Cheese on the Move

Test Post against Google+

2011-08-21T21:59:00.000-05:00

Did I mention it's a test?

Second try

2011-08-09T10:04:00.000-05:00

Forgot to photo when I stopped yesterday, so I had to stop on way to airport for 'breakfast' because I'm way more scared of Sari than I am cardiac arrest.

(glad I stopped, for whatever reason, this one is pretty good. Faith is restored.)

Art History

2011-08-07T18:30:00.001-05:00

The Philadelphia Art Museum has over a dozen statues around it's grounds of varying historical significance. This is the line for people taking a picture of the Rocky statue. I believe it goes without saying that there were no lines for any other statue.

Whew, that was close

2011-08-06T17:45:00.002-05:00

Third place in semi-final RA! the Dice Game game. Do not advance, maybe can show my face around gaming circles again some day.

Crud

2011-08-06T15:21:00.002-05:00

Won quarterfinal game of RA! the Dice Game, and into the semis. Can't play Titan for a damn, but I apparently rule at multi-colored yatzee. Yay me. :-(

Semi-Final time

2011-08-06T10:04:00.001-05:00

So in semis, starting in a few minutes, which is cool. But trying to keep in mind that it's NHL here, 16 of the 40 persons who participated move on.

Humorous aside - I woke up at 6:15am CST on a Saturday for this, an hour earlier than I do for work. I apparently don't vacation very well.

Quiet day

2011-08-05T13:21:00.000-05:00

Not much to say about today. Up at 9:00, game of Tikal at 11:00 (was crushed), Titan at 2:00 (practice), Titan or Tikal at 6:00 (likely the latter because...), Wits & Wager showcase at 8:00 which I assume will be they're typical large-crowd game with teams of 8-10 each. Good fun, have dine it at GenCon a few times. Put on by the game creators, part game part sales pitch. Then a race to get some pizza delivered from a local place everyone recommends but closes at 10:00.

Short topic for today is city names of Pennsylvania. There are a lot of funny ones. Mist of these I've gotten from talking with locals, although ins the exit sign for my favorite one. In no particular order:
Peach
Plum
Indiana
Mars
Moon
Blue Ball
Intercourse
Climax
Buck
and my favorite
King of Prussia

Unless something unexpected happens, see you tomorrow from the Titan semis.

Maybe the night isn't quite done

2011-08-04T22:28:00.000-05:00

So I rinsed the gamer stank off of me and decided to buck-up and look for a good beer in Pennsylvania. Infinitely harder than it sounds (more on that later, legal problems, not brewer's desires). So looked around and found a mere 30 miles away (more on that later too) the lovely Stoudt's Black Angus Restaurant. Good steak, friendly staff, nice selection of micro-brews. Beers were good, not excellent. Favorite by far was the ESB (pictured), a solid tribute to the English bitter.

Into the Black

2011-08-04T18:31:00.000-05:00

That's it for today. I need a real meal and some time away. May be participating in a 9am Circus Maximus session tomorrow - dude GMing it is really cool and he uses little horse figurines and everything.

And Ted, when my whip hand veers a fellow charioteer into the wall, it'll be in honor of you!

Oh, shit...

2011-08-04T16:07:00.000-05:00

I just won the game of RA! the Dice Game. I'm now in the semi-final on Saturday. I don't know the last time I was this embarrassed. I probably should duck it; if word gets out I'll never be taken seriously as a gamer. It's a travmockeryaster.

Another win, and a lesson learned

2011-08-04T15:02:00.000-05:00

Yay me, a second win and I'm in the semi-finals. Convincing win, but against not great competition. So 9:00am Saturday begins the most Important Game of Titan IN MY LIFE!!! An event I rank, in anticipation, somewhere between finding a good beer in Lancaster County and my next successful trip to the rest room (irregular schedule and menus have not been my friend and I'll leave it at that...).

