearly as successful, financially, as they would have liked. Getting customer input sounds like a great idea -- as long as they haven't given up doing innovation of their own. Because, really, we don't need just a warmed over #DnD. We want the excitement of the legacy game, with new ideas that make us say "Wow! Perfect! I want to play that!"

In the meanwhile, my two groups will continue playing the amalgam of 3.0 and 3.5 rules we've grown accustomed to, and we'll continue having a great time imagining our heroics, within the bounds of the game system which has kept us playing for so many years.

[That is, if I can figure out how much trouble Ezekiel, Garthor Armorbellows, Sifla Armorbellows and their group will have getting past Stampede Ford on their way to the big city of Deepwater. So much preparation needed! So little time!]

[Follow up article: I can still use my old rules and play new D&D? That sounds interesting....]

Favorite Foto Friday - Ebullience

2012-01-06T11:30:00.000-06:00

Giving gifts to certain people can be so fun! Sarah, for example.

Do you know what "ebullience" means? If you know Sarah, you have experienced it, whether you knew what to call it or not.

Love you, Sarah! You brighten our day!

Rest in Peace, Dean

2012-01-05T16:13:00.000-06:00

Over a year ago, Sherry and I paid her Grandpa Lyon our final payment on the loan he and Grandma Lyon gave us to buy the property on which our house sits. It was one of many wonderful, trusting things he did for us over the years. Dean had been struggling more and more over the past five years, and on Tuesday, January 3, at age 97, he left us in his last sleep.

We loved him. We will miss him. We are grateful we had him in our lives.

Games of Christmas 2011

2012-01-04T12:17:00.000-06:00

It has become a tradition here at "Snippets and Wisps" to recap the games which were played over the long holiday vacation. (See 2009 and 2010) [If this looks like a duplicate entry -- I apologize. My scheduled post went earlier than I intended, so I had not completed it. This is the real thing.]

This year, I will divide the list into games which were new to me, ones I have played before, and console games.

New to Me

World of Warcraft: the Board Game - by Fantasy Flight Games. This game is on long-term loan to Adam, and he had wanted me to try it for quite some time. The games is based on the World of Warcraft MMO world, but it does not require a knowledge of, or experience with, the online game to play. It is a game for teams -- one team takes the role of the Horde, and the other team takes the Alliance -- and the rules have some interesting concepts, with a few similar concepts to the computer game (leveling, respawning after death, the kinds of monsters fought, a "boss" at the end.) It is a very long game - it took us about 4.5 hours to play, and it requires a large space. We used two long tables, pushed together to make about a 6-ft x 5-ft play area. The photo on the right, above, gives you an idea. The board is larger than a Risk board, and there are far more pieces. It is complex, and if you did not trust the opposing team to play by the rules, it would get immeasurably longer, because in order to have some efficiency, each team needs to be planning its next turn while the active team is rolling dice. I had a good time. I could not play this every week, but it's always nice to learn a new strategy/dice game in the fantasy milieu.

Imaginiff - This is another of those party games which is fun when you know the rest of the group pretty well. "Imagine if were a doughnut - which kind would you be?" That sort of thing. We especially enjoyed the final question of the evening, pictured on the right, and asked about Sarah. Realize that we were playing this game, with family and Paul, on New Year's Eve!

Played Before

Magic: the Gathering. One of my joys this vacation was helping Leah learn to play Magic better. I spent part of an afternoon explaining some of the key basic concepts about playing the game, and we played a "teaching game" so she could get the feel of making plans and decisions. She won that game, with advice from her Dad. It was great. Then, of course, there were games with groups of us.

Dominion. This is new since last year, but I have mentioned it before in this blog. One of my goals during this holiday gaming season was to introduce this game to Paul. He is always looking for new strategy games, especially games which can be played with two players. I have never played a two-player game of Dominion, but it is designed for two-to-four.

I didn't technically get to play Dominion over the vacation, but Paul did, and that was good enough for me.

Settlers of Catan - It's been a long time since I played this with real live people (as opposed to the AI in the Yahoo version). Though I started with a very good position, I did not win. Adam did. What a fun time!

Anybody's Guess. At the Will Family Gathering, we decided to play a "party game." This was it. Trivia with a twist. And a reason to laugh together.

Munchkin! Paul had never played this, so we played it. It was fun. Adam won.

Ticket to Ride Europe - We played one 5-player game, and later split up to play a four-player partner game while the new Ticket to Ride: Asia was being played (I didn't participate in that one, so I will wait to review it until I do.) I still love this game, and it is definitely different playing against people than playing against the AI in the computer game. It's also different playing with four opponents as opposed to one, which is my typical setup in the computer game. I got lucky, and knew the card possibilities, so I got a very good score. And Matt learned to play. And so did Sherry. Fun.

The Great Dalmuti - One of the games that is a tradition. New Year's Eve. It has to be played. It's not fair, but then again, life is not fair. And we all play for fun. There were several people crowned Great Dalmuti, but I was not one of them, so I was always part of the crowd wishing the new leader: Huzzah!

Superworld - This is the traditional game of the holiday season, because we've been playing this Superhero Role Playing Game for over 20 years on or around New Year's Eve. Paul creates a scenario, putting someone or something in danger, or creating a mystery to be solved, and our heroes must take on the mission. This year, the group included Icebird, Foil, Solo, Toymaker, Phoebe, Phoenix (no, not that one) and Anastasia. Our heroes assisted in breaking a friend out of the lair of their nemesis. It was fun! Thanks to Paul for creating the adventure, and to my fellow Heroes for the bravery and awesome displays of superpowers.

Mad Gab - This one did not get played "for real" -- there were no winners or losers -- it was simply fun to pull it out and listen to people reading the clues.

Funglish was such a hit last year, we had to play it again this year. Twice! Really funny, as long as you're not too terribly interested in who wins.

Skip-Bo is an old stand-by and must be played every New Year's Eve. Mike was not here to partner with Sherry, so Leah did once,and Paul did once. We always have a great time with this game.

Yahtzee - Yes, we played Yahtzee. Some of the crowd preferred trying it to playing Farkle again, so we did. There were three (or four?) Yahtzees among seven players - a good night. Sherry was the big winner.

Console Games

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Though I bought it weeks before Christmas, it was only once Sherry and Leah were home that we sat down to play. I am having an excellent time in this strange new version of Hyrule. Some aspects are reminiscent of The Wind Waker, since there are "islands" to visit - albeit in the sky rather than in the sea - but it's unfair to make that comparison.

Skyward Sword has learned from other computer/console role-playing games. Like Zelda's Twilight Princess, there are many, many things to collect, but now in Skyward Sword, there are game reasons to collect them. There are recipes for improving equipment, very similar to other RPGs. And the combat takes advantage of the Wii Motion Plus controller, so sword fighting is more like what we all hoped for when we first saw the Wii interface. I like it a lot! [By the time the vacation finished, I had gathered all of the "weapons" and all but one of the melodies.]

MarioKart Wii. Leah and I had one afternoon before Sherry was done with school. We decided to play MarioKart, since Leah had almost never played it before. We had fun. Except that the computer "cheats" and since we, as the human players, are not very good, we never won a four-race grand prix.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - I really enjoyed the first Uncharted game, despite my being horrible at video game gunplay. I got a start on this latest installment one morning after Christmas when Leah wasn't awake yet to watch us play the new Zelda. Sherry will watch this game, too, and suggested it (thanks, Sherry!)

I enjoy the fact tha Claudia Black is the voice for Chloe, the woman involved in the caper. This makes two PS3 games in a row, for me (she was also in Dragon Age: Origins.)

So, unless I've forgotten a game (or forgotten how to count) that makes 16 different games I played over the Christmas / New Year's vacation. I can't count Dominion, since I only watched, or Ticket to Ride: Asia, since I didn't participate in that one. But adding those two, 18 different games were played at our house.

But then again, I am confident Lucas was playing Angry Birds at various points. And Leah played Sims 3. Oh, and what about D&D: Heroes of Neverwinter? Let's face it, there are too many to be absolutely sure I have a complete list. The 16 or 18 above are the games played/enjoyed by multiple people -- and really, that is the goal of gaming over the holidays!

2011 - The Year Of

2011-12-31T23:32:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year 2012, everyone. Here is the list of what happened in 2011, compiled throughout the year.

9.0 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan
US Representative Gabrielle Giffords shot in the head, and survived.
I traveled to Prague and Milan (and Orlando [twice] and Miami and New York and Pittsburgh and DC and Philadephia and Toronto and Wisconsin and the Twin Cities) for work.
As a result of more travel than ever before, I got Delta Silver Elite Status - and my first First Class upgrade.
Minnesota government shutdown.
Angry Birds
Final Harry Potter movie released.
Family vacationed in California.
Mike moved to LA. (Yes, he really did. We saw him there.)
Norway terrorist set off a bomb and killed young adults at a political camp
US Government went into default - almost - rather than cooperate on making meaningful changes to reduce the deficit.
37th Street was torn up for repairs late spring through summer.
Grandpa Will retired. (Congratulations, Dad!)
Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast, causing New York City to evacuate some, shut down elevators and mass transit. Vermont was basically all flooded.
Earthquake hit the East Coast.
Leah missed both Hurricane and Earthquake by being in Minnesota for two weeks.
Sarah and Troy moved to the Twin Cities (Fridley.)
Sherry completed semesters 2 and 3 of Apparel Design program.
Sherry worked at Ginny's Fine Fabrics and Support Group.
Angry Birds were everywhere.
Watson competed on "Jeopardy!"
Adam and Marisa announced grandchild #1 would be born in July 2012
Name hilariously considered is Ca$h (but I can't do it justice in normal characters; it must be accompanied by the proper hand and head motions. And the double-veritcal-bar dollar sign.)
A new phase in Lucas' life began.
Leah acted in "Trojan Women" (and "Three Sisters")
Sherry and I went to NYC -- stayed with Ruth -- to attend "Trojan Women"
I shot birdie 4 on Willow Creek 11. [Very long drive over the creek, almost cutting the corner; crushed a 3-wood to the fringe; long putt a bit past the hole; a decent 3-footer for four]

Something (maybe many somethings) missed this list. It interesting to me, for the future, to see what I thought was important over the course of the year, to add to this list.

Favorite Foto Friday - 2011 Tree at Night

2011-12-23T11:30:00.000-06:00

Have a blessed Christmas this weekend, those of you who celebrate it. We "Who Wills" in Will-villa will.

Vacation: Step One

2011-12-19T13:45:00.004-06:00

The first few hours of any vacation, I have one goal: have no goals.

There is nothing I must accomplish.

So stop feeling like there should be.

