Saturday began slowly for me. I rolled over and did not get started until after 9AM. I had written the blog on Friday, so I was not rushed, and the bed felt so good. I blew off my immobile bike riding and just went to breakfast. Often, I will make a special breakfast on Saturday morning, but not today–no stress morning. I did not need any more stress after the F**ked-up Friday, and I would be traveling and attending a family event in Michigan the following weekend–not exactly a relaxing fly-in and fly-out trip. So, it is best to take this slow and easy, and I did.
I started, though I am not happy with it, an essay for the US Naval Institute on using board games to build critical thinking. I will give it another try, but I suspect it will end up instead in 2600, again–that is what I did last time. I also plan an article for 2600 on why AI works and why it often fails. More on that later.
Aside: A guilt-free plug–my story on AI is included in the latest (Sunner 2023) 2600 Hacker Quarterly.
I also made a little kit for Richard. I connected a fire-like LED (you can find these on the internet) to a coin cell battery holder with a built-in on/off switch (Amazon). Richard wanted to see what it takes to light a building with a fire light. I added a small value resistor to stop the LED from burning out fast–impossible with a coin cell, but it makes me feel safe. I discovered that my heat shrinks are nearly out–I thought I ordered a small set, so I have some coming from Amazon soon. I shrink-wrapped the positive exposed lead and resistor and then used a larger wrap on the wires and the still exposed negative lead. It looks great. Ricard could just hot glue this into a model.
I discovered a bloom on Mister Lincoln; a bit heat-stressed but still lovely.
After all that, I showered, dressed, and remembered to put the newish game Ostia into the hold of Air Volvo. Air Volvo headed to Tigard. There was no real traffic on Saturday late morning in Beaverton. I saw unexpected lane changes and extra-legal driving through non-photo-enforced traffic lights on less busy intersections. I have not seen that here before–that is usually a California or East Coast thing–but some nav systems now inform a driver if the intersection is photo-monitored, allowing new extra-legal choices. Trying to remain legal at all times, I arrived safely at Susie’s place at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.
Susie was happy to see me, and we soon were enjoying the clear, warm day, almost 80F (27C) and still slightly humid. The park was not busy except for the usual dogs walking their humans and a fly that loved Susie and me. It would not go away. I found my favorite bench not in use, and soon, I occupied it with Susie next to me. We called Leta and Susie’s sister (mom and sister, respectively) on the iPhone and soon reached both to form a three-way call. Everyone on the call was cheerful, and we discussed some of my travel planning. Susie was tired and falling asleep in her wheelchair–she was fighting, I could see, to stay with us, but Morpheus could not be resisted. Susie was leaning forward, a hazard, and soon, we ended the call. I made the usual tour of Metzger Park, and we were chased by yellow jackets at one place with the wasps reacting to the spinning black wheel spokes (wasps don’t like things black and moving). We and the wasps were undamaged.
Returning to the hummingbird house, Susie decided to sit longer in her wheelchair–she was fighting against Morpheus again. We watched Only Murders in the Building, Season Two, while we shared a donut, and Susie washed it down with some Ensure–a few more calories for Susie, and she loves donuts. Evan appeared about 3/4 through the episode. Susie decided to move to her bed, and Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, got Susie comfy. We watched the next episode, but Susie nodded off, and I left a bit early. Susie was sorry to see me leave but was sleepy and wanted to rest. I went with a kiss and a promise to return for a more extended stay on Sunday–I usually spend Sunday afternoon in Susie’s room.
Air Volvo faced little traffic this holiday weekend, traveling to Portland from Tigard on Highway 5. I was soon at Rogue’s Ale in SE Portland off 9th Street. Evan joined me there, and we split a burger that was just huge. I had a Dead Guy (beer) and set up the board game Ostia, a Mancala mechanism-driven game (a new word for me). We had to remember how to play and a disk was missing (I think I remember that the game is short and you can use a spare to cover this), which delayed us while we searched for it.
Ostia is a resource and worker placement game with the Mancala driving your turn. You pick an action and then drop your ships around a port; the last ship placed gives you the second action. This means you need to think a few moves ahead. A main board is for exploring and capturing more options and resources. It took a while for this very different process and some anti-intuitive interactions to work into our thinking. I like the game, and it does not play too long, a feature I have begun to appreciate in many complex games. I won, but Evan was still trying to remember the rules so one does not count.
I ordered a hummus plate; it is Portland, so yes, there is always a veggie option with hummus at most bars. We consumed that with Pita bread (not entirely vegan) while playing the new incarnation of the board game Furnace: Interbellum. I like the new features and the setup. We did the quick setup as I was short on time–including randomly 24 original game cards plus all the Interbellum cards. The extra chip dail that you buy the value with coal is a very nice change. I was struggling, and Evan took the lead and beat the automated opponent by ten points–an excellent win.
With Evan’s win, I paid the bill, drove across Portland, sweltering in 85F with humidity (many in Portland adopt a beach-party-like clothing option in the summer), and soon reached Richard’s house. Tonight, another four-person Great Western Trail: New Zealand (GWTNZ) board game. Shawn, Richard, and I were in a rematch from last Saturday, and Kathleen joined us, the only newbie to the game. I described this game last week, so I will lightly cover the game.
I am finding that the games with the deck-building mechanic are becoming my favorite. Other games rely on other mark-driven mechanisms, and I find them fiddly, and we often find we miss something even after a half dozen plays. The clean-up in these games required to keep these markers correct also takes time away from the play and halts the game flow. GWTNZ just flows, and the rules are easy to understand. The iconography still confuses me, and there is a bit of meanness (you remove options from other players when you win them), but I think it is a pleasant game of sheep management and fun to play. Kathleen took the game with a huge score, with me ending at the bottom just below 100, but a good score, I guess.
Richard and I both tried to peanut-butter the game by doing many things. Shawn and Kathleen focused on high-point options that give things to do on each turn. Kathleen bought sheep, and Shawn built buildings, driving huge scores. GWTNZ seemed to want you to specialize to score huge–an important lesson, I think.
I drove Kathleen home after we spent 3:45 to play the game–it is just a bit too long for my taste. I am not sure it would play much faster on the next play with the same players. Still, I liked it.
There was a thunderstorm in Hillsboro when I arrived just after midnight, and I reheated some goulash to eat with my pills. I was soon asleep before 1AM. I slept through the storms.
Thanks for reading!
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