And lesson learned. I knew I needed to walk away from the Titan area and do something else, which was the demo for 7 Wonders, but it turned out to be a silly card/economy game I had no interest in. So I went back to familiar lands, gig in a Titan game at last second and was out in seven turns. So now I'm in a room waiting for a heat of RA! The Dice Game to start. Have pity on my soul (James would understand).

Day Two

2011-08-04T12:10:00.000-05:00

Third hour of first Titan game in progress. Down to two, but my lead is deteriorating after a series of sub-par movement rolls. Still, I have confidence.

First big disappointment found in Lancaster County - it's Coca-Cola land. Sad face.

Streak is over

2011-08-03T20:42:00.000-05:00

I say streak, but it was only two games. Then again, it lasted for ten hours. Nothing much to say about the game itself - I fell behind early and failed to gain ground in a number of different ways. A well deserved loss.

So one if the highlights of this conference is how well run it is. The picture is one of the examples. Every game is listed in different formats in different places. The main program has all events listed both by time (it's 9pm, here is all of the events happening, what round/heat it is, etc) and by specific games (in one line has location, GM, days of heats and of semis and final).

But that's obvious, it's what a program does. But in the rooms, the info is regurgitated in different ways that really works well. Back to the picture: that's one side of a triangular stand. The graphic makes finding the game tables from a distance simple in these huge rooms. This side has, right to left and top to bottom, GM picture and name, dates and times of rounds, color-coded by normal, semi and finals, all of the previous winners. Doesn't sound impressive in print, but it's so damned useful when looking for where you need to be.

Have a minute, quick note on sake. Games are played in five or six different rooms. Ballrooms have about twenty tables each, and big room has at least a hundred. Plus open gaming room mentioned previously. 101 games played in tournament form, and I'm told attendance is just over a thousand (I'd have guessed 1300).

More tomorrow, although likely to more of the same. Unless I play one more Titan game at 10pm tonight. Stupid, should Yuengling and sleep, but the siren calls.

Round 2!

2011-08-03T18:25:00.000-05:00

Facing off against one of the favorites in the Titan 2s elimination tourney. He's way smarter than me. And he has a way nicer car. No, seriously, he does. It's a Tesla. He has two. FML. But other than playing verrrryyyyy slowly, seems like a decent fellow. Back to the game...

Thought I was nervous before?

2011-08-03T16:49:00.001-05:00

http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbkex/ttnpge.htm

Just finished a game with Aaron (2010, see link) and David (2009). Apparently they are two of the three MIT Guys. And... Victory! And only took six-and-a-half hours. So now that I know I can play, I'll be disappointed to miss the finals. But too early to be thinking wood, still some sheep shearing to be done.

Win!

2011-08-03T10:33:00.000-05:00

Won first game of Titan 2s (two-player bracket tourney). Winning roll below, came down to a tie-break because of mutual death, so I needed five dice above 3. Next match is against either 3-time champ or guy that beats him.

Firsts

2011-08-02T22:16:00.000-05:00

Played first competitive game at the WBC (RA! - 2nd place). Ran into first person I recognized (from GenCon). About to have first Yuengling beer (tough to find beer for sale, different post topic) which I am concerned about, as the case cost $19.50. (Yes, case, see previous note)

Picture is of the open gaming room here. Gorgeous big room, with about sixty well-spaced tables and a fame library of nearly 1000 games. Yes, I'm excited about it.

Food

2011-08-02T19:43:00.000-05:00

Sari made me do it. Had a very nice meal at near-by diner, want to say named Jennifer's Diner. Nothing fancy, but very solid diner, type of place with some soul in the food (more Curve than general Greek family place).
Had what is apparently a central Penn staple meal, fried chicken. My two veggies were carrot and mashed potatoes. If only I'd known that trick as a kid. Unexpectedly, the rolls were the star of the show - best rolls I can remember having, simple but perfect. $14.50 with soda.

Anyway, that was mostly for Sari/my safety. Off to play RA!

Where's Chuckles?