Chat with my family. Listen to music. Relax.

And stay away from the computer.

[Oops.]

Favorite Foto Friday - Snow Branches

2011-12-16T11:30:00.000-06:00

Last week, I had the big view. This week, we get closer. Like a fractal, the simplicity and the complexity create beauty in the large scale, and in the small.

As you might have deduced by now, I think newly fallen snow is picturesque.

======= And now for a word from our writer ======

We have arrived at another vacation, folks! I remind my readers -- faithful, long-time readers, and those newly arrived to my musings -- that the charter for this blog, cleverly placed by Blogger at the top of my blog's page says "I post every weekday when I'm not on vacation."

So, what should you expect from "S&W" for the next couple of weeks?

Well, I haven't completely decided. But ...

I have a Christmas-related "Favorite Foto Friday" photo ready for next week. And I have my year-end wrap-up blog "2011 - The Year Of ..." pretty much written and ready for New Year's Eve.

Will there be more than that? Probably. I don't seem to be able to go for very long without writing. But I seriously doubt you'll get a post from me every weekday. I am considering scheduling a few repeats, since I do have more readers now than I did back in 2007 when I moved my blog here. But we'll see.

In any case, to any and all of you who have been reading these, or just stopping by to look at the photos, Thank You. I hope you have a chance to take some time for yourself, your family, and your friends in the next couple of weeks.

Why I Won't Buy Appliances from Sears Ever Again

2011-12-15T19:12:00.000-06:00

Normally, I write positive blogs.

So, Sears, please take this as some constructive criticism.

Over the years, we've had to call in for service many times on things we bought at Sears. Over the years, the people handling the calls have gotten more competent and more professional and more pleasant. Good for you.

But. But there is one thing which has remained a constant inadequacy in your service for years. I illustrate with my most recent example.

When I scheduled a service call for my treadmill, it went something like this:

The pleasant lady thanked me for calling Sears and tried to get me to accept a "free consultation" so they could try to sell me new flooring, or doors, or a roof or whatever. I said "No, thank you, that will never happen."

"Why?" she asked.

"Let's schedule my appointment for the treadmill repair. Then we can discuss the 'consultation.'"

"OK, sir, how about next Tuesday?" she offered. Wow, just two working days from when I called. Promising, but I knew what was coming.

"No, Tuesday doesn't work for me. How about Friday?" I said.

"Yes, sir, we can have a repair person out on Friday," she said.

"And when can they be here?" I asked, fully knowing the reply.

"Between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM," was her answer.

"I have to be home in the afternoon for another reason. Can we make it sometime after 1:00 but before 5:00?"

"I'm sorry sir, I can't do that." She sounded sincerely sorry.

"And that, ma'am, is exactly why I will never accept a 'consultation' from your employer, or buy something from them that might ever need repair again. If your business cannot be more considerate of my time than to expect me to be home on a work day for nine straight hours, then I will shop at an establishment which can run its business more efficiently. But thanks for the offer."

I like my treadmill. But when I replace it, I won't buy the replacement from Sears. 8:00 - 5:00? Really?

I don't ever say this, but I will say it now.

#fail

In the Zone -- Thirteen Decks and Counting

2011-12-14T11:30:00.000-06:00

Over the past few weeks, I've been wanting to build Magic decks so I can have fresh things to play over the nice, long Christmas-to-New-Year's break.

Well, I've made progress. The photo shows the decks which I have either built from scratch, or significantly re-built during this stretch. That's 13 decks, so far. It's possible I'll build one more tonight (Tuesday) before bed, but then I'll take a break for a couple of days to spend time with Sherry before she goes back for her last two Finals. Then before she and Leah are home on break, I probably have one more night of opportunity for building.

Designing and building decks is always a hot/cold thing for me. I put episodes of Stargate: SG1 and Star Trek: Voyager on the DVD player as background entertainment, and they often distract me. But then, all of a sudden, inspiration will strike and I will grab cards from this box and that box, run into my den to grab more cards, and lay them all out in front of me.

That's when I get "in the zone."

A digression: Both of my boys play Magic. So does my son-in-law. Sarah learned enough to be able to test Troy's decks with him occasionally, but I can't recall ever playing a game of Magic with her. Until recently, though, I never thought Leah would want to play.

Well, it turns out she had learned to play, too. She told me one of her goals for this upcoming break is to learn to play better. She asked me to help.

A little tear comes to my eye. [Figuratively.]

I doubt she really needs to know how to design & build a deck. She probably just wants to have me talk about the finer points of the rules, and how they affect tactics and strategy. But as I got "in the zone" this time, I did reflect on what I teach people when I teach them about deck design.

Back to "the Zone": So, I have all these cards in front of me.

It seems like I always have about 80 cards which fit whatever "theme" I'm building, and I have to trim it to 37. [A deck should contain 60 cards, with rare exceptions, and approximately 23 of them need to be land, with slightly less rare exceptions.] I divide the cards into piles based first on color, and then on effective converted mana cost. As much as I am drawn to the cards which are hardest to play [I am a "Timmy" -- which means nothing to you unless you've read my blog entry about types of Magic players -- or the great Mark Rosewater columns {One, Two and Three} which describe them] I know a deck won't work unless I limit the number of them in the deck far more than I want to. So I pick out which of them I really, really want to experience.

The rest of the cards ... well, I didn't really intend this blog entry to turn into a full deck design treatise ... so let me say I typically make my selections of the rest of the cards to support the "bombs" -- those cards which are the hardest to play. It's pretty frequent that some mid-range cards which I initially threw in the pile because I thought they would support the theme get left out of the deck. Those mid-range cards often become the theme for another deck.

Anyway, I now have thirteen "new" decks. Troy "helped" me try out five of them this past weekend. If all goes well, I will get to play them all by the end of January. If it goes really well, I will play them all by New Year's Eve.

As if there weren't already plenty of reasons to love Christmas and vacation!

D&D Monday - Gaming Paper and More

2011-12-13T11:30:00.000-06:00

Today's entry is going to tie a lot of things together. But it's a gaming entry, so if you're not interested, feel free to find some other blog to read today.

A few months back, I decided to pull my D&D parties out of The World's Largest Dungeon because I had gotten inspired by Dragon Age: Origins to create a quest-based campaign.

You might recall that I was excited a couple months back because I bought a cool new device which would allow me to draw pictures on the computer more easily, allowing me to create maps, like the one on the right.

Only one of my groups has been able to start this new quest, but we spent a session or two with the party traveling over land, and then at our last session they had to enter a short dungeon I created. We finished it up on Monday night.

The cool thing about the dungeon is that it was constructed from panels in the Mega Dungeon 1 product from Gaming Paper. I mentioned this late last year, because it was the first product which drew me to Kickstarter.

Mega Dungeon 1 is one large map of one large (mega!) dungeon, but it is more than that. The map is constructed of 100 panels, each of which takes up an standard sheet of paper, and is printed on two sides. One side is a room with "furnishings" of some sort, the other side is the same space unfurnished.

Obviously, for a two-night adventure, Mega Dungeon 1 is too big. But that's the beauty of how it's constructed. I was able to take 10-12 panels, from various places in the dungeon, and lay them out next to each other to form a smaller dungeon.

The result was a very fun little adventure. Before I started trying to assemble the dungeon map, I only had a basic theme for what the party would encounter. As I found panels which fit together, I got inspired by the rooms and furnishings on the panels. I used only one side of some panels, but I used both sides for some, as well. [I can't say more about that, because the second group of players has not started this campaign yet. But it's cool!]

Anyway, I really enjoy how inspiration can arise from finding new tools like the drawing pad, or from the supplies and resources we use, such as the Gaming Paper product.

Or, as Hannibal used to say: "I love it when a plan comes together."

You know what this means, don't you?

2011-12-12T11:30:00.000-06:00

No need to run the lawnmower for a very, very long time!

Oh, yeah. And Christmas is coming!

[P.S. "They" tell me that our snow may melt this week. Well, I can tell you that, if "they" are right,

1. I still won't be mowing the lawn, and

2. Christmas is still coming, but

3. I may have a chance to get the Christmas lights on the house, since I failed to do it before this snow.]

Favorite Foto Friday - Snowy Path

2011-12-09T11:30:00.000-06:00

Some saw this already, but it's definitely worth a Favorite Foto Friday. We had our first real snow last weekend. It was not accompanied by wind, and it was wet enough to stick, but not so wet that it melted.

The path in our backyard was left looking so beautiful and peaceful, I was drawn outside to gaze on it. This photo helps record the event.

And here is a bonus shot.

Tweety Night

2011-12-08T15:46:00.001-06:00

Twitter is called (in social media circles) a tool for micro-blogging.

With that in mind, here are my microblogs since my last real "Snippets and Wisps" blog entry.

That top one -- What do you think? I mean, maybe you don't listen to as much Christmas music as I do, but think about it ....

If a music artist has a Christmas CD, what is one song you are almost guaranteed to find on their (first) Christmas CD? "Silent Night." And when it's there, doesn't it always seem they do an extraspecial job making it beautiful?

Of course, some credit must go to the song itself. "Stille Nacht" is a masterpiece.

Potential Monday Night Activities

2011-12-05T13:47:00.001-06:00

It's Monday again.

After work, I could:

Build Magic decks.

Play Dragon Age: 2.

Plan D&D.

Watch Castle by myself.

All of these are fun.

But if the semester were over, I could watch Castle or play Skyward Sword with Sherry.

C'mon, semester! Finish already!

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 79

2011-12-02T19:52:00.000-06:00

Captain America	86	Congratulations! They made a Captain America without the camp, the jingoism, the schmaltz that could have killed it. Good story, good action, and leads well into The Avengers. (I cannot wait!) [Originally reviewed in Edition 75. Now owned on Blu-Ray & DVD.]
Rocky Horror Picture Show		So strange. So campy. Tim Curry throws himself into the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter so well that it defines him. Do I rate it as a stand-alone film, or as a cult classic?
Lost Boys	24	Who liked this? Seriously. I had hoped to be a little spooked. It was melodramatic and stupid, while trying to be, what? Scary? Goonies-esque? A love story? Nothing worked. It’s possible the makeup was good for 1987, but I doubt it.
Pirates of the Caribbean 4	77	Fun, but not nearly as well told as the original, and missing a real love story. [Bumped up the rating on second viewing.]

