The Memristor

Scientists have created the memristor. It sounds like it's set to revolutionize computing, again. I wonder when I'll first own a gadget that uses one. Probably sooner that I think.

Road Construction

There are now 3 separate road construction sites on the path I normally take to work. They (and the traffic backed up on them) made my morning commute about 15 minutes longer than normal today. So on the way home, I took an alternate route that cut the time back down to 30-35 minutes. I'll probably have to go that way all summer. Hopefully everyone else won't decide to do the same.

Elkhorn

Someone in Elkhorn (Wisconsin) found the Jovial Board Gamers Society Web site and is interested in joining us to play boardgames. He even has some games he's developing that he might bring for us to playtest.

Hope Lutheran Church

Hope Lutheran Church worships in the Town of Summit Town Hall. The facility has a room that looks very much like the inside of a traditional church. We attended their worship service today because Rose Glen's gym, the place where we normally worship as members of Living Word, was being used for their annual chicken barbecue. The music at Hope is what most would call contemporary. The song accompanists played electric piano and electric violin. It's too bad they (apparently) don't have any guitarists to add to the mix. Those who played did well, but the songs chosen could have used a little more rhythmic vitality such as a guitar can provide.

NFL Draft 2008 - Day 1

The Green Bay Packers traded away their first round pick in the NFL Draft. They ended up with 3 second round picks:

1. Jordy Nelson - Wide receiver
2. Brian Brohm - Quarterback
3. Patrick Lee - Cornerback

Arkadia: The Game

I've written about a lot of games here already, but that's only because I (we) play a lot of good games. The latest of these is Arkadia. It's a beautiful game. Maybe not the most beautiful of all, but it does have a lot of nifty pieces all of which are useful (unlike the cathedral pieces in Pillars of the Earth).

GameTableOnline Points

I guess I actually won 19 GameTableOnline (GTO) points in the tournament last night -- not a Creepy Freaks (virtual?) figure. That's fine with me. It does take a lot of points to get something worth cashing them in for though.

Igel Ärgern

I won 4th place in an Igel Ärgern (Hedgehogs in a Hurry, loosely translated) tournament at GameTableOnline.com. My prize is a Creepy Freaks figure. I don't know if it has any value or if anyone would want it from me.

Guglielmo Marconi

Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the radio, had a step-brother named Luigi. And if you rearrange some of the letters of his last name, you can spell Mario.

Verizon

While reading up on grant writing, I discovered that Verizon is the result of a merger between GTE and Bell Atlantic. I suppose lots of people already knew that, but that's something I learned today.

Bifocals

I got bifocals today. They're fine for reading, watching TV, and playing games. They are so-so for driving. They don't work that well while working in the yard. They don't work at all for computing. I'm not wearing them now; I'm wearing my older reading glasses instead. So I'll be toting two pair of glasses to work and back each day since I'm a programmer and sit in front of a monitor a lot at home too. Maybe I should check out those cheap reading glasses you can get at department stores so I wouldn't have to carry both pair back and forth.

Fast Haircuts

It really is possible to get a decent haircut in about 5 minutes. Most of the time a haircut takes at least 10, if not 15 or 20, minutes at the local Cost Cutters. However, today I was in and out in about 5 and the results are the same as, if not better than, usual. I was ready not to add a tip because the clippers blades felt a tad dull, but the speed made up for it all. I wonder if I were to tell them next time that I only had 5 minutes for a cut....

Illinois Earthquake

I woke up this morning (technically, yesterday morning) at either 4:37 or 4:32 A.M. I'm not sure because I didn't look at the clock close enough. Apparently there was an earthquake of about 5.4 magnitude in southern Illinois right about that time. It shook buildings in southern Wisconsin, but I didn't notice anything. Maybe that's because it hadn't actually traveled to our area while I was awake. Maybe it's because our bedroom is below ground level. Whatever the case, I missed the earthquake. I've always wondered what it would feel like to be in one. Maybe next time.

