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Beerguyrob

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,

Reading Sunday Gravy this morning, I was struck at how many people from the site have already been partially vaccinated. Given that over 61 million Americans have already gotten at least one shot – and a couple of ‘grandmothers’ tried to get their second – it reminds me of how circumstance can intervene to further wreck an already broken system.

When the vaccines were announced, the Canadian government had some decisions to make. They chose to go with European distributors, rather than closer US ones. The logic of the Trudeau government seemed sound – since it seems likely that Trump would seize all US-made product & prevent offshore sales, Canada needed to ensure smooth supply from somewhere else. Then Biden won, and the Warp Speed production (gonna give Trump that credit) fell into the hands of people who believed in science & not some space ghost that determines your afterlife. Stable supply plus semi-competent distribution has led to 1-in-6 Americans receiving their first jab, including (thankfully) my Mom.

Meanwhile, in Canada, we fell victim to production disruptions from our European suppliers and inefficient vaccination strategies that fell victim to bureaucratic incompetence & identity politics. We don’t have the capacity to make any on our own until 2022 due to Conservative government funding cuts back in 2015 eliminating pandemic response procedures. We’ve only managed 1.4 million shots – a 3% success rate, the worst in the developed world. The federal & provincial governments had four months to plan a rollout, and it seems like BC came up with, “uhh…by age?” the night before the press conference. As someone in the 50-59 age range & also a teacher, I’m not expected to get my first shot until (hopefully) July.

I don’t know if I have a point here, but I just needed to vent.

Tonight’s sports:

  • NHL:
    • Montreal vs Ottawa – 7:00pm | Sportsnet
    • Philadelphia vs Boston – 7:00pm | NBCSN / Sportsnet1
      • This was supposed to be in the afternoon, but the Saturday game proved you can’t play hockey in the sun.
    • Winnipeg vs Vancouver – 10:00pm | NHLN
  • NBA:
    • Philadelphia vs Toronto – 7:00pm | TSN3
    • Brooklyn vs LA Clippers – 8:00pm | ESPN / Sportsnet360
  • NCAA:
    • Butler at Xavier – 7:00pm | FS1
  • Futbol:
    • Liga MX:
      • Tijuana vs U. de N. Leon – 8:00pm | TUDN

Comment gently my children, for tomorrow is work.

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Beerguyrob

JJ Watt has a sense of humour.

https://twitter.com/jjwatt/status/1363674914306293762?s=21

1
bk109

After spending your entire career surrounded by the likes of BOB you either develop one … or become a spree shooter … so far he’s chosen the right answer 😛

1
Viva La Tabula Raza

So, I’m watching this BBC travel show on Amazon Prime called “By Any Means” featuring Charley Boorman (Son of director John Boorman). First leg (6 one-hour episodes) of the trip is from Ireland to Sydney Australia, second leg (6 hrs again) from Sydney to Tokyo, using any and all means of transport except commercial air. Got me to thinking about where in the world I have been in my life, and thought it would be interesting to make a list of those places. Chronologically:
1959-1962: Mansfield MA

1962-1965: Biloxi MS, Sacramento CA, Clark Air Base Philippines

1966-1970: Alexandria VA and Fort Meade MD (dad was attached to NSA)

1970-1973: Karamursel Turkey. Travelled all over Turkey during that time. We camped through Europe on our way back to the US in June 1973 in my dad’s Jeepster Commando and drove through and camped in Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Germany. Dad shipped the Jeep back to the states from Bremerhaven.

1973-1976: Biloxi MS, Redlands CA (did several camping trips down the Baja during our CA stay, and of course all the National Parks in that state).

1976: My dad was assigned to the US Military Advisory and Assistance Group in Tehran, Iran. We spent a little time there but it looked like it was going to get hairy (as it eventually did) so me and mom came back to the states after a couple months.

1976-1981: San Antonio TX

1981-1985 (Navy service, some locations visited multiple times): San Diego CA, Corpus Christi TX, Yokosuka Japan, British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego Garcia), Al Masirah/Muscat Oman, Mombasa Kenya, Male Maldive Islands, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Phuket Thailand, Pattaya Thailand, Perth Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, Seoul South Korea, Pusan South Korea, Shimoda Japan, Sasebo Japan, Subic Bay Philippines

1985-present: San Antonio and Bulverde TX

1998-2019: Places my job with the USAF has taken me (and not necessarily in this order, and not necessarily just one time): Rhein-Main Air Base, Ramstein AB, Spangdahlem AB Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, RAF Croughton UK, Lake Como/Milan/Florence/Aviano AB/Venice/Trieste Italy, Lajes Field Azores Portugal, Switzerland, Istanbul/Adana/Incirlik AB Turkey, Gus Grissom ARB (Kokomo) IN, Scott AFB IL, Wright Patterson AFB/AF Plant 36 (Evendale)/AF Plant 82 (Columbus) OH, Hanscom AFB MA, Beale AFB CA, Offutt AFB NE, Holloman AFB NM, Kabul/Kandahar/Shindand Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq

I think I’ve set foot in all of the lower 48 and Hawaii over the years (never Alaska though). Been to every continent except S. America and Antarctica. I’m sure I missed listing a few places. Still, that’s a bit of travel, and yet there’s a lot of places I never got to that I would have liked to (New Zealand, Scotland, Nepal/Sikkim/Bhutan, and many more). I think at my age and with my medical conditions, my globe-trotting days are over. It was a good ride, though.

