Weekend Update

The weekend is almost over, and here's how it went down.

To Do Dew, or Not To Do Dew? How did I Dew?

You may remember earlier this week when I discussed my future Mountain Dew consumption?  If not, check it out here. This week marked the first in three that finally saw some improvement on my weight loss goals.  I was able to knock of two pounds this week.  This means that I will continue to try and eat smaller and healthier portions, but continue to indulge in one can of dew a day.  I will revisit the subject again if need be.

Movies: The Cock-Block of Gaming.

Now don't get me wrong, I probably watch more movies that the average, but sometimes it just seems a little impersonal.  A few days ago I talked about gaming with strangers, unfortunatly the gaming was derailed by a movie.  The plan was to spend the day hanging out with one of Ashli's ex-coworkers.  Ashli was really looking forward to seeing her friend, and catching up.  That didn't realy happen, because people tend too get upset when you talk durring the movie.

Side rant: I have never understood the allure of getting together with friends you haven't seen in a while and sitting in a dark room silently for an hour and a half.  For that matter it makes even less sense when several members of the group have never even met before.  Alas, it is the society we live in a guess, maybe thats why dinner and a movie is such a popular first date? If dinner doesn't go well... at least you don't have to talk to her any more.

so... where was I?  Oh yeah, game night was a flop.  There was however one positive note to the evening.  I found that I had a comment from Chris Norwood, who was sharing his thoughts on gaming with strangers.  Chris writes the blog GamerChris, which is one of the many board gaming blogs I read regularly.  Personally I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea that people I know, care about what I have to say, so to see that someone I have never met has read and responded to my blog is awesome.  Even though Chris is just like any other guy who likes to play games, his comments are a bit like having JK Rowling compliment the doodle of Dumbledore you drew on the back of you math book. I better move on before I start to sound too much like a teen just back from a date with Justin Bieber.

The Week Ahead:

Next week is looking to be pretty average. Tanga has been selling Z-Man games this week, and I picked up Campaign Manager the other day.  Its wishful thinking to expect it this week, Tanga is not known for their shipping speed.  If it does come in I'll let you know.  I have also been brainstorming some ideas for additional posts.  So far my posting has been pretty much fluff about starting a blog, I hope to get some more serious posts done soon.  I'm a much better talker than a writer, but if I force myself to keep at it, someday maybe I will develop a written voice to match my spoken one.

Which Game Would You Teach A Stranger?

This weekend I might have the opportunity to do just what the title suggests.  If everything goes according to plans I will have two strangers in my home Saturday evening.  Ashli has been trying to get together with a friend from work, for a while, and Saturday is culmination of these attempts.  Ashli's friend Kim has confirmed that her, and her boyfriend enjoy playing boardgames, so they have invited to come over for a game night.

I have never met Kim, and don't even know her boyfriend's name.  In fact they may be engaged or even married I'm not sure, but until I know otherwise, he will just be the boyfriend.  having never met either of them, and not even knowing much about their interests, makes the idea of game night complicated. Based on my limited knowledge of the "average" American, I'm going to guess that they have never heard of most if not all of the games in my closet.  This brings me full circle, back to the question proposed in the title, what game should I unleash on them.  If I'm lucky I can blow their minds, and show them a whole new world that then never knew existed.  Otherwise, their just going to think I'm a weird guy with weird games. 

I'll let you know this weekend how the event went.  In the meantime throw out any ideas you have for teaching games to strangers.  Below is the short list, please let me know in the comments your thoughts on my list, it's OK I can take the criticism.  If you want to know what I have to work with, you can see my game collection HERE.



The Settlers of Cattan:  The Settlers of Cattan is an interesting game with a dynamic game board composed of hexagons representing different terrain types.  Through the roll of dice players gain resources, based on the locations of their cities and settlements.  the resources are used to expand their territories and but victory points.  first player to reach ten points wins.  I am partial to this game because it is that game that got me hooked.  Not only was this the first euro game I played, but also the first one in my collection.


Pros:

• Hex pieces create a new game each time.
• Many strategies can lead to victory.
• Keeps players engaged between turns, with trades, and acquiring resources on any roll.
• Rules are not very complex.

Cons:

• Modular board can intimidate people who are not used to euro games.
• Competitive building can lead to blocked players, and discourage new players.