Iron Man 2	85	A blast! Action fun! Whiplash was an excellent villain. Sam Rockwell plays another sleazy character. Are there too many characters? Nah. But let’s all hope Black Widow can take a bigger part in the ultimate Avengers movie that must come.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1	83	Very faithful in theme to the first part of the book. The isolation forced upon, and felt by, the three main characters is well represented. Definitely the middle part of a three-part story begun in The Half-Blood Prince. I can’t imagine ever watching this without watching Part 2 quite soon afterward, if we have the choice. And when seen in that context, I might raise its rating.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	95	A spectacular, action-packed, moving end to a brilliant series. Bravo!
X-Men: First Class	82	A worthy entry in the genre. I liked the Xavier/Lehnsherr relationship. Kevin Bacon made a good villain. Mystique as a teenager – loved it. Consistency with the comics must be sacrificed. A couple of cameos made me smile – even laugh! Rating: Remember this – I am “easy” when it comes to the X-Men. Always will be.
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring	100	What can I say. The mood is perfect. The story hangs together. The characterizations are charming and thrilling. The effects enhance and draw you in, rather than amaze or distract. Fantastic.

Suitable for Marian? (The Librarian)

2011-12-01T10:59:00.001-06:00

In "The Music Man", Marian Peroo -- a librarian -- sings "Being in Love" to explain to her mother that, while she loves the idea of being in love, she is still single because she hasn't found the right man. When describing what she's looking for, she lists a few necessary conditions:

All I want is a plain man.
All I want is a modest man.
A quiet man, a gentle man
A straightforward and honest man
To sit with me in a cottage somewhere in the state of Iowa...
And I would like him to be more interested in me
Than he's in himself and more interested in us than in me...

Then after those, she lists one more thing on her wish list:

And if occasionally he'd ponder
What makes Shakespeare and Beethoven great.
Him I could love 'til I die.

Well, gee Marian. A couple of months ago, I talked about Shakespeare. Yesterday, it was Beethoven.

But I'm afraid I'm already spoken for.

You'll have to settle for Harold.

To give her proper credit though, this line

And I would like him to be more interested in me
Than he's in himself and more interested in us than in me...

should be rule number 1 when looking for a marriage partner (insert "her" and "she" if appropriate).

So Marian got that right.

Great Course - Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

2011-11-30T12:40:00.001-06:00

A scant five weeks ago, I blogged that I had started my latest Great Course, Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, taught once again by the marvelous Professor Robert Greenberg.

Oh my goodness.

If you'll recall, one of the reasons I decided to buy this course was being asked by Pascal "Mozart or Beethoven?"

I answered "That's like asking steak or barbeque ribs" (or something like that) and finally said "Mozart" but seriously, until these Great Courses on music, I had never studied the music. I listened to some of it, and if I liked it, I liked it. I had heard more Mozart over the years, and I liked the movie "Amadeus" so Mozart was my answer.

Now? Well, I suppose, to be fair, I should listen to a Great Course on Mozart, but wow -- Beethoven was great! I am asking for the Claude Frank recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas for Christmas, because I loved almost every excerpt I heard, and I would dearly enjoy hearing the full sonatas again.

But it's not just for hearing enjoyable music. Dr. Greenberg did an excellent job showing me, even though I am just slightly educated in music theory, how revolutionary and full of genius Beethoven's compositions are.

Based on what I now know of Mozart and Beethoven, I appreciate the amount of work an planning and "architecture" that went into Beethoven's work. This is all the more extraordinary because of his initial fame resulting from improvisation. Someone like that, who gets lauded for off-the-cuff brilliance might be tempted to specialize in that form. Had he done so, he would have been typically human. Beethoven was not. He believed in the inherent value of music, and particularly the value of composing based on simple ideas stretched, rolled and intensified into things of beauty.

If I had one warning for someone who wanted to listen to this Great Course it would be: Consider some of the more fundamental courses in Greenberg's series first. I learned things about musical keys (or "key areas" as Greenberg would say) and the various forms of music -- such as sonatas themselves -- from other courses, and it helped deepen my appreciation for Beethoven's work in this one. But it's not essential.

Excellent!

Magic Season Approaches

2011-11-28T11:30:00.000-06:00

Over Thanksgiving, I got to play thirteen games of Magic: the Gathering (hereafter known simply as "Magic.") Thirteen!

The holiday season is when I start to get a chance to play again. This is especially true now that Troy plays Magic. We played on Black Friday while the women went out shopping. We played one-on-one, and then Adam and Lucas joined us for a few games.

Magic is a game in which each player uses a deck of cards, specifically designed for the game. Most people construct the decks they use in the games from the cards they have acquired over time. I've been playing Magic for over 17 years. This means, over the years, I have acquired thousands and thousands of cards, and I have built many, many decks. And once they are built, I very rarely take them apart. Because I am getting ready to play again, and because I would prefer to play newer decks, and because it's just so darn much fun to design and build decks, I have taken over one of the rooms downstairs for a few days, and I am building again.

So, just to emphasize that I am ready for a game of Magic any time, I decided to take a couple of photos. Here are all of the decks I had built at the time. (I am actually in the process of tearing down a few, which, as I said, is unusual for me.)

And here is a shot of me with one of the decks -- named "Mike's Favorite" -- hoping that I will get to play many games in the next month or two.

[P.S. Yes, I know it's a bit sad to be a Vikings fan this year. I am glad I have Magic to take my mind off their losing ways.]

Thankful For and Thankful To - Again

2011-11-24T12:49:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope this holiday finds you well, and that you are able to spend it with family or friends or both. Today's blog is a reprint of a little essay I wrote last year about the meaning of "thanksgiving." If you don't feel like a Small Sermon today, feel free to stop reading and go enjoy your day. You deserve it!

=======================================

Thanksgiving is a special holiday. Though we are taught to be thankful all year round, having a day set aside for feeling thankful helps focus our gratitude.

Of course, it has become "Turkey Day" to some, and "Football Day" to others, but in general, with families & friends gathering together, many people do still focus on the thankfulness.

Interestingly, though, at Thanksgiving, people primarily talk about the things they are thankful FOR. This, of course, is perfectly natural. To feel thankful, people need to feel they have received something for which they can give thanks.

For me, there are too many blessings to count and list, but I would certainly start here:

I am so thankful for my family. Words cannot express it. Though I try. I am also thankful for the friends I have, especially for those who think about me frequently, providing me company when I laugh, care when I need it, and conversation - in person or over the network. I am thankful for my work, for my home, and for the beautiful world in which we live.

But I am not done with this Thanksgiving message. I want to continue on to discuss the full meaning of giving thanks.

Here is the first definition of "Thank" from from Dictionary.com:
–verb (used with object)

1.to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to: She thanked them for their hospitality.

And for good measure, the definition of "Thanks" from the same source:

thanks (θæŋks)

—*pl n*
1.	an expression of appreciation or gratitude or an acknowledgment of services or favours given

In both of these definitions, there is a clear message which is glossed over by many, but it is worth considering. The definitions make it clear there is someone who is thankful, and someone who is receiving the thanks, because the latter did something for the former.

So, if you are thankful, who are you thankful TO?

Yes, I am thankful to the people in my life who make my life so blessed. And if that's as far as you go in your faith, then be sure to thank the people in your life on Thanksgiving. For, just as a secular Christmas is to be more about giving than receiving, a secular Thanksgiving should be about being thankful, and to be thankful, there must be someone who deserves our thanks. With that in mind, look around at all those people who have made your life better, and express your appreciation and gratitude as you celebrate your Thanksgiving.

To carry the message a bit further, people of faith should pause to recognize that what we have been given, the materials and relationships for which we are thankful, are not merely gifts from people, but gifts from God. The original Pilgrims were not thanking one another. They were thanking God.

If you explain to a child the concept of Thanksgiving -- that we are grateful for the many things around us -- and ask them to list those things, they will often lists parts of nature. The sun, the air, the water.

If a person has no faith in a creator, then there really is no one to thank for these things. Such a person can feel lucky to have them, and they should, but they cannot truly be thankful, because they have no one to thank.

But for people who believe in a God, today is the day to thank God, as the true source for all of these blessings. Even the blessings which appear to have come from people are truly an expression of God's love towards us. And for this, thanks are appropriate, and a form of blessing in themselves.

Lord God, Creator of all, Source of Love and Blessings, on this day of Thanksgiving, we thank you, above all, for the gift of life and for the gifts we receive in life. We especially thank you for the people in our lives who show us love and kindness. For these, and for all, we are truly Thankful. Amen.

A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you all.

Skyward

2011-11-21T19:00:00.000-06:00

Pictured is the cover of a game. A game which promises to give us many, many hours of enjoyment over the next couple of months.

And by buying it today at Best Buy, I got a $10 Best Buy card.

Think I can use that?

Oh, yeah.

Now to choose which Christmas CD(s) to purchase with it.

Games. Christmas music. Thanksgiving. Family. Does it get any better than this?

Favorite Foto Friday - Sarah Whoopi

2011-11-18T11:30:00.000-06:00

One of my very favorite photos from the trip to California this summer.

Hobbit Video Blog

2011-11-16T13:29:00.001-06:00

Yeah, so this is cool. I want to make movies.

OK, well, at least I want to see movies. This movie, in particular!

The link, if you want it.

Planning Pays; and I Spend

2011-11-14T11:19:00.000-06:00

Saturday I decided to take care of the annual chore of draining my lawnmower of gas. I typically combine this with the chore of testing out the snowblower to ensure I'm ready for the first snow of the year.

At first, all went well. Raised the mower to a height above the level of the snowblower's gas tank. Siphoned the gas from mower to blower.

I checked the oil in the snowblower -- yuck, that stuff is dirty. But hey, we can test to see if it starts. Hey, there seems to be a little gas leakage. Tighten up a valve. OK, prime the line with nine or ten pumps to the priming bulb and yank the cord.

You see, people, this is a very old snowblower. We've been in this house over 19 years. That means we are heading into the 20th winter. For the first couple of winters, I cleared our 100-foot driveway with snow shovels. Remember, though, that I was much younger then. but I was also poorer. Shoveling was a financial necessity.

But finally, a couple of years into owning this house, we got the snowblower. It's the only one we've ever owned, so having it last for over 15 years is pretty darn good, considering how many times it gets used each winter.

Anyway, I yanked the cord. The engine coughed a couple of times, but killed. This, however, is not unexpected. Even at its best, in recent years, this blower doesn't start on the first pull.

So I pulled a second time.

And it started right up! Huzzah!

Oops. Except for one small problem. On that second yank, I was left holding the handle and the cord of the starter. Completely pulled free from the blower. Though the blower was running, if I ever shut it off, I would not get it started again.

I had three options. But two, really, for anyone who knows me.

Buy a new snowblower.
Get this snowblower fixed.
Fix it myself.