It’s pretty late, I might post this again tomorrow evening.

Last edited 5 years ago by Viva La Tabula Raza
3
ballsofsteelandfury

That’s pretty awesome!

I have a world map with pins showing everywhere I’ve traveled. The pins are color- coded to show how I got there.

White = car or bus
Black = train
Blue = airplane
Green = airplane layover
Orange = boat

It’s not as filled out as yours would be, but I’m pretty happy with it. There are very few places I haven’t been that I’d like to go to.

1
Viva La Tabula Raza

Nice color coding idea. I’d probably only confuse myself if I tried to attempt that.

0
Beerguyrob

You could send it long-form to me & we could make a whole post out of it. Start a series of offseason bits about travel & postings.

Something like, “I woke up where? – [DFO] On The Road”.

2
Viva La Tabula Raza

I composed it on a Word doc. give me an email addy and I will forward. I can probably flesh it out with some more details. Balls has my private email if you want to keep it on the downlow.

Last edited 5 years ago by Viva La Tabula Raza
2
Beerguyrob

beerguyrob at gmail

Take as long as you need. The content monster will always take extra food.

1
Viva La Tabula Raza

I did forget, from USAF job: NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center MD, NASA JPL Pasadena CA, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma AZ.

Last edited 5 years ago by Viva La Tabula Raza
1
bk109

Speaking of good Charley Boorman documentary series, you (and the rest of the DFO faithful) may want to give “The Long Way //X//” series a try – it’s basically him and Ewan MacGregor doing a bike trip Around the world, Down from Scotland to South Africa and Up from Argentina to LA 😉

2
Beerguyrob

I watched all three during the rehab. Good times without being too “bro”.

1
bk109

It helps when the two presenters are a bit more mature and “well travelled” to have enough to speak about without … well, becomming as dull/mundane/faux-excited as the standard reality fare these days

1
Dunstan

Speaking of singer-songwriters who I came across too late in life, Glen Campbell was a gem.

2
Viva La Tabula Raza

Plus, excellent studio guitarist on early Beach Boys.

1
Dunstan

Did not know that. Thanks!

0
Viva La Tabula Raza

I might be wrong. He might have been a touring guitarist, not a studio guitarist. I am durnk.
Edit: It was both.

Last edited 5 years ago by Viva La Tabula Raza
0
Brick Meathook

Glen Campbell was part of “The Wrecking Crew,” the unofficial name for the top L.A. session musicians who played for Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” studio recordings.

2
Brick Meathook

He also had several hit records, a network TV variety show, and starred in several movies, including the first True Grit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_kbgjsuCec

0
Brick Meathook

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Brick Meathook

This is probably the best article I’ve read about the whole Gamestop stock thingy. It’s probably behind a paywall but if you can get to it it’s pretty good:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-stock-trading-dupe-is-born-every-minute-11613933258?mod=hp_opin_pos_3

1
Doktor Zymm

If you were describing a hippopotamus to someone who had never seen one before, how would you do it?

0
ArmedandHammered

Mama June from Honey BooBoo but more intelligent.

5
ArmedandHammered

Oh, and better parenting instincts.

3
King Hippo

triggered!!!

0
Doktor Zymm

Hulu has 10 movies it classifies as “Classics” and half of them are made after 1980. Why even bother having that as a category?

0
Horatio Cornblower

Didn’t Ted Turner buy up all the rights to broadcast for old movies?

0
BrettFavresColonoscopy

You’re thinking of bison

1
Viva La Tabula Raza

mmmm, bison burger.

1
Dunstan

What item have you owned the longest? You can’t tack on the time before you owned it — a family heirloom only counts from the time you’ve had it.

I think for me, it’s an old Radio Shack clock radio that I got in the early 80s, kept through my travels, stopped relying on recently because the alarm is dodgy, but never got around to throwing out until this weekend.

1
Doktor Zymm

I’ve still got one stuffed animal from when I was maybe 2? Not something I will ever voluntarily get rid of.

1
litre_cola

1980 Winnipeg Jets jerseys, home and away from when I was real little.

4
Doktor Zymm

It might still be at my parent’s house somewhere, but I went on a school trip to Toronto in 7th grade and got a Maple Leafs t-shirt

0
Dunstan

Burn it. Kill it with fire.