Ticket to Ride:  Ticket to Ride is another good beginner game.  the rules are pretty easy to learn, and since there are a limited amount of actions possible, new players don't have to do too much during the turn.  This game was an early addition to my collection, and I have yet to have anyone tell me they didn't like it.


Pros:

• Fewer actions per turn keep the game moving quickly.
• Setup is quick with a single board.
• Rules are easy to explain, and by looking at the board, even a beginner can visualize the game play, and begin to develop a strategy.

Cons:

• Games can be rather long.
• If a key rout gets blocked it can make your goals near impossible to complete.

 

Carcassonne:  Carcassonne is a tile laying game where the board is built as you play.  The basic rules are quite simple.  First you lay a tile, that tile must match any adjacent tiles, and then you may place a meeple on that tile.  depending on where on your tile you place the meeple, you claim an area of the board (road, city, field).  When that area is completed, the person with the most meeples on the area gets the points.  It is easy fun and fairly fast.  The exception is the farmer, which many people fin difficult to use at first, since he doesn't score until the game is over.

Pros:

• Since the board is built as you go, an early mistake doesn't have to haunt you all game.

Cons: 

• Scoring and meeple placement rules can be confusing, and contain a lot of stipulations.
• Successful strategy almost always involves stealing points from opponents. 

Dominion: Dominion is the only card based game I have added to this list.  Dominion is a game that has almost a limitless replay possibility.  The game comes with 25 sets of cards, of which only 10 are used at one time.  Each game can be played with a random selection of cards, giving you over 3 million combination in the base game alone.  Many expansions have been released, each one adding an additional 10-25 sets of cards, which makes that number sky rocket.

Pros:

• Base rules are easy as 1,2,3 (Action, Buy, Clean up).
• Endless playability.
• Different strategies depending on cards in play.
• A game tends to be rather short, when playing with experienced players.

Cons:

• Deck building games have a stereotype of being nerdy.
• New players have to read all the cards to understand what they do, resulting in a slower pace.
• "Analysis Paralysis" this is when a player holds up the game because they are spending too much time evaluating their next move.

To Do Dew, or Not To Do Dew?

I am about a third of the way through the Live Healthy America challenge.  This is a 100 day challenge to lead healthier lives ( i.e. weight loss).  The challenge is sponsored through my work, and involves forming a team.  this is my second year participating in the challenge, and last year i did quite well.  I lost around 30 pounds.  This year however, my progress is a bit slow, and I am trying to bring myself to make the final step and eliminate Mountain Dew from my diet.  This is something that I did last year, but have not fully committed to this year.

Somewhere I have read that to loose weight you should avoid drinking calories.  Well drinking soda is pretty much nothing but drinking calories.  Last year when I started loosing weight I switched to drinking mostly water and tea, but after the diet was over, I fell in love with that golden elixir of the gods all over again.  I have already cut my consumption down to one can a day, from about two or three, but I'm not sure its enough.

well... If my weight hasn't gone down at the next weigh in, I think im going to have to do it.  I'll let you know on Friday.

The Mystery Man is...

 My good buddy Matt Duling.

OK... In case you don't know what I'm talking check this out.  A few days ago I noticed that someone have stumbled upon my blog.  Turns out it was the one and only Matt Duling.  I had my suspicions that Matt was the one who had been the first reader.  Firstly I got the hit shortly after I posted a link to my blog on His blog, The Yearly Duling. Secondly the only other place I had announced my new blog was over at Chris' Corner.  My stats stated that the visitor was using Chrome, and i don't think Chris is nerdy enough to use chrome.




Matt is probably my oldest friend.  I mean oldest chronologically, not age wise.  I met Matt the same place I met many of my closest friends, volunteering at Camp Calvin Crest.  I was a freshman in high school, and he was the counselor in charge of training me. ( I guess that means he is kinda old too).  Having Matt be the first reader is great, I couldn't think of anyone I would rater have as this milestone reader.


If Matt is my oldest friend, then he married my second oldest.  I have known Alicia just about as long as I have known Matt.  Unfortunately for everyone here in Nebraska, Alicia is a smarty pants.  You see Alicia works in a secret lab where she plays checkers with aliens, and feeds the dinosaurs.  Although I have probably said too much already, the ninjas haven't taken me away yet, so i will carry on.  Since the secret lab is probably under the ocean or in Canada, Matt and Alicia had to move to New York.  I can tell you that they are both missed.