The real point of this post is that, with any of those options, it would be technically possible that I would have a working snowblower before the first snowfall! This, my friends, is what preparation is all about. If a snowblower is going to break, wouldn't it be nice if it did so BEFORE you needed it? Yet how often is that going to happen? For me, it did!

So, what did I do?

Option 3 is laughable. I have the mechanical aptitude of a ten-thumbed rock.

Option 2 is possible, but seriously, this thing is over 15 years old, has been giving us trouble for years (I am the only one m=in my family who has been able to use it for years, because I am the only one who knows how to set the choke "just so" and prime the engine "just right" to get it to stay running.)

So I went with Option 1. I found a good looking Craftsman on sale at the local hardware store - one of those great local stores which always give excellent advice and service. I bought it. It will be delivered on Friday. I just saw the week's forecast. No snow between now and Friday.

So, by preparing early, I saved myself at least one frustrating shovel session, and I was able to buy the replacement snowblower without fighting crowds of people doing the same!

To quote Hannibal: "I love it when a plan comes together."

P.S. For some strange reason, despite the fact that I have always, always, always spoken and heard these devices called "snowblowers," the advertisements all call them "snow throwers." What do you call them where you live?

Eleven Reasons to Like Today

2011-11-11T11:11:00.002-06:00

Eleven Reasons to Like Today.

It's a Friday.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II is released to video today.
Christmas is 44 days away. That's 11 x 4.
Immortals is released, and while it is probably inferior to 300, we can always hope.
The new Adam Sandler movie (Jack and Jill, if you care) is released, and I don't have to see it, because this is a free country and as long as I'm not being held as an enemy combatant in Guantanamo Bay, it's illegal to torture me with Sandler in drag.
A child born on this day will never have trouble filling out his (or her!) birthdate on one of those forms where you're just never sure if they want the month or day first.
On a scale of one to ten, it's eleven!
Speaking of which: "Nigel Tufnel:The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and..."
It's Veteran's Day. So there you go.
'10?' We don't need no stinkin' '10s.' 10 is not good enough for us in the 21st century. (Though I think it's guaranteed to be funnier than any Adam Sandler movie, ever.)
Honestly now -- how does it get better than all those ones? 11/11/11!

I'm sure there are other very excellent reasons to like this day full of elevens.

NaBloPoMo No

2011-11-10T19:25:00.001-06:00

I suspect that no one has noticed but ....

NaBloPoMo -- National Blog Posting Month -- is November.

I participated in writing daily blog postings each day in November in 2009 and 2010.

But not this year.

Three basic reasons:

I have been busier this year than in previous Novembers, largely because of work. (But I don't blog about work, at least not here in Snippets & Wisps.) This has left me precious little time for relaxation and creativity. Despite what it might sometimes appear, this blog does take both time and creativity. {Self-Deprecating Compliment Fishing Alert!}
My creative efforts this fall have been devoted to other things, most notably a Dungeons & Dragons quest-based campaign I've been writing and running and using my cool tablet to draw maps for. {Sentence-Ending Preposition Alert!}
I truly like to blog with positivity. There has been some less-than-positive mind-mud clogging up my creative gears of late. When I sit down to blog, I get all serious. Serious is not inherently bad -- some of my best Advice and Small Sermon writing is serious -- but when clogged with negaslimeocity, my "serious" comes out negative. {Invented Word Alert!} So rather than write negative, I choose not to write.

I ought to point out that there is one reason which is categorically not the reason I am skipping NaBloPoMo this year.

That non-reason?

It's for girls.

Just setting the record straight.

Review: American Gods

2011-11-09T23:46:00.001-06:00

Title: American Gods
Author: Neil Gaiman

There are several books which, over the years, have come to my attention as being very popular and well-reviewed. Now that I have a Nook, I decided I would see if some of them are available for e-reading so I have something other than work to do on my all-too-frequent periods of waiting in airports.

The first of these is American Gods. This year, Neil Gaiman released the 10-year anniversary edition, so it's not as if this is some 30- or 50-year old classic (Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination is on the list, and even older than that!)

The concept of American Gods shows up after a couple of striking chapters (one of which is quite graphic, so be warned.) As people moved to the American continent, they brought their beliefs with them -- beliefs in gods. This, it turned out, caused the gods themselves to come to America. The hero of the story, a man nicknamed Shadow, starts the story getting out of prison a little early because of a tragedy in his family. He soon runs into these American Gods, and before long is working with them as they prepare for a war.

What kind of war? Well, I really don't want to spoil things.

Gaiman creates a wonderful set of characters, and weaves his mythology well with them as the threads. And speaking of mythology, he includes myths from many, many cultures -- since, after all, many cultures came to the Americas. I recognized some of them from the various mythology Great Courses I've taken (including the wonderful Anansi) as well as mythology I have picked up over the years. But many others were entirely new to me.

If you didn't like Watchmen -- in which comic book style superheroes don't exactly act heroic -- you might try setting your expectations for something similar here. The American Gods are almost certain to act differently than you think "gods" should act. Then again, if you actually go back and read myths, not to mention the practices of the people who worshiped the gods in those myths, you might find the same.

But, if you are not easily offended, if you enjoy excellent writing, and you appreciate a modern story based on the fascinating premise of in-the-flesh gods walking among us, you will like this book. And, honestly, most of my science-fiction-loving friends will love it.

Great Service - Haley

2011-11-03T18:22:00.002-05:00

I am delighted to tell people that Haley Comfort Systems in Rochester gave me excellent service today.

A while back, I noticed that my fireplace was not lighting. Today, I called Haley Comfort Systems, from whom we bought the fireplace. A friendly woman named Kim suggested that, rather than scheduling a service call, which would cost me money, she could probably help me, especially if the problem was just the pilot light, as we suspected. Kim talked me through the process of getting it lit. Over the phone! For no charge!

That is excellent service!

I have recently been dealing with a different local business which has been giving me frustratingly bad service. That business will likely never get another big purchase from me.

On the other hand, I will be looking to Haley Comfort Systems any time I need something they provide.

The Internet Teaches

2011-11-02T17:22:00.000-05:00

... if you have nothing to say, post a picture of a cute cat.

Favorite Foto Friday - Eric, Tracy & Kids

2011-10-28T16:08:00.001-05:00

A bonus Favorite Foto Friday photo today!

16 years! Look at those kids!

Happy Anniversary, you two!

Favorite Foto Friday - the New Door

2011-10-28T11:33:00.000-05:00

Last February, Sherry and I went out to buy a new front door. It was our Christmas (2010) gift to one another. Just a couple weeks ago, it finally got installed.

[Yes, that's a long time to wait. It's a very long story. I won't be using Home Depot for a large home project again. Nuff said.]

But, I do love the way the door looks.

From the inside, without the flash, you can get an idea of how beautiful the windows in the door are.

So, OK, this photo, and its subject, aren't nearly as beautiful as Yosemite or my ladies, but I'm happy to see this new door whenever I'm home now.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 78

2011-10-27T11:47:00.000-05:00

National Treasure	81	A clever action mystery. Fun clues. (I can‘t believe this is the first time I’ve micro-reviewed this movie! It’s on pretty frequently at our house. Or I thought so, anyway…)
National Treasure: Book of Secrets	81	Another well-written mystery. They followed the formula they created in the first movie, and it worked. Fun! We will own it.
Contact	96	Simply one of the best science fiction films ever made. Emphasis on the “science.” Great performances and true-to-life politics.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi	99	Triumphant, heroic, hopeful – and fun! [I still miss the original celebration music at the end of the film.]
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	93	A delight! Had I not read the book, I would still have followed the story perfectly. Since I had read it, I was amazed at how perfectly they hit the characters and setting.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	88	Harry still discovers the wonders of the magical world, along with us. But he begins to take ownership of his life, and the story provides plenty of chance for him to grow.
Unknown	76	A mystery thriller needs to have a good mystery & good twists. This did. And some good action doesn’t hurt. So, see this one.
Stand By Me	82	Rob Reiner directed this classic. Each of the four young actors was asked to be their character, and they did it to perfection. I’m glad I revisited this movie, and I look forward to watching the picture-in-picture commentary by Reiner, Wheaton and Feldman that is in the blu-ray bonus material.
Star Trek	90	A thrill-ride. By the time we were 30 minutes in, I was already convinced I want to see more of this cast in these characters. Yes, it’s a re-visioning of the characters. But it fits. It’s great fun! [Originally reviewed in Edition 32]

Being 50 - a Video

2011-10-26T11:32:00.000-05:00

This is so delightful.

I needed a smile. This gave me one.

I think I'll watch it again.

What I Saw This Weekend - Trojan Women & Leah

2011-10-24T23:41:00.000-05:00

Leah, at the Atlantic Theater Company.

The stage is seven stories below ground. (Or maybe only four. It was a long way.)

She and some of her classmates performed "Trojan Women" by Euripides.

A Greek tragedy, it has a large part for the Chorus. There were five Trojan Women as the Chorus. The director assigned most of the Chorus lines to specific Trojan Women. This allowed them to differentiate themselves. It worked amazingly well. One of them, for example, also played Athena, so when she was also a Trojan Woman, the audience realized she was really Athena in disguise. Very mythic. Leah's Trojan Woman was obviously the youngest, most defiant of the women who were to be claimed as prizes for the Greek officers.

The play itself is very sober. It deals with the effects of the Trojan War (and indeed any war) on the women who are left behind on the losing side when the war is over. It asks questions about the place of fidelity of a woman to her husband, before and after death. It strongly deals with the actions, or inaction, of The Gods. And if it's well-acted, as this production was, it is an emotionally draining experience.

I am so proud of Leah, and so happy for her that she and her classmates are up to the challenge of such a piece of art.

[But other than the time she was on stage, she spent pretty much every other moment we saw her with a smiler on her face. So did we. Kids will do that to you, y'know.]

Favorite Foto Friday - New York Weekend

2011-10-21T12:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a site we might see this weekend.

But then again, this is what we really want to see. And we will!

When Cometh Normal?

2011-10-20T11:45:00.000-05:00

I was recently asked to describe a normal week in my life. I was stumped. It's past mid-October. And I still have not had a "normal" week this fall.

A "normal" week, during the school year, is certainly different than it once was. After all, Sherry's up in St. Paul, so it's hard to think of that as "normal." But go with me here.

Criterion #1: A "normal" week should have me in Rochester, all week.

Since the beginning of the school year, I don't think that has happened yet. If it has, I don't remember it.

One week, I didn't travel for work, but I spent the weekend at the apartment in St. Paul. Is that normal? It was relaxing, that's for sure. (There is no lawn to mow at the apartment. Big plus! But not normal.)