2
Dunstan

That’s awesome. I don’t think it was that common to buy jerseys then, not like today when some fans own the home, away, alternate third, retro, reverse retro, xxth anniversary throwback, etc. Then their favorite player gets traded and they buy a whole new set…

0
litre_cola

Luckily there is no names on the back. I will give them to Decilitre until I put them up in my basement pub when we buy a house.

2
ballsofsteelandfury

Same here. I have a stuffed bear from the 1980 Soviet Olympics.

0
Dunstan

The bear broke the boycott? Jimmy Carter does not approve.

2
Viva La Tabula Raza

Nor do the Afghans.

1
Horatio Cornblower

Same. I passed it on to my daughter, but there is a very beat-up stuffed panda that is probably pushing 50 in our house.

I also have a Social Distortion concert T-shirt still in regular rotation despite dating to 1992.

1
BrettFavresColonoscopy

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2
Horatio Cornblower

“I know I say this every millennium…”

0
yeah right

I have a collection of concert t shirts from the 70’s. Including Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Yes and Black Sabbath with tour dates included. Talking Heads shirt was from the early 80’s so it’s a poseur. Although my Devo shirt fucking still rules.

2
Viva La Tabula Raza

I still have a Swiss Army Knife I received as an X-mas gift in the early 1970s.The tweezers are long gone, but the plastic toothpick is still there.
I still have a lot of the stamps in my collection that I’ve had since the late 1960s.
Still have the first rock and roll LP I ever bought, late 1969. Led Zeppelin II.

Last edited 5 years ago by Viva La Tabula Raza
2
Don T

A linear algebra textbook from ‘91 that was included in one of the divorce boxes. I thought I had burned it and pissed on it after finally passing the damn class.

2
Dunstan

Ok, but if the weight of the book was x, and your piss weighs y and was added at a rate of z ml/sec…..

1
ArmedandHammered

and don’t forget the burn rate of g/sec.

1
Don T

I will die convinced of the utter uselessness of matrices. Those fucking things gave me nightmares.

1
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

THIS GUY DON T I CALL HIM MORPHEUS CAUSE HE DOES NOT LIKE MATRICES.

3
Viva La Tabula Raza

As the weight of urine asymptotically approaches zero, then what?

Last edited 5 years ago by Viva La Tabula Raza
1
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I’d have to dig through my old stuff – the only thing that instantly comes to mind is my high school yearbook.

1
Gumbygirl

I have my Junior High Yearbook(9th grade) in which Gumby wrote: “To a nice girl. A bit strange, but nice.”
Reader, I married him!

2
bk109

… Uhhh, don’t spoil the book ending for us, okay?! We’re all still at like Chapter 10 (The Weird Haircuts and Mixtapes Phase) 😛

Last edited 5 years ago by bk109
2
Doktor Zymm

Old wrestling is super weird
https://youtu.be/CoABAhrzP4A

0
Horatio Cornblower

Awfully quiet, too.

0
Doktor Zymm

Metuchen is a place in New Jersey. Manassas is a place in Virginia. Metuchen Manassas can be a fun activity!

1
BrettFavresColonoscopy

Wow and i thought I was being pessimistic thinking i wouldn’t get my shot in LA til June or so, and I’m not a teacher or an old.

0
Horatio Cornblower

Well, you’re not a teacher.

1
BrettFavresColonoscopy

Careful pot, calling a younger kettle old

2
Dunstan

Earlier this week, I watched a documentary on Amazon Prime, “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind.” Really good if you’re into his music or just the 60s-70s folk/pop scene. Lots of cool old footage of him and other figures of the era (including him being interviewed by a young Alex Trebek), and the little clubs in Toronto and NY in which he played.

I got into Lightfoot kind of late — for most of my life, he was just the Edmund Fitzgerald guy. But there was a guy who used to play the bars in my college town, and I have a couple of old cassettes of his sets, and one of them has his version of “Song For a Winter’s Night.” I used to break those tapes out every now and then when I was feeling nostalgic. About ten years ago I started going through Lightfoot’s catalog because of that song, and I was amazed by how many great tracks he has.

And what I didn’t realize until this documentary was how many of his songs have been covered by so many people. Elvis, Johnny Cash, Glenn Campbell, and tons of modern artists have done his songs.

I’ve seen him live a bunch of times now, because he still comes through L.A. regularly. His voice isn’t what it used to be, but it’s a great show.

5
BC Dick

Lightfoot makes good songs.

1
Brick Meathook

I bought two deck chairs and a pasta maker at Gordon Lightfoot’s ex-girlfriend’s yard sale.

1
Dunstan

Was she the one who killed Belushi? And does the pasta maker still work?

0
Brick Meathook

No, she was not a killer.

The pasta maker (it was actually a hand-cranked device that cut pasta dough) worked fine but sat in a kitchen drawer for 15 years. I gave it away 3 years ago.