2011-08-02T09:37:00.000-05:00

(that's my nickname at work. Only one person uses it, hasn't caught on, but I appreciate the effort)

Those of you with a keen eye will of course recognize that view as gates B33-B38 in Terminal 1 of the Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky airport. I know, looks more like Terminal 3, but I took photo from tricky angle.

Bored but fed, so better mood. Another hour crammed in a small plane seat and I'm free.

Shoes

2011-08-02T07:05:00.000-05:00

Anyone that feels safer for having to take your shoes off to get on an airplane, raise your hand. Anyone that's embarrassed to be an American barefoot in an airport, raise your hand.

Not an encouraging start to my week. Maybe Econ class on Delta will pick up my spirits...

Vacation

2011-08-02T06:10:00.000-05:00

I continually fail to understand how it is that I wake up far earlier on vacations than I do in real life.

Plane to catch.

Potosi

2010-11-20T13:09:00.001-06:00

Road trip to the re-opened Potosi Brewery Co. The beer is nice, not spectacular. But they have a beer museum that is more than worth visiting - an excellent and extensive collection of Wisconsin beer history.

All done.

2010-08-27T14:38:00.004-05:00

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-04-16/restaurants/heat-rises-pappy-s-smokehouse-elevates-humble-barbecue-to-ethereal-heights/

What I want to say, but don't have the words for.

...and into home.

2010-08-27T13:14:00.000-05:00

Minutes away from a full rack of ribs and, I suspect, a serious nap on the way home.

Rounding the corner...

2010-08-27T13:08:00.000-05:00

Pappy's one more time!

2010-08-27T12:56:00.000-05:00

So we knew we weren't going to get to Pappy's early, so we waited until 1:00 to avoid lunch rush. And here's the line. In the overflow hallway around the second corner. Behind 40 others in the main line. I tell you, this place is awesome.

and Arch by day

2010-08-27T12:16:00.000-05:00

It is really hard to get any shot that visually explains what it's like near the arch. And that's because it really a physical, visceral experience. Just walking up to it gives vertigo, and it gives different perspectives from nearly every spot around it. Basically, you have to see it in person. It's impressive.

And I'll say the same for St Louis. Good place to visit. Lots if things and places done well, with very friendly people. Worth the trip.

Arch by night

2010-08-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

Had an unsuccessful dinner Thursday night at Morgan Street Brewery in Old St Louis. Average beer (they made a Dark Pilsner, still have no idea what that was) and barely average food, combined with an incompetent waiter - that story I'll only tell live because it'll involve hand gestures, voices and many of the seven words you can't say on TV.

Penguins!!

2010-08-27T11:51:00.001-05:00

Thursday afternoon was spent at City Park*, St Louis Zoo and Science Center. Big, beautiful park they made in the middle-ish of city. Zoo was nice, but doesn't compare to Milwaukee Zoo, except maybe in two areas: Herpetological Building and the new Penguin habitat. Penguins (and puffins) had a great area to hang out and swim, and it's nearly completely open - had a penguin swimming within touching range, close enough to splash you. Very very cool.
Science center was small but alright. Nothing more to say on that.

*Lots of plainly named things in St Louis, people don't seem to screw around with that. City Museum, City Park, bars and restaurants named after owner's name like Pappy's, Joe's, Johnny's, or even our hotel's bar, the Brew House. I know it's like that other places too, but seems just a bit more so here.

Return to Pappy's!!

2010-08-26T18:11:00.000-05:00

Thursday lunch was at Pappy's, and once again it was the best ribs I've ever had. And best smoked turkey. Brisket was strong, but I have very little brisket experience, and deep down believe that it may not hold up to Texas brisket... will have to find out someday.

But the ribs, I have no more words, so I'll let James speak, "smokey, delicious meat, no sauce required".

P.S. Yes, that's the same photo from February, but it was the same amount of awesome, so deal.

P.P.S. And it will be the same picture tomorrow.