Next week, I think I will be in Rochester all week. But while being in Rochester is necessary for a week to feel normal, it's not sufficient. You see, one or two of my evenings will be tied up with work commitments, so I will not have to get dinner for myself. So that's not normal either.

Criterion 2: A "normal" week includes meals I have to plan for, shop for, and prepare. That almost happened this week -- I can count the D&D group feeding me as "normal" now, since I plan for that meal, even if I don't prepare it. It occurs regularly enough. But, I will be eating dinner outside of Rochester Thursday through Sunday, because we get to fly to NYC to see Leah perform. Which is wonderful! It's just not "normal."

Criterion 3: A "normal" week has a five-day work week, Monday through Friday.

I'm thinking I will not get a "normal" week until sometime in January.

And so, if "normal" is that rare, it can't be "normal" can it?

I just have to face it. I don't do "normal."

Well, normally, I don't.

To study the abnormal is the best way of understanding the normal.

William James

Beethoven Piano Sonatas - Begun

2011-10-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

I am now about one quarter of the way through this latest Great Course, Beethoven's Piano Sonatas.

"Why are you listening to this?" you might ask.

Well, if you have been following my progress through the Teaching Company's Great Courses, you might remember that I have taken two music courses. They were both taught by Dr. Robert Greenberg, and yes, this course is also.

I have learned so much about music in this way, and that has allowed me to appreciate it even more.

But why Beethoven?

It happens that one of my friends, Pascal, asked me this summer which composer I preferred, Mozart or Beethoven. I told him that this was a tough question. The music of each was so good. But, if I had to pick, I would pick Mozart. I gathered from Pascal's reaction that he would have chosen the other way.

I then had to admit to myself that I have given much more of a chance to Mozart's music over the years. Probably because of the movie Amadeus. In any case, I had not heard much Beethoven. And I recalled that Dr. Greenberg described how each of these composers, whose lives actually overlapped a little, wrote music remarkably differently than those around them. How? Well, that is one of the key points of this course.

Beethoven was raised in a Classical period, and Mozart was the genius of Classical music. Beethoven broke away from the definitions of Classical. Consequently, it has been very important for my appreciation of this course that I took the prior courses, particularly How to Listen to and Understand Great Music.

I will write again, I am certain, when this course is done. But I can already tell -- Schroeder was onto something.

Hooked - Ticket to Ride Online

2011-10-18T12:39:00.000-05:00

I have written about the Ticket to Ride (TtR) games before. In particular, Ticket to Ride: Europe is a favorite of the Dudes for Dude nights, and it's also a game my kids enjoy playing over Christmas (and other times, I suppose.)

Anyway.

Several weeks ago, Don told us that Days of Wonder, the company which produces the TtR games, has an on-line version of the game. I resisted for a little while, but I just bought the whole set of the games and, wow, it's a great way to play.

There is a true on-line version of the game, meaning you can play with other on-line players. I may do this, though probably only with my friends. The real attraction, though, is the version which can be played when disconnected -- as a "computer game."

If you are a player of this game (Troy, Sarah, Eric, and, well, the rest of you) and you have some time around a computer (probably not Sarah) believe me: You Will Like This. The games are shorter than they are in person, and the interface is quite natural. Double-click to select cards; drag cards to build sections of track -- easy.

Now I have to break it to my time-sucking Facebook games that they will be seeing less of me. I hope they can be satisfied with the other million players they have. I know, they'll miss me, but it's time for me to move on.

'cause Ticket to Ride is awesome!

Castle is a Gem

2011-10-17T12:22:00.000-05:00

I love Castle, the TV mystery-drama on ABC on Monday nights.

Now in its fourth season, the show has found a way to continue coming up with interesting mysteries, while also allowing excellent character development.

Of course, the stars of the show are Rick Castle (played by Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic.) Their "will they or won't they" sexual tension has moved to a new level after the crisis at the end of Season 3, still remains believable, but does not derail the action. Very importantly, though, the "supporting" characters have been getting more deeply drawn, and the actors who portray them are up to the challenge.

Molly C Quinn, playing Castle's daughter Alexis, shines in her role, and gives Fillion a chance to show the struggles we fathers have when our daughters are growing up and preparing to leave and love. Susan Sullivan, as Castle's mother, has already had a chance to show her depth in the first three seasons, and plays a wonderful confidante to any of the characters who need some advice from a woman who has been through many experiences, and handles them with charm, grace and a joyful flair.

Last week's episode continued a deepening of the second "team" on the show -- Beckett's supporting detectives, Esposito and Ryan, played by Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever, respectively. Huertas has perhaps had a bit more opportunity to flesh out his character in previous seasons, but this episode gave Dever a story line to demonstrate Ryan's passion and commitment. They both did a wonderful job.

This collection of professionals, together with the team behind the scenes, continues to give me something to look forward to each and every new episode.

Fall, Winter & "Trojan Women"

2011-10-14T16:49:00.003-05:00

I love it when our backyard looks like this.

And I love it when our backyard looks like this..

The top photo resembles what the view behind our house has looked like for a few weeks, but the wind, and time, are doing their natural best to clear those beautiful leaves from the branches. So, very soon, I will long for some snowy whiteness.

But not until after we fly to see Leah in the production of "Trojan Women" at the Atlantic Acting School at NYU next week.

Have I ever been more excited to see a play? I seriously doubt it.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Fontainebleau

2011-10-13T18:39:00.002-05:00

I just got to stay in the nicest hotel room I've ever had. I posted this photo to facebook shortly after I arrived.

It was at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach Florida. What a hotel! It had a club in it which, rumor has it, has a $100 cover charge. It had views like this from the balconies (yes there were two) in the room.

And like this, looking out over the pool from the valet parking area.

But I am not used to living in a place that has so many amenities. It took me more than a day to realize that there were no ice machines on my floor, because, yes, the full-sized refrigerator has an ice maker! (Duh! I had even heard it working, but didn't connect the dots.)

And then, well, I can hardly be faulted for the other silly "mistake" I made. You see, in this huge room, there were many doors. For example, the door to the walk-in closet.

And the door to the huge bathroom. (Make that master bathroom. There were two bathrooms.) So, as I said, there were lots of doors. But on the last day I decided to open a couple of them. And here is what I found behind one of the doors.

Yes, that's right. A washer and a dryer. I had "washed" two pieces of clothing on my first night by running them under the water in the bath/jacuzzi and putting them out to dry in that bathroom.
Seriously? A washer and dryer?

I have traveled quite a bit for work, but this was remarkable. (Hence, I am remarking on it.)

If only Sherry had been there. She could have lounged around that pool, then gone out into the ocean. I'm told by those who dipped their feet in that the water was warm.

Favorite Foto Friday - Dresses, Daughters, Wife and Landmark 1000

2011-10-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

I have two great photos to share today -- Sherry designed a dress for Leah and another for Sarah in her first year as an Apparel Design student. Here, they model them. What beautiful women!

And, to make this blog entry a bit more special, it is my thousandth! That's right! 1000 entries have been posted to Snippets and Wisps since it moved here to blogger.com.

Many "Blogs of Note" have been named, and then fallen into disuse, while I've been writing snippets, wisps reviews and the occasional advice or small sermon. I've really enjoyed talking about games, books, learning, and of course my family in my own little corner of the blogosphere. I think I'll keep doing it!

And, because I just can't get enough of them, here are a couple more photos of these girls and their outfits. And another photo of something Sherry didn't design, but she made and altered for Marisa - for Renaissance Festival. Wow.

Shakespeare - Great (of) Course

2011-10-06T12:28:00.000-05:00

My latest Great Course was William Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, taught by Dr. Peter Saccio.

Back at Luther, I took a Shakespeare class from Dr. John Bale, and it was one of my favorite courses. Over the years, though, I have forgotten more than I remember from that class. And, after all, in a one semester class, we could only read a few plays.

Fifteen plays are covered in this Great Course, each of the comedies and histories gets two lectures, as do three of the tragedies. Then, the Four Great Tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth) are each covered in three lessons.

And, since this is a Great Course, no lecture is the same as any of the others. Dr. Saccio examines various attributes of the plays, and of Shakespeare as a writer, by using the plays.

Now, I have seen or read some of the plays covered in the course, but not all of them. Yet I was able to follow every single lecture, and to appreciate the incredible richness of the scripts, because of the insightful Dr. Saccio. He is not only a professor, but also an actor, so his readings of various lines in the plays added depth and context one might not get from another teacher, and are almost certain to miss from just a reading.

Dr. Saccio convincingly argues that the "tragic flaw" theme taught by so many English teachers, and taught to so many young people, is simplistic at best, and quite misleading at the worst. He shows the pervasiveness of Christian imagery in many of Shakespeare's most powerful soliloquies. He explains the bleeding of comedy into tragedy, and both into history plays. In the end, I learned a tremendous amount from this course, and I am anxious to see some of these plays, again, or for the first time.

=========

Interesting word fact: "Assassinate" is coined in Macbeth. While "assassin" came into English the previous century, Macbeth says "assassinate" during a soliloquy when he is deciding whether or not to commit the murder which begins his rise and fall. As he considers the deed, he doesn't want to call it "murder," and so he creates a new verb from an obscure, exotic noun. Brilliant psychological writing.

[999]

Big Words

2011-10-05T12:18:00.000-05:00

As I grew up, I read. As I read, I encountered new words. Early on, I just absorbed the words, mostly making guesses about meanings based on context. Eventually, I put a dictionary in my bedroom so I could be more certain of the actual definitions.

While I've been re-reading the Thomas Covenant series, I have been reminded of this experience, because the author, Stephen R Donaldson, has a very large vocabulary. I remember that it was in the course of reading Lord Foul's Bane I first learned the words "mien" and "ichor" and "anathema." These words occurred so frequently, knowing their true meaning was necessary to truly understanding the book.

But Donaldson does love his words, and every once in a while, he lays down a paragraph which would have sent me to a dictionary three or four times if I really wanted to know all the words. But sometimes it was simply easier to guess at meanings and plunge along.

A paragraph 400+ pages into The Illearth War contained these words:

ambuscade
panoply (which I didn't recognize at the time)
lambent

and the next paragraph had

crepuscular (really!)

The story was at a critical point, and I simply jumped over the words. I don't think I missed much, but I decided as I was encountering these paragraphs that I would bookmark the page and come back to them later.

Of course, there are words in the paragraphs, and in the surrounding paragraphs, which are part of my working vocabulary which might be unknown to others. As a writer, it's a challenge to use excellent vocabulary -- words which fit the purpose of the narrative so well they must be used -- and yet avoid words which will jar your reader out of the story. Donaldson's hero, Thomas Covenant, is a writer, so it makes sense that his mind would use extraordinary words.