0
Dunstan

A friend gave me a hand-cracked pasta roller/cutter recently, and I got into making my own pasta. It’s a nice option to have — certainly better than dried.

0
yeah right

Unfortunately he was a horrible abuser. One of our old salesmen at the radio station told me stories. The song Sundown tells the tale. My old sales guy would joke “Old Sundown. Hope you know what you’re doing. That old Sundown.”
He was an old drunk but a hell of a radio salesman.

He went by Rough Kobnotchie. On account of being from the desert and he could have been an extra from a Cormac McCarthy story.

0
Dunstan

I’m not surprised. The documentary sort of glossed over it, but you can read between the lines. At one point Murray McLaughlin just diplomatically declines to go into details.

Sundown always struck me more as about a jealous guy wanting to kick the shit out of the guy fucking his girlfriend, not the girlfriend. But that is obviously a fine line…

0
BC Dick

They’re both gonna have to go though so it’s more about the order. Either way, that cheating trash and uncle Jimmy are getting theirs.

0
Doktor Zymm

Who can guess who this is?comment image

0
Mr. Ayo

I cheated so I’m not answering. But awesome picture.

2
Dunstan

You doing Princess Leia cosplay?

2
Horatio Cornblower

Ella Fitzgerald?

2
Horatio Cornblower

I did take a real guess, which I’ll keep to myself in case anyone else is thinking the same, and I was way off.

1
Doktor Zymm

It’s easier to see when she smilescomment image

3
Dunstan

Betty White?

1
Doktor Zymm

Yes, well done!

2
BC Dick

I wish I knew. I’ve gotten into older movies in the past few years but I can only recognize a few stars.
The best of that era are so much richer than the best of the current movies. They have no way to cheat with computers or effects so the story and acting have to carry it. At least I think so.

comment image

1
yeah right

Betty White.

2
Doktor Zymm

comment image

0
Horatio Cornblower

So far tonight my wife has hollered at her Trump-loving ‘All Lives Matter’ father, (she wrecked him), the dog has howled at something that I can’t see in our yard, even with the super-flashlight, and now the cat has insisted on going outside, so whatever it was the dog was howling at is probably gonna eat it.

How’s everyone else’s evening?

5
Dunstan

Pretty good. I’m finishing up cocktail # 3, the duck legs are finishing up, and I’ve given up on housecleaning and am just rambling about games here.

2
Horatio Cornblower

I kind of want to get back into D&D, over the net probably, but I’m not sure I have the time or, based on a cursory review of some of the latest manuals, the brains to have any idea as to what is going on.

2
Dunstan

In some ways it’s easier than ever. I play in a weekly group online now — we use Discord for the voice chat and Roll20.net for the other stuff.

The Roll20 thing automates a lot of the process, so you don’t have to keep looking up “what’s my to-hit bonus with the mace” and stuff like that.

It’s pretty cool. D&D is now on its 5th edition, and while you still run across people who are nostalgic for earlier versions, the current one fixes a lot of the old problems. Lots of options beyond just “I hit it with my sword,” more balance between classes than the old “well, it sucks to be a wizard at first level, but you’ll be awesome at level 10” (though that still persists a bit), etc.

1
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

First level wizards really were the worst kind of cannon fodder. Like, you’re gonna take on five orcs with a dagger and a single magic missile spell?

0
Dunstan

The common term for those nowadays is “glass cannon” — you can be pretty effective ONE time all day, and then you’re useless.

More recent editions fixed this by giving low-level wizards a extra spell slot or two, but more importantly, unlimited cantrips that are reasonably effective in battle. So instead of cowering in the back ineffectually shooting darts, you cower in the back and fire pretty effective Eldritch Blasts or whatever.

1
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

You should find some people and play the Wendy’s version!

0
Beerguyrob

WineWife’s neck has been out of sorts all day, so the expected return on my cooking & cleaning will be ceremonial at best.

1
litre_cola

I did something to my back and now am hobbling around like I am 80. Have to go to the doc and guess some Hippo meds and a scrip for physio and massage (non_Kraft variety)

2
BC Dick

Get the Kraft kind. It is the superior massage.

1
litre_cola

Not sure Mrs Cola would appreciate the ole rub and tug, she would send me to live with you. Plus my masseuse is 55 years old and nawt attractive.

1
BC Dick

Oh yeah I know Wendell. Get the kraft.

1
Doktor Zymm

comment image?p=0

2
Doktor Zymm

comment image

1
Dunstan

Oh, cocktail #3 ended up being: rum, amaro, blood orange, and Chambord. Not sure how I feel about it — the bitterness makes it a left turn from the first two drinks, but it’s not bad. I think it might need a slight tweak in proportions or an extra ingredient.

2
herodotus450

Would it really be too much to ask for a deadly lake Tahoe avalance to bury both these teams beneath 100 tons of snow, ending the franchises forever? I’ve been good!
/Except for all the hookers
//and all those dead hookers

3
litre_cola

Herodotus became Scotchy so quickly no one noticed.