The photos in this post are all from Matt and Alicia's first trip back to Nebraska after moving.  They came back for my wedding.  Matt was my best man, he is that cool of a guy.  It was a great weekend, and one that I will remember forever.

So there you have it, my good friend, my best man, and my first reader.  Matt.

Let Me Count the Ways

I consider myself a very fortunate person.  I have a good job, and a nice house, I have plenty of friends.  All of this is great, but none of it would mean a thing without the best part.  I didn't know it at the time, but the night I met Ashli was the most important night of my life (exception being the night of my birth, maybe).  There are so many great things about Ashli I couldn't begin to name them all.  I can't name them all, but I will name a few of my favorites.

She wants to be with me, as much as I want to be with her.  I wouldn't say I am the easiest person in the world to live with.  I can be stubborn, when it comes to arguments, I am known to come up with some awfully crazy Ideas, and I take up as much closet space for my board games, as I do for clothes.  Taking all my quirks into account, when I found someone who still wanted to be with me, I knew what I had to do... As Beyonce puts it, If you like it then you better put a ring on it.


She laughs at my jokes. I know this is a no brainer, because I'm such an entertaining guy, but her laugh makes me feel like the luckiest man on earth.

She is drop dead gorgeous.  I know it is kinda of shallow, but can you blame me? I mean take a look at her.  She is a beautiful woman, and I am lucky enough to have that face be the last thing I see before i fall asleep and the first thing i see in the morning.

She puts up with my shenanigans.  As stated before I have had my share of hair brain ideas, and as stupid as they usually are, Ashli tends to allow me to pursue the ones I want to.  Maybe she is just gullible, or maybe I am just good at convincing her that my plans are good, but I think the truth is that she believes in me, and for that I couldn't love her more.

Ashli really is a goofball at heart.  I bet many of you wouldn't believe this, because she is usually such a reserved person.  I can tell you though that she is a nut, and once you crack her she can be a crazy woman.  I'm not trying to say that i like crazy women, but rather that what I love about Ashli is that I get to know her on so many levels that others barely see.

She is one smart cookie.  I am amazed by how smart she is.  Ashli made it through college in 80% of the time it took me, and she always passed all her classes, which is more than i can say.  she knows just about everything there is to know about children, and in a Harry Potter trivia contest I can't think of a better partner.  She is a very bright lady, and I love her brain just as much as the cute face in front of it.

Here's a few more one liners

I absolutely LOVE...

•  The Sound of Her Laugh
• The Way She Wrinkels Her Nose
• Her Sexy Legs
• When She Tries to do Something New
• The Sound of her Singing While She Works
• How Amazing she Looks When she Dresses Up
• How Cute she Looks When She Dresses Down
• The Look on Her Face When She Gets Flowers
• The Feel of Her Cuddled Up Next to Me While We Watch TV
• Coming Home and Finding Her Sleeping
• When She Does Things For Me That I Would Never Expect
• Playing Video Games With Her
• Watching Her Explore Hogsmeade For Her Birthday
• Watching her Read
• Finding her Asleep in Bed, with Her Book Still in Hand
• Knowing She Will Always Be There For Me
• Knowing that I will Always Be There For Her
• Anything that Makes Her Feel Special.

Although this list doesn't do justice to the love I have for Ashli, I have poured my heart into it.  I hope that everyone who is reading this has someone like Ashli in their lives, because a live without Ashli just wouldn't be much of a life to me.  So... before you click on to another web page to waste a few minutes, find the Ashli in your life and tell them what they mean to you.  Happy Valentines Day to the Girl of my Dreams...
  

Someone Found Me....Maybe?

According to the stats of my blog, I think I might have been discovered.  I'm still quite new to this so I may have triggered a false positive on the counter with something I was doing.  So far all the hits I have gotten were from me trying to see if I had done this all right.  Last night though, something new happened.  I got too page hits in the 10:00 hour.  If I am to believe the stats thingy, this hit couldn't have been done by me, because... It was someone with Chrome!  (I do not have Chrome, so it could not have been me).

Now I think I have a pretty good idea who Mr. or Mrs. Chrome is... but I would love to have you post a comment, or at least take the survey to the right.  If you took the time to read my posts, and not just load the page and say "Holy crud buckets!! Max is a boring guy, and his blog looks like garbage too.", then you would know that one of my goals for the next year eleven months involved having people read my blog.  As the first confirmed reader, you will be a reader that future readers will celebrate, and praise.  the first reader is a very special thing.