Ruby Tuesday Soda

Ruby Tuesday doesn't serve "yellow" soda; that is, Mountain Dew, Mello Yello, etc. At least, the restaurant in Milwaukee doesn't. You can get all manner of "brown" sodas - Coke, Diet Coke, cherry Coke (with a real, live cherry on top), etc.

Soda, by the way, is what you probably call pop, unless you're in Georgia, where you call it coke, or you're in North Carolina, where you call it drinks.

Gas Prices over $3.50

I can no longer find gas for under $3.50 per gallon. This is the first time this has happened in our area as far as I know. The last time gas prices were in this range, it never went over $3.49. Now the price is $3.59. If the price stays there for a year, my recent raise (and more) will be eaten up just driving to work, and I'll actually be making less than the previous year. (This does not take into consideration the economic stimulus payment that the federal government is giving us this year because that's not what it's purpose is supposed to be. Argue all you want on that.)

Math Trade Trades

I was able to trade away some games we don't play anymore for a couple that I think we'll like. I'll be getting Scotland Yard and Nexus Ops. I think my wife has played Scotland Yard at least once. None of us have ever played Nexus Ops, but it's fairly highly regarded at BoardGameGeek.com.

The Lost Has Been Found

I found the information needed to update the blog mentioned here yesterday. So the JBGS data is still intact and complete. Whew.

JBGS Blog

I forgot to update the blog I keep for our gaming group, the Jovial Board Gamers Society, for our 34th Gathering. Oh well, I don't think anyone really reads it much anyway.

Shorewood High School Choir

The Shorewood (Wisconsin) High School Choir is the best high school choir I have ever heard. They sang with the Milwaukee Choristers tonight in their diamond jubilee concert at Shorewood High School. Director Jason Clark is a master craftsman when it comes to training young voices such as these. If you ever have the opportunity, do not pass up a chance to hear a choir under his direction.

Bob Kames

Bob Kames died today. He popularized the modern version of the "Chicken Dance" often heard at wedding receptions. He was from Milwaukee.

Loyalty Islands Earthquake

There was a huge, 7.6 magnitude, earthquake in the Loyalty Islands today. The Loyalty Islands are part of New Caledonia in the southern Pacific off the east coast of Australia. About 22,000 people live there.

Using Worms Wisely

When playing If Wishes were Fishes, it can be very useful to manage your worms wisely. Not only can they be valuable to cash in for big bucks throughout the game, but they can even propel you into the lead at the end of the game when the bonus money is awarded for the angler with the most worms left in his bucket.

Free Yellow Pages Listing

You can list your business for free at YellowPages.com, whether it's a brass musical instrument repair shop or whatever. Yes, that was a shameless plug.

Pinnacle Mint Football Brass Coins

Sadly, not too many people are interested in Pinnacle Mint football brass coins from 1997 -- not even when the related sports card is offered with a given coin. There's only a little interest in Brett Favre and Barry Sanders. No one seems to care for Dan Marino, John Elway, Steve Young, Mark Brunell, Emmitt Smith, or a host of others.

Music DVD

My son who is part of Emily's Fault might make a DVD from the band's latest performance. They've already got some video up on YouTube.com.

Quiet Alarms

If I decide to take a quick nap before game night because I'm really tired, it's not enough to set my cell phone alarm and the microwave timer in order to wake me up when I want to leave for the evening. I need a person to do the honors.

Making Money in Puerto Rico

There is a great way to make money in Puerto Rico. You gather coffee and trade it in for cash using an office and a large market.

Oh, did I mention that this is in the game of Puerto Rico?

How Global Warming Is Measured

How is global warming (aka climate change) measured? What techniques and instruments are used? Where are the places on earth that are measured? Where does the data come from?

You might at first think a quick Google search would bring up at least a few, if not tons, of pages with the answer, or at least a partial answer. But go ahead...try it. I didn't dig for a long time, but I was disappointed in the results I got. I even tried ask.com too. Really, try it, and tell me what you found, or didn't find.

I still don't know the answer.

Hacienda for 3

In a 3-player game of Hacienda, it is possible for each of the participants to score 239, 238, and 235 points. I had the measly 235. sigh