2
Doktor Zymm

I have no idea who roughly half the mystery guests on 1955 What’s My Line are

0
Doktor Zymm

comment image?p=0

1
scotchnaut

Did he bust her crab?

/got nuthin’

1
scotchnaut

Johnny Wise Mustache?

0
Dunstan

I regret to inform you all that Dunstan has kicked the bucket.

As in, he was on his way to finish making cocktail #3, when he kicked over the mop bucket full of dirty water, and then had to spend the next ten minutes doing some emergency work with a carpet cleaner. Fortunately, his cocktail was on the table in reach while using the carpet cleaner, so little drinking time was lost.

However, he is speaking in the third person now for some reason, so that’s going to be annoying.

3
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Man, I fucking <i>hate</i> it when something interrupts my drinking like that.

2
Doktor Zymm

That’s the downside to mopping up in the first place

2
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

The lesson is: never mop.

4
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

comment image?b64lines=IFRIRSBMRVNTT04gSVM6CiBORVZFUiBUUlku

0
Dunstan

So one of the reasons for my de-cluttering campaign is that I’ve started to run out of shelf and storage space because, in addition to my excessive wine and liquor inventory (which, I know, you’re all willing to help me with), and the overflowing bookshelves, I got into boardgaming in the last couple of years, and now I’ve got like a collection of 30+ that need shelf space.

Any other gamers here?

4
BC Dick

Board games are great. I wouldn’t call myself a gameboarder by any stretch but I like them. Sorry is my favourite. And Risk but I suck at it.

3
Viva La Tabula Raza

When I was 12 or 13 years old, me and my friends took a 3′ x 5′ world map and drew borders in black magic marker on it with a lot more individual territories than the Risk board came with. We would have games that lasted for days.

1
yeah right

I can count the number of games of Risk that DIDN’T end up with someone knocking the board over. I lost track of the games that did.

3
Dunstan

When I was helping a friend write jokes for his stand-up, we came up with a couple of Risk jokes, mostly exploiting the fact that Kamchatka is an inherently funny word — something about the k sounds I guess.

1
BC Dick

Is that referring to Bobby Hill’s clown teacher? Ehh I probably don’t remember it right anyway

1
yeah right

I play. It’s been mostly cribbage and backgammon for the last year since I can’t picture letting enough people to play a decent game in my house. Love Risk and Monopoly and still play Clue and Masterpiece. Cribbage is a regular occurrence and we usually play buck a hand. Card game of choice is Hearts and it’s a killer since I just taught both of my daughters and Eldest granddaughter to play just before the pandemic.

2
Dunstan

I played cribbage from a young age — it was my dad’s game and his dad’s. (I think the first time I asked to play, they thought they were humoring me, but I was good at math so counting to 15 was hardly going to faze me.)

I never really played backgammon until around 30, when I started playing online with a friend. I had assumed it was mostly a game of luck, until I noticed myself losing like 4 out of 5 games….

Hearts was a staple in my high school cafeteria days.

2
Mr. Ayo

Love cribbage. Prefer spades over hearts, but both are good fun.

2
Dunstan

Never really played spades. Did a fair bit of bridge in law school and then online for a while. I still miss it, but online bridge is plagued by assholes and cheaters, so I’m not likely to go back unless it’s with people I know.

1
Doktor Zymm

Spades is like very casual bridge, with house rules and crazy slang and such. Both can be loads of fun with the right people, but I think there’s way more people who play spades nowadays, and it’s evolved an entirely different culture from bridge

2
Dunstan

Interesting. I got the impression that spades is pretty popular among African-Americans but hasn’t penetrated much into white culture.

Bridge is in danger of dying out in America — I think the average age of American bridge players is over 70.

2
Brick Meathook

There’s such a long-hanging joke here that everyone knows it.

2
Doktor Zymm

I enjoy it when it’s possible to get enough people together, which has happened a few times over the course of my life. I was just starting to play with a group of people before the pandemic hit, but haven’t seen any of them since

2
Dunstan

I had gotten involved in a Meetup group for the year or two pre-pandemic. It was a pretty good group, but I was a little troubled to see how blaze some of the members were last March when most of us didn’t show up for what proved to be the last pre-lockdown session — there was a lot of “I ain’t afraid of no virus” posturing.

0
yeah right

Back in my married days my ex and I used to host these murder mystery dinner parties. Everyone dressed in game appropriate clothes and it was a goddamn blast. I would cook something that matched the theme of each particular mystery. Loved it.

3
Dunstan

I always wanted to do one of those. I bought one of those games once — it’s so old that it uses a cassette tape — and never got to use it.

Definitely going to try hosting some game nights when this shit is over.

I prefer medium-heavy strategy games to the light party stuff, but you go with what the people want.