Thankfully, not every author has such a surfeit of entries in his lexicon.

And yes, that was a joke.

-----------------------------------------------------------

[And, disappointingly, even Donaldson misuses the word "sojourn." So can we really be sure he meant to use those other unusual words properly? Yes, I think we can. The misuse of "sojourn" as a synonym for "journey" is a pet peeve of mine.]

[998]

Review - The Illearth War

2011-10-04T12:04:00.000-05:00

Title: The Illearth War
Author: Stephen R. Donaldson

A while back, I re-read Lord Foul's Bane and so it was time to read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever Book Two, The Illearth War.We follow Thomas Convenant, who was once a writer, but is now a leper, from the "real" world of 20th century America into The Land, a fantasy world with magic and honor and a terrible danger.

In book one, Covenant was constantly clinging to a disbelief of The Land, thinking that accepting it would mean madness, and that would be deadly to him in life. He uses this same tactic again, but has an extra difficulty doing so when he meets Hile Troy, a man who, like Covenant, has been brought from the real world into The Land.

Covenant has reappeared a generation later than he left The Land, summoned this time by the Lords of Revelstone to help defend The Land from an all-out onslaught from Lord Foul's army. And while his initial reaction to Hile Troy shakes his Unbelief, he soon decides he can chalk Troy's existence up to the same subconscious machinations his mind has always been playing on him when in The Land.

We, the readers, cannot do this, however, because a large portion of the book centers on Hile Troy, who is the leader of the Lord's armies. This first-person narrative makes it clear that while the author, Stephen Donaldson, wanted readers wondering about the reality of Covenant's experience in Book One, he intends for us to understand The Land as a place into which very damaged people can be summoned.

In many ways, this book is easier to read than the first. Covenant's constant self-pity, and his anti-heroic behavior in Book One were joined by an abundance of simile (see the review of Book One for a short discussion on this) to make some parts of the book hard for a typical fantasy reader to enjoy on first reading. It was still well worth the read, but Book Two spends time on Hile Troy, who wants to be heroic, who appreciates and accepts his existence in The Land. This helps the reader get a more typical fantasy experience for part of the story -- as frustrating as the setbacks are, at least the "hero" is not always avoiding participation in the action. And, it becomes clear, the simile-laden prose is a Covenant-centric technique. Troy is not a writer, he is a man of action. Donaldson's descriptions from Troy's point of view contain some similes, but they are clearer and more typical.

And yet, of course, this is a Thomas Covenant story. And this time, Covenant has reason to participate a little more in the story. I will not talk about why, for fear of spoiling the story, but while we still get some of the Unbelief, we also get a hero who is at least not as active in damaging The Land into which he has been called.

At some point, probably soon, I will definitely move to Book Three. The Illearth War ends satisfactorily, but the battle for The Land is clearly not complete. We know Covenant needs to return, and we want to go with him when he does.

[997]

New Electronic Toy

2011-10-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

I splurged this weekend. I bought a new toy - a Bamboo Fun "Pen & Touch" from Wacom.

Once I figure out how to use the software which came with it, I will be able to do some cool editing of photos. Adobe Photoshop Essentials 8.0 is included, as is something called Corel Painter Essentials 4. So if I want to make fake photos, or if I want to become a cyberartist, I guess I have a tool for that.

After a few hours use, one thing is clear -- I'm no better at free-hand art with a stylus than I am with any other medium.

But honestly, my first goal in buying it is to make cool maps for games. And I already have an open source program called Photoscape I have tried to use to do simple things. It was my attempts to create simple maps which demonstrated that a simple mouse was not the tool I needed to create something that looks like a hand-drawn map.

But using the stylus and pad, I was able to make this, which my gaming groups will get to use. And I am excited!

[996]

At the Threshold

2011-09-28T13:06:00.000-05:00

How do you view life? Positively? Negatively? Do you view the future with fear, or resignation? Or do you view the future with hope, or expectancy?

The typical description people often use is "glass half-full, or glass half-empty" but this is simply too trivial a metaphor. In small things, such as glasses of water, people can behave one way, yet in their attitude towards life they might more often behave the other.

Truth be told, few of us are all together one way or the other. I think a more apt analogy is this.

We are, each of us, at a threshold. An entrance, which is also an exit.

On one side of this threshold is open sky, warm sunlight, fresh air, green trees. On the other side is a cave, protected from the elements, but dark, hard and cold.

When we stand at the threshold looking towards the open air, we can see the possibility of success, of help, of friendship. We can see other people out in the open air, and we can see how they are doing.

But when we get scared, when a cloud covers the sun, or the wind turns bitter, we tend to retreat into the cave. We face inward. We enter a place where the only things we can see clearly, if at all, are just at our own skin. And if we go too deep, we cannot see at all. We only know what we can feel.

There can be a perception of security when we first enter the cave, but before long we start imagining all of the dangers which might lurk in the cave with us. To be sure, some danger might be there, but we imagine far, far more than truly exists.

Which direction we face is a choice. The result of the choice is a viewpoint.

Do you spend time believing that the world, or people in the world, or the great unknown are actively against you? Or do you feel alone, cold, unsure where to go? Are you paying attention to how you feel, without even seeing others around you? Then you are facing the depths of the cave. You might even be walking deeper into those depths.

If you can turn around, and walk out into the open, if you can get to a place where you see the light shining all around you, you will also see that the light shines on others, as well. You will see that the world is happening to all of us. If it is sunny, we can all enjoy it. If a cloud covers the sun for one of us, another stands in the newly revealed sunlight. And if it rains, we can band together to build shelters for many.

I know people who have, by any external measure, a very good life, who are, nevertheless worried and distressed. And I know people who have had many hardships -- hardships which would cause despair in most people -- who actively love life and the people in their life.

We hear stories of people who face disaster, or extreme illness, with what we call a heroic attitude, who have an appreciation of life we admire. These people were faced with the choice of which direction to face, and they turned away from the cave.

Making that decision, facing the light of the world, does not require that we have first faced destruction, death or disease. We all, each of us, can choose to face the wide open world and see the possibilities. There may still be dangers, pitfalls and pain in the cave behind us, but we can choose not to dwell with them.

We may stumble. We may turn back at times, when faced with a cold wind, but if we make up our mind to face the sun, we will live, love and laugh more fully than we ever would, in a cave.

[995]

FOOM and Stan Lee

2011-09-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

It has been so many years since I had seen this. Social Media and Stan Lee bring it back. Such memories. FOOM! Boxes of comics delivered each week, eagerly devoured, then placed carefully in their proper order on my shelves at 404 Pearl Street. Imagination, Art, Writing, Innocence, Heroism, Angst, Acceptance.

Excelsior!

'Nuff said.

The Real Stan Lee on WhoSay

Where have the years gone?

[FOOM = Friends of Ol' Marvel, a fanzine. Stan Lee = the creator of most of the signature superheroes for Marvel Comics, and an executive producer on (almost?) all of the movies made from Marvel characters.]

[994]

Favorite Foto Friday - Forbidden City

2011-09-23T12:08:00.000-05:00

The entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing. It's been almost two years since I was there. Beautiful place.

For more beautiful sites from China and Japan, my blog from 2009 has a few.

[993]

New Dice

2011-09-22T11:56:00.000-05:00

I have new dice, and I'm not afraid to use them!

In fact, I am anxious to use them.

One of the results of playing Dragon Age: Origins has been this: I am inspired to create a quest-based adventure for my Dungeons & Dragons groups. I have been working on it when I snatch some bits of free time, and it's coming along nicely.

And one of the results of working on D&D is a desire to buy something; something game related!

For those of you who have not played D&D, there is very little on-going expense required for playing the game. However, a quirk of my very American personality is that I get a kick out of buying things. So, while I would not be required to buy cool graph paper for the game, I do. And while I have more than enough dice, there are simply times when I feel like buying more. It's not sensible. But's it's a fact.

There is no true game store in Rochester these days -- for three years now! [I'm sorry - Games by James is a chain store, so it's not a true game store. And it has no in-store place to play games, so it's ruled out for two reasons.] The closest thing we have is Book Review, so the Dudes and I stop there on some lunch breaks to browse, to be tempted, and occasionally to purchase something.

We've been there a few times in the past two weeks, and it's during that time period when I've been creating the Splintered Worlds campaign. So when we visited yesterday, I felt compelled to buy dice. I saw two sets which called to me: Green-Purple (w/ gold numbers) & and Copper-Green (white.) I was in no mood to choose between the two, so I bought them both.

Just look at them!

They are so pretty!

I can hardly wait to roll them in a game.

Let's play!

[992]

Dominion - Game

2011-09-21T12:11:00.000-05:00

Now that I have adult children, I am reaping the rewards of their game-playing interests. The latest game which they introduced me to is Dominion, by Rio Grande Games. We played a couple of games a while back, and I just knew that The Dudes would like it for a Dude Night game.

Last night, I brought it, and taught it, and we had a great time.

Dominion has a design which is unique among games I've tried. It's a turn-based strategy game -- like many of our favorites. It's medieval/kingdom-building in theme -- still, pretty common. It has victory points which must be accumulated -- again, nothing new there. But having each player start out with exactly the same resources (represented by cards), and then building a "deck" over time by "spending" cards to acquire more -- that's pretty rare in a game without a board.

The turns are simple -- and are cleverly designed. Each turn has three phases:
1) Action
2) Buy
3) Clean-up which includes discarding your hand and drawing a new hand.

Notice that drawing a full hand is the last thing you do. Most games have the "draw" phase first. Why does this matter?

Well, one of the keys to a strategy game is planning. Having a full hand of cards at the end of your turn allows you a full cycle through the other players' turns to think strategically. And, as a bonus, it really encourages a speedy game. Because your hand doesn't change (typically) from the end of your turn to the start of your next turn, you can be ready to act quickly on your turn.

The Ticket to Ride games have a similar make-up -- but they do this by limiting each turn to one action, so if you draw cards you cannot play them on the same turn. That works out very well, too, but the interaction between players and cards is very limited in Ticket to Ride. Dominion has a great deal of interaction among the cards, and sometimes among players. This means a turn needs more than just one phase. Giving the "draw" to the end phase works very, very well.