"Our food is better than it has to be"

2010-08-26T16:07:00.003-05:00

http://www.johnnysinsoulard.com/

Since Spitzbarth has already filthied up this site my mother also reads, here the link to a bar we stopped at in historic Soulard Wednesday night. It was recommended to us by the hotel concierge who described as being "like a Hooters, but the girls get to wear their own clothes so they're not as covered up".

Another shot...

2010-08-26T12:29:00.000-05:00

A little train-porn for Ed

2010-08-26T12:27:00.000-05:00

So the original St Louis Union Station is now a mall. Nice make, great architecture. And a small museum with a very nice model oval. Couldn't get any good shots with actual train because of plexiglass glare, but this one is nice.

St Louis may have a secret

2010-08-26T10:34:00.001-05:00

***Update as Ed is confused - this was Wednesday night dinner***
So, while St Louis may claim title to being the barbecue capital of the country/world, turns out they may not be referring to smoked meats served in restaurants, but rather that nearly everyone grills at home. Except they don't grill, they barbecue. Which is great for them, but is doing me no particular favor.

That's not to say there aren't ribs and pulled pork to found - there are, see above. But there are not a plethora. Everyone we talk to (and it's easy to talk, friendliest people I've met) always gives the same listing when asked for best barbecue places: Pappy's, Smoking Joe's and no where else. A couple of places used to be good, but have had recent changes in ownership (there is no agreement of where Fat Tony has gone, except that he 'had to' leave and the food there is no longer as good).

So, to the Iron Barley we went. And wonderful food was again had (I was there in February). We ate outside in the back garden, with some live music being played. Sat at the bar, and ended up talking for an hour with Tom, the owner. Good guy, good place.

Pick a video to watch ( if link doesn't work, just google Iron Barley), they give a good idea of the place. It's serious food, but with a small bar/restaurant feel.
http://www.google.com/m/search?&q=iron%20barley

(for the record, James had seared piece of Prime rib smothered with peppers and onions with a piece of blaster pie for dessert - homemade ice-cream cheesecake thing with Tabasco whipcream and habenaro sauce. I merely had a deconstructed duck apple feta cheese salad and schnitzel with speatzle (pictured))

City Museum

2010-08-26T09:54:00.001-05:00

http://www.citymuseum.org/video.html

Went to this Wednesday afternoon, and the delay is in that I have no words or pictures to describe it. It is in name a museum, but in practice a ten-story playground, for children and adults (buy really children).

I haven't seen the video, but I hope it gives some sense of it. Absolutely fabulous, and worth the drive to St Louis alone - I wished the whole day I was 10 again.

Alright, to business

2010-08-25T20:57:00.001-05:00

Smoking Joe's Bar-Be-Que

A young restaurant, 18-months-old, it's a 'refined' barbecue place. And by that I mean it has menus and table service. And meat... lots of meat. What you see is the double portion combo meal: 1/4 pound each of chicken and brisket and half-rack of ribs. Brisket was solid, just a touch dry. Chicken and ribs had the same rub (major rosemary flavor) and enough to form a crust. James really liked the ribs, I a little less but good. Sides were nondescript across the board.

All-in-all, pretty good start. But this leads to a potential problem, which I'll get to later (teaser!).

On the Road

2010-08-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

Back on the road, a day later than planned. Had an unexpected visit yesterday from an old college friend in town for an interview, so delayed leaving. But going now and half-way to St Louis.

LSU Campus

2010-02-19T13:33:00.000-06:00

None of the pictures I took really captured the beauty of the LSU
campus, which if filled with red-tiled Spanish-style building and
georgeous hundred-year oaks, put this picture does capture well one of
it's tastefully named buildings.

Maybe the most distinguishing feature of my visit though was the
complete absence of any students. It was a Sunday during a long
weekend (they get off for start of Mardi Gras) but there was literally
zero sign of any students. I'd been told it was a suitcase college,
but didn't understand the scope. Was on campus for over an hour and
saw no one outside of a maintanence staff member. Wierd.

Zeus

2010-02-19T13:26:00.001-06:00

Baton Rouge

2010-02-19T13:26:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures from Baton Rouge, LA. Almost a week late, has
been hard to find spare time.