For those who aren’t familiar with modern board games, there’s a shit-ton of stuff out there, of every level of complexity and playing time and theme and mechanics. Friends don’t let friends play Monopoly.

Some of my favorites are Azul (a tile-placement strategy game) and its sequels, Western Legends (an Old West-themed game where you compete to be the most legendary figure), Root (a “cute forest critters engaged in a cutthroat battle to dominate the forest” game), and Eldritch Horror (Lovecraft-themed cooperative game where you team up, or play solo, to prevent an Ancient Old One from destroying the world).

2
BC Dick

Murder mystery games with people sounds fun but I would need someone else to organize it or force me to go.
Those modern games sounds pretty damn cool. I had a feeling you weren’t taking about games like Sorry. They seem like they’ve advanced the games for more mature players.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m going to check those out.

1
Dunstan

You’re welcome.

BoardGameGeek is a good resource for lists, rankings, reviews, etc. Or just ask me here. The usual suspects (Amazon, Target, Wal-mart) carry a decent selection, for others you’ll need to find your friendly neighborhood gaming store, where all the D&D nerds go to pick up minatures and the Magic: The Gathering folks get their latest fix.

2
BC Dick

There are a few of those independent gaming stores around here. I like those kind of stores. The people know their stuff and can give actual advice beyond an aisle number.

1
Dunstan

Yep. I can usually order games a few dollars cheaper online, but I try to support the local shops when I can. Especially the one that began hosting our gaming club when the food court we used to play in kicked us out. (Which was a shame — it was in Koreatown, and had fantastic food options. Most of us bought a meal there, and we left plenty of tables open, so I’m not really sure why they took such a dislike to us, but whatever.)

1
BC Dick

The dislike could’ve been just because people are dicks. A lot of them. I don’t know why. They must live unbearable lives.

0
Dunstan

Could easily be. I try never to underestimate “they’re dicks” as an explanatory theory.

I suspect it’s more like “this is for people shopping, these people aren’t shopping, fuck them.” Which, come to think of it, is consistent with your theory too.

1
BC Dick

And if one of those is better suited to 2 players please advise. I might have 1, max 2, friends who I think will play these with me.

1
Dunstan

Yeah, same problem here when it comes to people other than my gaming group.

For nongamers, I would stick with stuff like the following (all of which work well with 2 players):

Azul, Azul Summer Pavillion, Century Spice World, Splendor. Wingspan is also good, and very pretty and a good option for anyone who likes birds.

1
BC Dick

Thanks. Also – is settlers of catan good? I saw it in a tv show. I also heard Chinatown was a good turn based game. Maybe they’re a different category.
I’m like a dad asking about new music it seems.

1
Dunstan

Catan was the game I had heard of when I got into the hobby a couple of years ago. I bought a copy and have never played it with other humans yet. (Tested it by myself once or twice to figure it out.)

It was a pretty big success, and is considered a “modern classic,” which is why it’s still being produced in mass quantities, with a buttload of expansions and re-skins (e.g. Star Trek themed versions).

That said, I wouldn’t rush out to buy it. It’s largely a trading-based game, so you need at least three and preferably four players, and it’s a little more luck-based than most of us modern gaming snobs prefer. But if someone you know has it and asks you to play, by all means give it a go.

1
Dunstan

Oh, didn’t answer about Chinatown — I had not heard of it. It has decent ratings according to BGG. Apparently it’s also a 3-player minimum game, though.

As to “turn based,” most games are turn-based, including all of the ones I mentioned. Chinatown appears to be a city-building themed economic game; I don’t have any recommendations along those lines right now (I played Brass: Birmingham once and liked it, but that’s waaay too convoluted for someone just getting into the hobby.)

1
BC Dick

I said turn based cause I heard it somewhere. But when you think about they’re all turn based. Maybe not Hungry Hungry Hippos.

0
Dunstan

It’s a more common distinction in computer games, where things like Civ are “turn based” while others are “real time.”

There are some board games that involve simultaneous play. Quacks of Quedlinberg (you draw “ingredients” for your potion out of a bad) is mostly simultaneous, though you slow it down to turn-by-turn on the last round or if someone asks.

0
ArmedandHammered

I have Dominion, Descent, HeroQuest, and Gloomhaven. In high school my buddies and I played a lot of Shogun, later called Samurai Swords, Fortress America, Axis and Allies, and Conquest of the Empire. Many, many hours played, of course we had lots of time as who would date boardgame playing nerds (this was 79 to 84).

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Dunstan

Yeah, Axis & Allies was my thing in high school/college.

Never played any of the others you mentioned. I just bought Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion and am playing through that.

0
yeah right

We’d make trips to the Goodwill site for clothes. We totally got into it. I bought a pinstripe tuxedo for like 30 bucks when the theme was a prohibition era Chicago murder mystery. I did a red sauce of course. Shit, I may still have that tux.

