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November 20, 2004
Game day recap.
Participants: Seth, Becky, Me, Daniel, Ryan, Steven, Brina
Place: Seth and Becky's place
Merchant of Venus
Players: Me, Seth, Becky, Steven, Daniel, Ryan
Finally, Becky got her game pick! Ryan was Tele Gate boy and I think he was having too much fun with his Jump Start relic to concentrate on actually winning the game. There were very few clearly good trade routes in this session, so we all ended up scattered all across the board. Frankly, I don't know why I won—it seemed like everyone was doing fairly well. I think the edge that gave me the game was when I sold a Dokken video to a hapless alien race.
Winner: Me
Africa
Players: Me, Brina, Steven
I've only played this game a handful of times, so it was nice to see a player get four points by placing an animal next to three others of its kind. Good job, Steven. He also made another great play when he moved a nomad from the crowded middle to an isolated spot and then built a base camp in the vacated spot, earning something like nine or ten points in one turn! Smooth. Actually, I think Steven is Reiner Knizia and he just hasn't revealed it to us yet.
Winner: Steven
Verräter
Players: Seth, Becky, Ryan
Due to something in the atmosphere of Twin Peaks, games seem to take a little longer than normal. It also might be the frequent trips to the kitchen for bread and cheese.
Winner: Ryan
The Powerpuff Girls: Villains at Large Game
Players: Me, Brina, Steven
As the oldest player (by one month), Steven started the game. It appeared that he was going to open with the Nimzovich-Larsen attack, but it became clear about halfway through the game that he had been using a variant of the Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) system. Brina and I should have paid more attention to the Powerpuff Girls Nationals Tournament, as Steven has climbed the ranks rather spectacularly this year. I hear he's going to take on Deep Blue at an exhibition next Spring.
Winner: Steven
Druidenwalzer
Players: Me, Steven
As Steven read the rules of this game to me, I thought I was having an acid flashback. Nevertheless, we gave it a try and I can't for the life of me figure out how this odd game system could have occurred to anyone. I want to try it again, if only to make sure that it was real.
Winner: Steven
Spinergy
Players: Me, Brina, Seth, Becky, Ryan, Steven
Another fine evening of Beaujolais, Milla Jovovich, and time travel stories. I know it's getting a little cliché, but at least there were no photosensitive hedgehogs this time.
Winner: Ryan
Posted at 11:59 PM | Comments ()
November 19, 2004
Sometimes I imagine that my iPod gets heavier whenever I add more mp3s to it.
Posted at 12:08 PM | Comments ()
November 10, 2004
Are there countries in the world that disagree with the removal of Saddam Hussein from power? Not disagreement with the method that the U.S. used, but disagreement that he should have been removed at all? If not, I think all of the countries of the world working together could have certainly removed him from power without starting a war over it. Think about it -- how long could one country last against total trading sanctions and antagonizing relations with the rest of the world? Especially if every surrounding country (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Iran) were involved.
If there is disagreement with his removal from power, I think it would be interesting to hear the reasons.
Posted at 02:28 PM | Comments ()
November 08, 2004
A couple of garbage collectors chased a rat up my street.
Posted at 09:30 AM | Comments ()
November 04, 2004
I think I ate some lint along with the vitamin from my pocket.
Posted at 01:50 PM | Comments ()
When can we declare that we live in a theocracy?
Posted at 09:13 AM | Comments (2)
November 03, 2004
Seeing how everything turned out—pretty much the same as 2000—leads me to believe that people in general care more about being a Republican or being a Democrat than about the actual candidates. It's like a team that they've joined that they will always be faithful to. They don't look that hard at the people running for office, they just know that they've always been a Republican, their parents have always been Republican, their community has always been Republican. It doesn't really matter that the Democrat did better during the debates, as almost every independent source (if there really is such a thing) reported. It doesn't really matter that this Republican is particularly bad at foreign policy or that he wants to amend the Constitution to take away the rights of some people or that the economy kind of sucked for most people while he was in office. People want to stay with their team, as if this were some kind of sporting event.
I'm an Undeclared voter, but I can't say that I've ever voted for a Republican. However, I like to think that I would if the presiding Democrat made a mess of things. I wouldn't overlook the mess as most of the people in this country seem to have done. Please, people. Next time don't just automatically check that box next to the same party name. Read and think.
Posted at 10:09 AM | Comments (2)