Despite my leaving Louisiana two days before Fat Tuesday - who made
this stupid itinerary?!? - I still got a fine taste of Mardi Gras, in
the form of a parade. It was put on by the Posidean Krewe and although
I was small, on a cold evening and (gasp!) family friendly, still the
coolest parade I've ever been too. And not necessarily because of the
quality of floats or other entries, but because of the spirit of the
crowd. Only one row of people deep where we were on the three mile
route, but happy and enthusiastic and just straight fun. I even
managed to start to understand the fever over having beads thrown at
your head and called loudly for some near the end. All in all, an
excellent taste of an element of what Mardi Gras could be, enough to
make attending a Fat Tuesday in Louisiana a task that needs to be
completed.

Sunday night...

2010-02-15T01:34:00.000-06:00

...and out of sequence. Spent all day getting from LA to St Louis. 660
miles, should have only taken 9 hours. But hit wind/sleet/ice in south
Missouri and it wasn't good. Long story short, I'm fine and it took 12
hours total. So no time today for covering LA activities.

But have excellent hotel, picture is view out of window. Note Arch and
snow. Very nice room, small single but very well appointed. Only
downside is no free Wi-Fi. How is one supposed to live?

Good night.

This isn't right

2010-02-13T18:58:00.001-06:00

My view as I was passing by Jackson, Mississippi. I didn't travel 900
miles south so I could see snow out my window. Crazy.

Memphis BBQ

2010-02-13T17:26:00.000-06:00

Sadly, not much to report from Memphis. Got in too late to tour
Graceland, hotel was near Beale Street, but Beale Street isn't much
more than two blocks of bars and bad gift shops. Also, it doesn't
start hopping until later on the evening, and I had a very early wake-
up call.
But I did get a taste of a signature Memphis rib, from The Rendeavous.
Place was neat in structure, an alley entrance neatly hid off the main
road, and a sprawling basement restaurant, with tablecloths! It's a
charcoal cooked rib, with an odd vinegar baste, not going to become my
favorite.

Schlafly's

2010-02-13T16:55:00.000-06:00

A native St Louis brewpub, founded in 1991, well in front of the micro-
brew trend. Place feels a lot like Great Dane, but the beer's not
nearly as good. The beers (well, the eight I had sample-sizes of) had
an over-arching yeast taste, which occurs a lot in micro-beers but
I've never enjoyed. Friendly place though, glad I stopped.

Next up, Memphis.

One more Pappy's post

2010-02-12T21:12:00.000-06:00

Picture of the store front and the overflow smoker. It running,
prepping food for Friday's large crowd.

The Aftermath

2010-02-12T21:10:00.001-06:00

Took about half the time you think it did to create this scene.

Couple of notes I forgot above: food is cooked only one day in
advance. If they miscount, or you get there late, bad news for you - I
was there about 7:00 and they were already out of turkey.
There is sauce at the table, but the ribs themselves are smoked
completely dry, rub only (4-6 hours). I now know I am a dry-rub rib guy.
All of the (good) rib places I've stopped at are tiny little places
with the menu on the wall and maybe a dozen seats. No tablecloths,
menus, ect. In fact, from what little I've learned so far, if a place
has metal silverware, it doesn't have elite BBQ

Best. Ribs. Ever.

2010-02-12T20:56:00.000-06:00

At least, the best ribs I've ever had. It's a plate from Pappy's
Smokehouse in St Louis. Pitmaster Mike and two of his friends opened
the place in 2008. Mike has been making ribs for 20+ years, and about
four years ago won the Memphis contest (they assure me it's a big
deal). Blah blah blah, Pappy's is opened and I dug into this pile of
perfectly applewood smoked slab of ribs.

PS: that's a deep fried cob of corn sitting there. Not better than a
grilled and buttered cob, but interesting and tasty in it's own way.

PSS: one dissapointment, margarine only, no butter for the potato.
The things we take for granted in Wisconsin...