2
scotchnaut

Euchre is my game-entered a few campus-wide tourneys back in the day and won some moneys. It was my first year in residence at Carleton and there was always a game(s) going on. Played that instead of doing homework. The grades suffered but I had so much fun.

2
Dunstan

I really didn’t care for Euchre, though I’d play it if people insisted. I just found that too many hands were almost instant laydowns (“fine, you got the first trick, so I can’t sweep, but I’m definitely going to make my three.”), so there just wasn’t a lot of thinking involved. Of course, I was most playing with really bad and/or drunk players, so I’m sure there were nuances I was missing.

0
litre_cola

You are an Ontarian, every one of yous that comes out west brings that game with them.

2
Horatio Cornblower

I would like to get back into it. I’m now limited to occasional games of Scrabble with my wife, which is probably the biggest threat to our marriage.

1
Dunstan

There are online options like Boardgamearena.com, which is free (with a premium paid option). I’ve dabbled in that, but it’s just not the same.

1
Don T

I’ll play anyone on Scrabble. English or Spanish.

1
ballsofsteelandfury

So I heard you lucky Canadiens are already watching Season 5 of Kim’s Convenience!

How’s the new season?

1
BC Dick

Good reminder! I have 5 unwatched episodes recorded from the new season waiting for me.
I’m gonna go to town on Mister Kim tonight.

2
Beerguyrob

Umm…

55DD053C-9BC0-429E-90F4-E2EE8C51EE3B.jpeg
3
Dunstan

Cocktail #2 is gin, St. Germain, lime, blood orange, and simple syrup, with a rosemary garnish. This is a winner.

3
Doktor Zymm

That sounds delish

0
Dunstan

Got the idea from a recipe online that wanted me to pour in several ounces of ginger ale, so I nixed that and added the simple syrup to supply the sweetness. Nothing against ginger, but I don’t think this needs it or the carbonation.

Out of lime juice now, though, so #3 will have to break new ground.

0
litre_cola

I have all those things!

1
Dunstan

I think I did 1 oz gin, 1 of blood orange, 3/4 St. Germain, 1/2 lime and 1/2 syrup, but I’m not sure.

0
Doktor Zymm

Biden has sped things up somewhat, but we’re still at the mercy of a fractured state system run by a wide variety of imbeciles, idiots, cretins, blockheads and dolts. That the Canadian rollout is making the US rollout look good says more about how poor the Canadian rollout is than how good the US one is. Meanwhile, the UK with their simple, mainly age-based system, is making us all look like crap, and they’re shooting for everyone having a first dose by July, while the US will be lucky to be at 50% by then.

I’m actually pretty pissed that people are still focusing on vaccine hesitancy when there are millions of people who are eligible, want to get the vaccine, and have been working for weeks to get an appointment with no luck. If you actually do convince someone who is hesitant to get a vaccine, then what? Let them jump the line? Or have them get permanently discouraged when you throw them into the current melee for an appointment? There are still zero states where even 50% of people 65+ have been vaccinated. It’s shitty and uncoordinated and it makes me angry and sad.
https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/at-this-early-stage-of-the-covid-19-vaccine-roll-out-most-older-adults-have-not-yet-been-vaccinated-as-supply-remains-limited/

3
ballsofsteelandfury

To add to your rant, there is evidence that minorities (read: black and latino) are more likely to be hesitant about getting the vaccine and there is talk in government circles that there should be a system designed to ensure equity in getting the vaccine amongst the various races.

Which is all kinds of crazy because they are proposing giving priority to people that don’t want it…

3
Doktor Zymm

I get where they’re coming from on the equity front, and many of those populations have good reasons for their distrust, but when things are moving this fast no one wins by slowing everyone down and trying to convince communities who have been repeatedly screwed over that we want them to go first because of equity, and not because they’re guinea pigs and test subjects yet again. Everyone vaccinated by the end of the summer is a better outcome than everyone vaccinated by the end of the year in the “correct” order.

7
ballsofsteelandfury

Totally agree with both of you.

0
Dunstan

Yep.

Also getting a little annoyed with the emphasis on “well, the vaccine isn’t a guarantee, you could still get sick, still spread it, gosh, we could be wearing masks well into 2022.” I think Fauci is hurting his own cause here. You get people vaccinated, the infection rates plummet, we start opening things up again and relaxing things like mask mandates — that’s the political reality no matter what. Might as well let people know there’s some good times ahead if they embrace vaccination, rather than being Debbie Downer and insisting that no, life will continue to suck, but it’s still really important to get this shot even if it won’t measurably improve your life.

2
BC Dick

I like the strategy of doings the olds first. They are the vast majority of fatal cases so if they get vaccinated first it seems to me the return to normal would be sooner. We can’t get them sick when visiting if the vaccine works and they don’t leave their care homes anyway.

3
ballsofsteelandfury

California did health care workers first and then the olds which, from a systems perspective, makes a lot of sense.