If you like strategy games, and games that don't take all night (we learned the game, and played twice, in four hours) you will enjoy Dominion.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 77

2011-09-20T12:44:00.000-05:00

The Princess Bride	94	Sweet! Funny! So many quotable lines!
Rise of the Planet of the Apes	70	I really liked the first half of this story, partially because John Lithgow improves anything he’s in. And I was totally taken with the animated apes. Somehow, this just didn’t make me say “it’s good enough to own.” But worth seeing, sure.
Stardust	76	A light fantasy that had plenty of interesting ideas mixed in with the comfortable fairy-tale frame. De Niro was quite good, but I enjoyed Claire Danes even more.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas (The)	77	Put children in a realistic story about Nazi concentration camps. Tell the story from the point of view of an eight year old German boy. It will hit you hard. Do not see this if you are depressed.
Limitless	80	One simple idea, which seems just a bit past possible. Talk about “performance enhancement!” Good tension.
Star Wars Episode 1: the Phantom Menace	78	Very pretty, and the strong female lead is welcome. Jar-Jar was a mistake, as were “midichlorians”. But a fun film.
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones	80	Annakin can’t decide what to be, or Christensen can’t decide how to act. The love story doesn’t resonate, but again the action is good – great to see so many Jedi in battle.
Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith	90	OK, this is what we were waiting for. All the threads tied up in a very exciting way. Regrets? Padme had nothing to do, and Christensen had no clear point at which he gave in to the Dark Side.
Jurassic Park	90	Even ten years later, the effects are great. The story is tight, and the characters well played. Now if only anyone would ever get the computer stuff right.

[989]

Review: Second Foundation

2011-09-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Title: Second Foundation
Author: Isaac Asimov

And finally the conclusion (originally) of the Foundation story, begun in Foundation and continued in Foundation and Empire. The second book left a fairly major thread hanging, so Second Foundation needed to wrap that up, and then there was the issue of what would happen when the First Foundation -- set up by psychohistorian Hari Seldon with a large population of scientists, but no psychologists -- became aware of the influence of the Second Foundation.

The characters Asimov sets up in this third book are a bit more filled out, though certainly nothing quite so complex as in later genre fiction such as Left Hand of Darkness. Still, these characters have some depth. In particular, Asimov develops a 14-year-old girl named Arcadia, the granddaughter of the heroine of book two. The characters in these stories are pretty entrenched in the stereotypical behavior and roles of the 1950s, but having Arcadia be just a little to young to be a "woman" allows Asimov to break from some of the acceptable norms, giving his young heroine some wit and influence missing in other women in the narrative.

One of the distinguishing aspects of these novels, and in particular this final story, is the emphasis on logic and conversation as the action of the story. These are not special-effects stories. The ability of the characters to out-reason one another is critical, and in this way, these stories are more like mysteries than most science fiction.

I am very glad I read these books again.

[988]

Favorite Foto Friday - USA Today Stairway

2011-09-16T11:59:00.000-05:00

Here is a cool stairway I saw -- totally supported by suspended cables. My photo could have been better, but still, a fun sight. It was in the USA Today & Gannett Publishing buildings.

Magic - Blasphemous Act

2011-09-15T11:53:00.000-05:00

This looks freakin' deadly.

I know, I know. I'm a "Timmy."

Penn Jillette and the Sincere Christian

2011-09-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

Though the general rule of polite company is still to avoid politics and religion in normal conversation, the more you get to know someone -- or in the case of Penn Jillette, the more you get to know about someone -- the more likely it is that you will find out their basic viewpoint on those two controversial topics.

Today's "information age" hyper-connected world makes it even more likely that celebrities will end up representing their beliefs, whether they set out to do so or not. Of my Facebook friends, there are atheists and Christians. And in the group of celebrities who fascinate me, or who are admirable, there are also atheists and Christians. Penn Jillette and Adam Savage are probably the two most notable of the atheist group.

I had encountered this video a year or two ago, and really enjoyed it. But with the release of Jillette's new book, "God, No! (Signs You May Already Be An Atheist and Other Magical Tales)" it's not surprising it surfaced again.

If you're an atheist, I hope you can be as genuine and kind and thoughtful as Jillette is.And if you're a Christian, I hope you can be as sincere and caring as the man he encountered before he recorded this message.

11:00

2011-09-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

If I were to take a photo of what I see at 11:00 AM each and every day, a large percentage would look like this.

Not today, though. I'm traveling.

30 Years Ago Today

2011-09-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

Thirty years ago today, in beautiful Decorah, Iowa, I asked my an amazing woman to become my wife. Sherry said yes, and the rest is history. I don't have a photo handy from 1981, so here's one from 2007.

Favorite Foto Friday - Family Fun Pinochle

2011-09-09T13:05:00.000-05:00

In the lodge at Yosemite, the traditional partnerships for pinochle played.
And while they did, others played Flux and other fun things!
Lee, on the other hand, wrote postcards.

Will Power - The Shirt

2011-09-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

I have a great t-shirt. I love it. It's just so multi-appropriate for me!

As I said yesterday, it's the name of a Fantasy Football team I run.

And, yes, I am a fan of Will, the Bard, who wrote all the plays represented on the shirt. (What? You hadn't looked that closely yet? Well, click the photo for a closer look.)

In my work life, I happen to work on IBM Power Systems, so there's that.

I am also a firm believer that "will power" is a key attribute for building a life that is satisfying. It can be taken too far, but in my opinion, the more common frustrations in life are related to knowing what we ought to do, but not having the will power to do them.

And then, of course, I am a Will. I love having the illusion of power. Having my surname in such a great phrase is a kick!

My 2011 Fantasy Rosters

2011-09-07T11:22:00.000-05:00

I am only in two fantasy football leagues this year. I expect this will allow me to remember who is on my team(s) better. And, I hope, it helps me enjoy the playing more. Here are the teams I ended up with. I notice a bit of overlap, so that will make things easier.

Wills R Us - dynasty team - team name Jesters

Player		Bye
Cassel, Matt KCC QB	-	6
Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB	-	8
Forte, Matt CHI RB	-	8
Green-Ellis, BenJarvus NEP RB	-	7
Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB	-	7
Spiller, C.J. BUF RB	-	7
Starks, James GBP RB	-	8
Tomlinson, LaDainian NYJ RB	-	8
Vereen, Shane NEP RB	-	7
Edwards, Braylon SFO WR	-	7
Harvin, Percy MIN WR	-	9
Jennings, Greg GBP WR	-	8
Lloyd, Brandon DEN WR	-	6
Manningham, Mario NYG WR	-	7
Massaquoi, Mohamed CLE WR	-	5
Sims-Walker, Mike STL WR	-	5
Celek, Brent PHI TE	-	7
Davis, Vernon SFO TE	-	7
Hernandez, Aaron NEP TE	-	7
Witten, Jason DAL TE	-	5
Crosby, Mason GBP PK	-	8
Cundiff, Billy BAL PK	-	5

I will have to drop four of those players in the next few weeks, but I think I have some chaff, so nothing to worry about.

Semi-NFL - mostly redraft -team name: Will Power

Player		Bye	Drafted
Cutler, Jay CHI QB	-	8	11.07
Newton, Cam CAR QB	-	9	17.07
Ryan, Matt ATL QB	-	8	7.07
Forte, Matt CHI RB	-	8	3.01
Foster, Arian HOU RB	-	11	2.10
Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB	-	7	10.04
Jones, Felix DAL RB	-	5	4.04
Tate, Ben HOU RB	-	11	13.07
Burress, Plaxico NYJ WR	-	8	9.07
Ford, Jacoby OAK WR	-	8	14.04
Johnson, Calvin DET WR	-	9	1.07
Jones, Julio ATL WR	-	8	8.04
Lloyd, Brandon DEN WR	-	6	6.04
Gates, Antonio SDC TE	-	6	5.07
Keller, Dustin NYJ TE	-	8	18.04
Folk, Nick NYJ PK	-	8	16.04
Hartley, Garrett NOS PK	-	11	15.07
Ravens, Baltimore BAL Def	-	5	12.04

Sadly, I drafted a kicker (Hartley) who is out for a while, so I had to draft another one. Oh well, an easy cut when I need to make my first pick-up from the waiver wire.

And now, I am ready for some football.

Dragon Age: Origins - Complete

2011-09-06T14:17:00.002-05:00

After almost 60 hours of playtime, we completed Dragon Age: Origins. It was excellent. It was difficult, which it should be -- you want a sense of accomplishment to an adventure game.

I knew I was loving it, and that I needed to recommend it to some friends. I am very glad I did. Pete and Mike will like this. Eric will really like this, though he bought another game instead, so I hope he enjoys it and can recommend it back to me. Still, one of the cool things about the game is not knowing what's happening, so I can't talk much more about it than I did in the two posts I have already written - when we started, and Betrayed. (And even Betrayed was probably a spoiler.)

I am convinced I will re-play this game, choosing an entirely different character, and being careful to complete more of the early game. I especially want to have access to all of the potential party members, and I think I left two of them in areas I encountered very early.

So, to help myself remember details, and to compare with friends who play, and with myself when I re-play, I have two sections below - "For the Record - Non-Spoiler" and "For the Record - Spoilers."

Those few of you who are going to play the game, stay away from the "Spoilers" until you've completed it once.

For the Record - Non-Spoilers

Character: Stefan, Dalish Elf, Warrior, Dual-Weapon focus
Completion Date: 9/3/11
Time Played: 58:53:34 (Epilog); 58:36:54 Fort Drakon Second Floor just before final battle

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. SPOILER ALERT
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For the Record - Spoilers

Level at Completion: 19
I had to go to "Casual" each time I beat a Dragon.
I backed up to agree to support the Queen, because the first time through, when I got to the Landsmeet, the split of support was close to half and half, and the Queen lied against me, so I had to fight a huge battle. When I supported the Queen, I was able to work the conversation to offering a one-on-one battle with Loghain.
I got Morrigan to like me enough to let me kiss her.
Morrigan offered to sleep with me. The first time through, I declined, because her plan did not seem heroic -- which makes sense for Morrigan's character. I was worried that her plan would result in a Very Bad Thing.
Morrigan left me when I did not agree. I completed the game without her.
Now that I completed the game that way, I am trying to continue from that point, accepting her offer. At least that leaves her in the party for the final battle (though I am finding that some of the battles are harder without Oghren.)
Very near the end of the fight (2nd time) (this is a real spoiler -- are you sure you want to read it?) I discovered a ballista on the corner of the roof. By this point, the Archdemon was probably at 10% life. And, for some reason, it stayed on the main platform surface. So I could just sit at the ballista and shoot 100+ points each shot at it. I did stop just short of killing it, so I could take the final blow.
The end was quite different, having accepted Morrigan's offer. I got to request a boon, and so I requested the land for the Dalish (even though Alistair had granted it on his own with the first ending.) And I told him I was going in search of Morrigan. I don't think it mattered, though.

Favorite Foto Friday - Neo Birthday, Lucas

2011-09-02T11:47:00.005-05:00

Happy birthday, Lucas. I know, this photo was not taken on your birthday, but still, it's pretty cool. So are you.