Yet more Arch

2010-02-11T20:45:00.001-06:00

More the Arch

2010-02-11T20:44:00.000-06:00

The Gateway Arch

2010-02-11T20:43:00.001-06:00

Could rattle on here for awhile, but I won't. If you've ever been awed
by a structure or monument seen in person, you'll know how I felt
seeing this. And if you haven't, I don't have the words to describe it.

But I will say, I've seen a number of large man-made objects, but
nothing approaching the elegance of this arch. It's the scope plus the
elegance that stunned me.

And if ever visit and don't ride to top, you are missing out. View is
crap, as it looks out over East and Non-Post-Apocalyptic St Louis, but
the ride up is something else.

The Iron Barley

2010-02-11T20:27:00.000-06:00

Wow. I'm just in love with this place. May recognize the name, as
they were recently visited by the spikey blonde haired guy from Food
Channel (they say it's insanely increased their business).

Picture is of the lunch special, beef stroganoff on spetzle. Simple
dish, but pitch-perfect in taste. It was accompanied by an Altbier
designed by the owner and created of Iron Barley, Tom. Designed, as
it's his reciepe, brewed by local brewery, The Stables (a little
something on them later).
So, great food, fab beer, and friendly company. Fabulous introduction
to St Louis.

Horseshoe

2010-02-11T13:34:00.000-06:00

Not the best photo, but it gets the idea across. Apparently a native
Springfield creation, the one had is described as follows: two pieces
of toasted Texas toast; a pound of ground beef, bacon and onions; a
crap-load of fries; and a couple of laddles of cheese sauce. Note:
better cheese sauce than you'd expect - not a cheddar sauce, but far
above a cheese-whiz situation. It was both disgusting and tasty at the
sane time.

Other interesting observation was the tap beer selection. Short list
of six - Irish bar staples of Guinness (well poured but meh),
Smithwicks and Harp, a Sam Adams seasonal, Miller Lite and, the
surprise, Lienie's Sunset Wheat. That's it, that's the list. Odd.

All in all, glad o stopped to get a taste of Springfield uniqueness,
but if I were passing by, I'd hold out until St Louis (next postings).

Mini On the Move

2009-08-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Evening at the Union. Little chilly, but very, very nice.

Done

2009-08-16T11:23:00.001-05:00

This is me in the car headed home. Only noon and have some gaming left
in me, but it's a car pool and there are different levels of tuckered
being toted home. Not a big deal, just always hate for a great
experience to end.

Final total (mostly, at least what I can remember): 5 new games
learned; 7+ plays of Dominion; 4 of Power Grid; 3 of Cave Troll; 2 Ra!
the Dice game; 1 each of Race for the Galaxy, Alhambra, Titan(!), Wits
and Wagers; 6 hours of anime watched and 3 of Asian film -
Hellavator!; several friends met, dinners had and drinks consumed; and
lots and lots of walking.

Representative table

2009-08-16T08:19:00.000-05:00

The main role-playing room

2009-08-16T08:17:00.000-05:00

Crazy large, and surprisingly well populated at 8:30am Sunday. But as
large as it is, only a portion of the space in and around the
conference center given over to role playing.

Long shot

2009-08-15T22:07:00.002-05:00

Forgot to mention, Union Station is the site of the GenCon dance.
Nearly all of re attendees are in costum. Quite the sight.

Window detail

2009-08-15T22:07:00.001-05:00

Union Station

2009-08-15T22:01:00.000-05:00

1 of 3 photos (can't attach multiple shots). Dark and iPhone doesn't
do it justice. Very cool building.

Blasphemous detail

2009-08-15T14:14:00.000-05:00

Detail from earlier motorcycle.

(sorry Mom)

Super Big POWER GRID!!!

2009-08-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

Teddy made the Finals for Power Grid. Wll done Ted!!

Cardhalla

2009-08-15T10:44:00.000-05:00

Donate, Build, Destroy. The only Charles approved use of Magic the
Gathering cards.