The tricky bit is who gets priority after the 65+. Right now, they’re talking education employees (which makes sense if they want to start schools in person again) and other categories of essential work, but they’re also talking lowering the age to 50 at the same time.

Last edited 5 years ago by ballsofsteelandfury
2
Dunstan

Oh yeah, I’m totally in favor of age priority. It’s hard to cheat the system, and makes sense in terms of benefits. I don’t really quibble with giving health care workers, grocery workers, etc. priority, though I think you get into a slippery slope there.

0
Doktor Zymm

There are still frontline healthcare workers and plenty of 65+ who are still trying to get vaccinated everywhere. If you’re going to bother having a priority system at all then stick to it. It’s all gotten political and every state or county is doing things differently, and that leaves it open to being gamed.

1
Dunstan

There’s a real “perfect being the enemy of the good” problem here. The more you try to decide who “deserves” the vaccine, the more administrative problems you create, the more opportunities to game the system, etc. Already people are bitching about prisoners getting the vaccine — even you’re the kind of asshole who thinks prisoners deserve to get sick and die, do you think the virus knows it isn’t supposed to infect guards, staff, and service providers?

4
BC Dick

Yes I believe the USA vaccinates as many people every day as Canada has done total. Even with the 10:1 population ratio that’s shameful.
I think the US is doing ok with their effort. But that could be the relative to Canada thing. The USA is a large place with multiple levels of government to slow things up with their bullshit. And if you have an efficient government you’ve got a dictatorship.

2
ballsofsteelandfury

While California had been criticized for a lot of things, the vaccination rollout has been good. The only thing holding us back is access to the vaccine.

My parents both got their second shots last Wednesday. I breathed a big sigh of relief that day…

3
yeah right

That’s great news for them.

My issue is the original guidelines called for essential workers to be in tier 1B which would have meant I would have been shot up by now. Then they do this change up and made it by age. Which is still fine. They are a more vulnerable group but THEN! Last week they changed it again to anyone 16 and older who are considered “at risk.” This includes the morbidly obese and diabetic and shit.

Meanwhile my group, who walks out the motherfucking door EVERY DAY to go to work has to fucking wait.

Shit, I would go to the back of the line to get the grocery store workers their shot first. Not joking, those folks are goddamn heroes but they have to wait while some fatass teen who never leaves the fucking house goes first.

Yes. It pisses me off.

Last edited 5 years ago by yeah right
6
ballsofsteelandfury

Totally with you.

1
Dunstan

Yeah, the “at risk” stuff is dodgy as fuck, because you just know that every rich asshole is calling up his doctor to get him to certify that oh yeah, he’s definitely high risk.

2
Doktor Zymm

Politics. They can’t just pick something based off of solid reasoning and stick to it, they have to change it based on whatever group is putting on pressure and it ends with it being difficult for everyone.

3
Dunstan

Still have half a bag of blood oranges, which are apparently in season, so this afternoon’s first cocktail is something I dug up called the Hot Blooded:

Hot Blooded Cocktail Recipe (liquor.com)

It’s actually similar to something I concocted on my own, except that my version is mezcal-based rather than rye.

2
scotchnaut

You should look at your temperature-I think it might be as high as 103. Check it and see.

4
Dunstan

Come on, scotchy, you can do more than dance.

(Foreigner was actually my first concert. April Wine was the opening act, so a pretty good show all around.)

0
yeah right

I saw April Wine in 1979 I think? Rock solid show.

2
Beerguyrob

I saw April Wine with Corey Hart opening in 1984.

2
scotchnaut

Was listening to a music program on CBC one night and the lead singer of a band (Gin Blossoms, maybe?) was saying that Myles Goodwyn is a complete asshole. Goodwyn insisted that the singer kiss his ring for “good luck in the business”. WtF?

0
BC Dick

Trudeau has been calling the shots for a while now and no funding for vaccine makers has arrived, it seems. Not from Quebec or a dairy farmer so back of the line.
Also their decision to significantly cut the amount they pay for prescription drugs from big boy to small fry level just might play a part in getting short shrift.
I’m not impressed with the drama teacher who has a go-to blackface party trick. The man has cried on national television on multiple occasions for criminy’s sake.

Last edited 5 years ago by BC Dick
3
Dunstan

Yeah, it was a weird experience hearing Americans express how jealous they were of Canada having a leader like him. I mean, sure, compared to Trump, he’s a fucking paragon of virtue and competence, but that’s really grading on a curve.

And I’m not talking about ideology here. I don’t know where I would fit in to Canadian politics these days. A friend who used to be very active in Liberal Party politics and still has a lot of connections confirms that Justin is rather unimpressive and prone to behaving like an asshole.

1
BC Dick

It seems that way. Mr. Burns from the Simpsons would compare favourably to Don. He’s been the best gift a Canadian politician could ask for.

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