The Guild

2011-08-31T16:31:00.001-05:00

Yeah, so, for some reason I didn't know about "The Guild" (it's a web series) until yesterday.

How did that happen?

I guess I'm not as geeky as I wannabe.

I got halfway through Episode 6 of season 5 (because Wil Wheaton tweeted about it) before it was clear I had to start at the beginning.

Here's the beginning.

You probably have to be geeky (or know someone geeky) to enjoy this.

<a href='http://video.msn.com?vid=69704ce9-eef1-4f98-8ea4-ecbf68e23192&mkt=en-us&src=FLPl:embed::related_2' target='_new' title='Season 1 - Episode 1: Wake-Up Call' >Video: Season 1 - Episode 1: Wake-Up Call</a>

Vikings - the 2011 King Prediction

2011-08-30T16:28:00.014-05:00

Sorry to say, I agree with Peter King. If our Minnesota Vikings win more than six games this year, they are overachieving.

But please prove me wrong, Purple.

How could they make it to the playoffs? If the offensive line can open holes for Adrian Peterson. If Donovan McNabb plays like he's 28 rather than 35. If Bernard Berrian catches passes which are thrown to his hands. If Jared Allen can get to the opposing QB early and often. All of those things together.

[976]

Looking Forward

2011-08-29T17:50:00.004-05:00

Ross is great at conversation. He can sit there quietly and listen for a while, but when he engages in the discussion, it always gets more interesting.

And he has great "conversation starter" openings. Yesterday, he asked me this:

"So, Steve, what are you looking forward to?"

Notice, it's not "How's work going?" It's not "How have things been?" This is nothing against most of us who start with these sorts of questions -- you have to start somewhere, and most of us know how to respond to the typical. But Ross, he starts with a question that makes you think.

So, hmmm, exactly what AM I looking forward to?

Great question.

My response was "I know a person shouldn't live his life this way, but honestly, I'm trying not to 'look forward' much right now." His facial expression showed I needed to give him more.

"In just about a week, Leah will be back in New York, and Sherry will be up at school, and I will be alone in this house again. If I look forward, I see that looming over me. And though eventually last year I got used to being alone, and I found fun things to do, I wouldn't say I'm 'looking forward to it.' Right now, I really like having the kids and Sherry here. I like spending time with my wife."

Adam made some sarcastic comment about how lame that was. We all laughed.

No need to pull out the little violins and make it seem as if my life will be tragic. I know it won't. But for the next few days, I am living in the "now" and enjoying every moment I can get with Leah and Sherry.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 76

2011-08-26T11:07:00.002-05:00

Two of the recent sci-fi movies which were more mainstream than the typical SFX fare of the summer. Worth seeing. Plus a documentary (I know -- unusual for us.)

Food Inc.	71	This explains the precarious nature of our food supply, in the days of mega-slaughterhouses, the ownership of the poultry industry by a few mega corporations, and the laws which have allowed Monsanto to own 80% of the soy beans in the US. Organic looks pretty good to me now.
Adjustment Bureau (The)	77	Very interesting concept, and carried through well, too. Not “exciting” but raises good questions. I like how Matt Damon is willing to work on challenging topics.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	95	A spectacular, action-packed, moving end to a brilliant series. Bravo!
Footloose	74	Shows its age, but it’s still a fun coming-of-age show. Lithgow’s character is great, and he’s so good at it.
Company Men	62	This is scary movie for a white collar worker in today’s economy. The business world is all about pleasing investors, and nothing about the people who make the companies truly valuable.
Bounty Hunter	54	OK, so they made the ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston) have an interesting story, but still, this was so predictable once you know that.
Source Code	82	I liked this. A lot. Cool concepts. Good surprises. Sci-fi done well – as drama -- with very few special effects needed.

Betrayed

2011-08-23T11:49:00.001-05:00

We started playing Dragon Age: Origins this month. It's pretty much the only game I think about these days. Good game.

Well, in DA:O, my main character has been joined by several other characters. Each time I set out on a quest, I gather three of them and we perform acts of heroism. And we pilfer. In this sort of game, it's standard practice to get money and equipment from the creatures you beat. But, you also encounter chests with stuff in them. And some of them are locked. So you need someone who can pick locks. Someone who is a thief.

Someone like Zevran.

Zevran joined my little band early on after he and a group of lesser assassins tried to kill me. For fun and profit. Mostly for profit. Since I had beaten him, he was under a virtual death sentence -- a failing assassin can run, but if he's found, the other assassins will assassinate him. It's what they do. So, when he offered to change allegiances and join me, I agreed.

For many hours of game play, Zevran was an annoyingly crude thief, but he was a thief. He opened chests. I got him equipment to help him survive, and to be helpful in a battle. In return, he opened chests.

A couple of days ago, he betrayed me. We were ambushed by more assassins, but rather than stick to his word, he joined them in attacking me and the rest of the party. We died.

Oh, but Zevran cannot beat the power of the re-load. I had saved the game state just before we were ambushed ("You never know when you might wander into a dragon's lair. Save often.") So I reloaded.

And after I reloaded, I took every stitch of equipment from Zevran, save one small dagger.

Then we headed into the ambush again.

Zevran looked pretty silly standing there in his g-string, betraying me again.

I wiped the silly smirk off his near-naked face.

Stupid assassins.

Favorite Foto Friday - McClane and Stark

2011-08-19T11:50:00.001-05:00

Almost all of my Favorite Foto Friday Photos are of natural scenes, or at least have living subjects. Not today. Life-like though, aren't they? John McClane from Live Free or Die Hard, and Tony Stark from one of the Iron Man movies (II, I think.)

Review: Foundation and Empire

2011-08-15T15:58:00.016-05:00

Title: Foundation and Empire
Author: Isaac Asimov

This is the second of three "Foundation" Novels by Isaac Asimov. Whereas the first told the story of several generations of the Foundation, "Foundation and Empire" tells one year-long story in a turning point for the Foundation, and the crisis when Hari Seldon's science of psychohistory is put to its biggest test yet.

Introducing us to a young married couple, Asimov creates his first significant female character of the far future, and also gives us a mystery when a new nemesis, The Mule, decides to attack the Foundation.

Though I certainly will read the third book, and this second book sets us up to do just that, this story was complete on its own. In that sense, it was more of a typical novel than the first. I enjoyed it even more, and was glad it had been 30+ years since I had read it, so I had forgotten enough of the plot points to have some surprise again.

Favorite Foto Friday - Sherry and ... Troy

2011-08-12T14:04:00.000-05:00

When we were on our vacation in California, Sherry made it a point to get a photo with herself and each of the kids. At least once. Here's one with Troy, and they really were enjoying themselves. In a tree. in Muir Woods.

Rise of the Planet of the Worms

2011-08-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

From the BBC - but I bet you can find it other places:

Animal's genetic code redesigned

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14492948

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 75

2011-08-10T16:52:00.001-05:00

Captain America	86	Congratulations! They made a Captain America without the camp, the jingoism, the schmaltz that could have killed it. Good story, good action, and leads well into The Avengers. (I cannot wait!)
Star Trek	90	A thrill-ride. By the time we were 30 minutes in, I was already convinced I want to see more of this cast in these characters. Yes, it’s a re-visioning of the characters. But it fits. It’s great fun! [And it might be the movie that pushes me to buy Blu-Ray. It just might!]
Armageddon	88	Forget the science. Just forget it. Now, it was a fun “disaster & heroes” story. Action and comedy and pathos. And, darn it, I always get emotional. “I’d like to shake the hand of the daughter of the bravest man I ever knew.” I happily rate this higher than the public in general. [And how in the world did I not micro-review this before now? Even my DVD list says I haven’t watched it since 2005!]
Perfect Stranger	73	This was a nice mystery/drama/suspense story. They built the plot well, and the characters made sense in it. Saw this years ago. Forgot most of the key twists, so it was new again. First reviewed in Edition 6.
True Grit	62	Wish I could have understood more of Jeff Bridge’s dialog. Still, I liked all the performances. Just not as thrilled with the story. Too gritty for me? Truth in advertising, at least.
Cowboys and Aliens	71	Suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford play against type and it really worked for me. Fun, entertaining = summer movie.

Dragon Age: Origins - We Have Begun

2011-08-08T12:39:00.006-05:00

As I have mentioned before, I purchased a Playstation 3 (PS3) just after Christmas, at the urging of my boys. Until recently the only games I had bought for it were the X-Men arcade game (my initial reason to want the PS3) and then Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - again at the recommendation of Lucas and Adam.

For months, though, I have not had a new game. Well, on my birthday, all my kids pooled together to get me a nice sized Best Buy gift card, and so -- with all that virtual cash burning a virtual hole in my wallet -- I looked to the boys again for advice on a game I might like. And, if possible, would there be something Sherry might like to watch me play.

Dragon Age: Origins was the result. I have been playing it for several days now, and wow, am I glad they thought to recommend it!

It is a "Role Playing Game" variety of video game. As you can tell from the name, it is a fantasy-world game; magic, swords, monsters - just the sort of thing I'd like. It reminds me quite a bit of the Dungeons and Dragons-based Baldur's Gate games, but there is a more manageable amount of complexity, I think. At least, more manageable if Sherry is watching, and that matters. She is really enjoying watching me play, keeping track of the status of the other three members of my party while I am in battle, helping me remember quest details and so on. We are on a long quest to rid the land of the monstrous beasts which are once again attacking the civilized world. Ultimately, we will have to face an "Archdemon" -- who will likely take the form of a really cool, but evil-to-the-core dragon.

The game expects the player to recruit a party of adventurers -- up to three of which may join the player for most missions. The advanced design, and helpful AI allows the non-player characters to have fairly full stories, and reasonably complex personalities. They react to the main character's choices -- even to his choice of words. Deciding how, or whether, to placate other party members is a very interesting challenge in the game, and nicely supplements the development of the "hero" as he (or she) works on the many quests on the road to the final battle. [The figure pictured on the left is one of the non-player characters, Morrigan, a mage who joins the player character early on. I really enjoy her abilities. And I quickly recognized her voice as that of Claudia Black, who I have enjoyed immensely in Farscape and Stargate.]

I anticipate this game will take us several months to get through, since Sherry will be back to her "school schedule" before we know it. But that's great. We'll have something to wind down with for an hour or two on the weekends.

It's making me think I should finally finish Baldur's Gate sometime. But for that, I might need a new PC.

Uh oh.

Favorite Foto Friday - Bark

2011-08-05T11:42:00.001-05:00

One of my new favorite background images for my laptop. 16x9 again. The bark of one of the huge trees in Muir Woods.