Insane

2009-08-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

At the Art Show now. Lots of dragons, wizards, zombies, etc... And
also this bike. It's even more insane in person.

TARDIS

2009-08-15T09:33:00.000-05:00

Found one!

More LEGO

2009-08-14T19:21:00.000-05:00

LEGO pirate ship game. They make LEGO pirate ships and sail them
against each other, using the floor as the ocean, firing cannons and
knocking little men off of the boat.

Found them

2009-08-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

They customize LEGO figures and stuff. Very nice people.

Which one should I get Ed?

ra!

2009-08-14T13:23:00.000-05:00

Say hi to ra! The Dice Game. Just like RA! but with dice.

Power Grid!

2009-08-14T07:34:00.000-05:00

8am start! What the hell was I thinking?!?

Waffles

2009-08-14T07:02:00.000-05:00

Now, I say a lot of bad things about Indianapolis, but to fair that's
only because it's a horrible place. But it does seem to have waffles
going for it. Every hotel I've stayed at here - from fancy to airport-
fleabag, they have had waffles available. Decent too. The one below is
from the Hyatt buffet (made to order), but at the dump I stayed at
years ago, the continental setup had a waffle-maker and batter machine
for make-your-own.

Ironically, at my one visit to the famed Waffle House chain here,
waffle was terrible.

This is still Joe.

2009-08-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

Turns out that he is waaaay better at Ritan than I. It took another 75
minutes, but he indeed won, handily.

I thought I was near the top percentile of Titan players, given my
experiences playing during the last 20 years. Turns out there are
levels of play I was not aware of. My love of Titan has been
reinvigorated.

Thank you Joe, for the game and company. Looking forward to more games
this weekend. Lucky cocksucker... ;-)

(Sorry Mom, but needed to be said)

This is Joe.

2009-08-13T21:18:00.000-05:00

Joe and I are the last two players in the Titan game. It's been four
hours. It's a close game.

Titan!

2009-08-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite parts of coming to GenCon, a chance to play Titan.
Game takes between 4-6 hours, unless you get knocked out early. First
one out tonight in 40 minutes. For anyone who's still reading this,
that is the new edition board from Valley Games.

Blurry

2009-08-13T15:04:00.000-05:00

I wish my iPhone had an S after it. Sorry, but best picture I could
get of the figures from the game Cave Troll! Cute little game, very
harmless. The three of moved our Heroes and Monsters around a dungeon,
fighting over gold and treasure. That's my cave troll... he's very
blue.

The Boys say Hi

2009-08-13T13:03:00.000-05:00

Hi.

Sorry Ed, best I could do

2009-08-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

Capital building by night

2009-08-12T20:01:00.001-05:00

Made it

2009-08-12T19:41:00.000-05:00

Badges picked up, black tee shirts dumped in a pile, time for beer and
food before a few late night games.

Love this sign

2009-08-12T16:30:00.001-05:00

Best shot I could get. Hopefully picture doesn't get mangled importing
into Blogger. Clicking should expand picture (I think).

Note: 10 miles down the road is Zionsville.

More Road!

2009-08-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

Indiana's side of I-294! Seriously, it's a boring drive. But only 165
miles to go.

On the Road!

2009-08-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

I-294 outside Chicago. What can I say, it's a boring rude to Indy.

Working, believe it or not

2009-07-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

View from Monona Terrace

Strawberries!

2009-06-10T11:33:00.000-05:00

Chicago

2009-06-06T19:58:00.000-05:00

Chicago is hard for my small town brain to get around. Stopped at a
friend's place in Shaumberg, suburb of Chicago, then drove an hour
towards Chicago to Oak Park, another burb, and yet one of the tallest
buildings in the world is hard to make out on this photo. Damn, but
it's all Big.

Strictly speaking...

2009-06-05T17:41:00.000-05:00

not on the move. Of far away from home. But it is Friday and a view
from the Terrace, so allowances were made. More soon.

Ricky Jay

2009-02-28T17:12:00.002-06:00

Nothing to do with nothing, except I love Ricky Jay and this is a damned fine card trick.