I'm done, good night friend.

TwelveEleven months from now

I have noticed that the end of the year is a busy time for blog writers. It is a time of artificial transition. I know what you are thinking, it is a very real transition from 2010 to 2011, or whichever year it may be. The artificial transition that i refer to is the same as the one that takes place that one day of the year when everyone asks "So do you feel older today?". Although that question would be just as relevant any day of the year, it is most definitely considered a birthday question. When you step back and think about it, your life doesn't change much from December 31st to January 1st. Sure most people get to take the day off work on the 1st, but for some reason you still don't hear a lot of people making Labor Day resolutions. None the less the new year has become a time to look back at the last year of our lives and plan for the next, so here I am looking and planning.

Now, I have never been much of a New Years resolution type of person. I have always thought that if something is so important to you that you need a holiday to tell the world you are going to do it, then what is wrong with starting today? so this list is not going to be a list of resolutions, but rather some goals for 2011 (after all the world is going to end in 2012 so time is against me here). Everything on this list is something that I will write about as it happens. This list serves a duel purpose, and that is for both content and accountability.

Content I am still getting the hang of the writing thing, and although I have been told that people would like to read what i have to say, I am not 100% convinced. This list will give me some initial things to talk about, and maybe if I'm lucky it will even be interesting.

Accountability I have a good friend, who likes to stress the importance of accountability in your life. As I understand it, the theory is based on the idea that, if you tell someone you are going to do something, you are more likely to do that thing than if you say nothing. I'm not sure if he is full of baloney or not, but I'm going to give it a try.

Without further delay, this is what I want to do this year.

• Record all my board gaming this year on Board Game Geek.  Last year I started to keep a detailed log, but lost focus and it soon fizzled out.  This year I hope to keep at it all year.
• Earn $100 doing something other than my job.  I'm sure this isn't too hard but the goal is just to get me thinking.  I don't have any distinct idea how I will do it yet, but I will.
• Lose 35 pounds during the live healthy challenge work. last year I lost about 30 and put all but 5 back on.  If I lose 35 this year that will put me 40 pounds below my last year weight.
• Reconnect with 12 Friends whom I don't talk to enough any more.  I have too many friends that I have lost contact with, I would like to get back in touch with them.
• Receive 30 Blog visits, although I'm not sure how I will confirm this.  If you are reading this you could help me out by posting a comment so I can count you all.  
• Write 100 Posts, which over a year comes out to about two per week.  Since I am more than a month into the year, I am going to need a few more than that.
• Play all of my Un-played Games.  I have several games in my closet which haven't hit the table yet, and I would like to fix that.  This is a goal that I don't think will be to hard meet, as there are not too many on the list, and I am looking forward to trying them all.

There you have it, the list of the year... at leas the last eleven months of it.  I'll keep everyone posted  as I progress.  Well it looks like I have plenty of work to do.  I'll be back.

Lets Get it Started

Welcome to my blog,

This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while now, then I read the blog of my friend Chris.  I had intended to start writing for the new year, but you will have to put up with a February start instead. 

So, what can you hope to read about at "Simply Max"?  Well... I'm not entirely sure yet.  I know i have a lot of things to say ( just ask anyone who knows me), but I'm not sure that people will actually enjoy reading that on a regular basis.  I don't really believe many people are going to be reading this on a regular basis, either.  For the time being at least I guess that means that I will just write about what i would want to read about.  Looking at the list of blogs that I read daily I can tell you a few things that you might see.

• Board Games - Probably my most prominent hobby is collecting, and playing board games.  I'm not sure what I will say about them yet, but you can bet your grandpa's dentures I will talk about board games. 

• Personal Finance - Quite a few of the blogs I read deal with personal finance. I'm not sure what the draw was fro me, but as I read articles i like I will probably discus them here.

• Frugality - This is another topic that goes hand in hand with the personal finance blogs I have been reading.  For the purposes of my writing, I will focus on frugality as a means of spending money the things that enrich my life the most, while avoiding frivolous purchases.

• Life Experiments - Although "experiments" isn't the word I'm looking for, its the best one I have.   What I hope to share are activities in my life that aim to enrich, entertain, or simplify my life.

That about sums it up, that is where this ship is heading, but as with many projects in my life, they rarely end up where I though they were going in the beginning.  So  sit back and hang on, because this train is leaving the station.


Um...  

Toot  Toooot