Yes, that's an Atari 520

2009-02-09T11:09:00.001-06:00

Or in that ballpark. What you can't tell from this shot is that there
are about twenty more if these, and they're networked together for a
game called Midi-Maze. It's essentially a 3-D maze (looks much like
old maze screensaver from Windows 95 days) in which you are a colored
smiley ball, shooting at other colored smiley balls. Yes, very old
school deathmatching.

Main room

2009-02-07T23:18:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture if the main room. Compared to pictures from GenCon,
not much. After all, it really is just a gathering of 200-300 people
with an interest in gaming over a weekend in Minneapolis. But taken on
it's own, Con of the North is at it's heart an event hosted by a
couple of local people, which originated as a gathering of friends,
and has now grown into a yearly, well organized event. And in fact,
even now with entry fees, t-shirts, programs and reserved hotel space,
it's hard to remember that it is still run only by a couple and some
of their friends. Buy it Is and Thanks to all.

Look into the Face of Suckiness

2009-02-06T17:15:00.000-06:00

Johnny says Hi

2009-01-31T19:45:00.000-06:00

Hockey!

2009-01-31T19:42:00.000-06:00

Finally, made it to a Badger hockey game. 0-0 after one, but we were
the better team. If that can be maintained for 40 more minutes, ought
to win.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T22:32:00.002-06:00

One of the many things I give thanks for, for it never fails to make me smile:

Cave of the Mounds

2008-09-27T15:39:00.000-05:00

Slowed down for a bit and went through the Cave of the Mounds. Hard to
get a feel for the experience with a photo, but I add one anyway.

On the Road

2008-09-27T12:38:00.000-05:00

Literally on the move today. My friend John very kindly invited me
along on a car rally. Bunch of people get together and drive their
fancy cars from one place to another, eschewing a variety of things -
shortest distance, speed limits, roads with painted lines, etc.
Today's trip is from Rockford to the Dells. Details to follow as I
find out.

Picture is of the cars participating. Mostly British cars, Lotus the
main ones.

Golf Outing!

2008-09-09T18:17:00.000-05:00

DOW golf outing was today, and the old truism has never been more true
- A bad day golfing is better than a good day at work. And it was a
very good day golfing...

Go Badgers!

2008-09-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

Great day for a game.

Home

2008-08-17T20:28:00.000-05:00

Made it home without event. Definately prettier here than Indy. And
with just enough time for nap before bed. Good night.

Day Four

2008-08-17T08:26:00.000-05:00

It's the last day, and GenCon has the equivalent of a giant hangover.
All of the same things are happening as before, just slower, quieter
and with sense that you may not live through the day although you know
you will.

Photo is of the main boardgame room where I spent a majority of my
time. Nearly 200 tables set up, and it was almost full yesterday
afternoon.

That's it for me from GenCon I think ( unless something incredible is
seen). Hopefully one more game gets played with our core group, then
packing up an driving home. Thanks for following along, it was really
fun doing this.

Where there is anime

2008-08-16T17:37:00.001-05:00

There are cosplayers. One sample from a hundred.

The Ram 2

2008-08-16T15:52:00.000-05:00

What can I say? Downtown Indy offers less choose that you'd think.
But The Ram is cool, even if it's a chain. The owner is The Keeper of
GenCon Lore (google it) and caters to GenCon attendees. So it's
always busy, but entertaining when you can get in. They make their
own, real good, beer, and he themes the place out for geeks - this
Spaceballs playing on the main screen and there being a Butthead Amber
Ale (couldn't get past the lighting for a good picture).

Power Grid again

2008-08-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

Yep, another game of Power Grid and another game not won by me. But
this was even fun that the last, with much more of the Chicgo crew
represented. Top to bottom, Conductor Don, Teddy Bear and Tony aka
Dixon the Destroyer. Buke Liberty looks on in the foreground,
wondering why the hell this foolishness has interrupted what could
have a Nap for the Ages.