Candice, Brian, Ben(their neighbor) and I went to La Victoria Taqueria and it was delicious. They have this orange sauce that is phenomenally good. I don’t know what they put in it because it is somewhat creamy, but vegan, and sooooo good. I got the veggie burrito and it was amazing with the orange sauce all over it.
Brian got a lot of a type of game called Diceland. It is an interesting concept where the geometry of the pieces maters and they are rolled like dice onto the table. They are all 8 sided dice shapes and have different stats based on what sides they are on. When damaged the dice switch to a worse side. It was a really interesting game, and I liked playing it a lot. We played the Diceland: Space version and I had a few really powerful ships. Brian had a fleet of small fighters. Once he got the going they were decently strong, but I was able to destroy them all with a single blast from one of my stronger ships, so I ended up winning. I’d be interested in playing it a good bit more.
We then played a short game called Times Square. It reminded me a lot of the wedding game and seems like it could work well as a basis for the mechanics of the wedding game/cease fire. I thought it could use a bit more depth, but it was decently balanced. The whole thing was a game of frustration as you couldn’t do anything that the other player would then just completely undo. He won the first round with Champaign Charlie and I won the second with Sue.
Nick and Candice showed up about then. Candice brought Togos, and I had a decent chicken sub sandwich. We played two rounds of Glory to Rome. I didn’t do too well in either game, with Brian winning the first one via a building and Nick winning the second time through the Vault.
Yesterday morning I went to Gamekastle’s flee market hoping to pick up a game or two. I was specifically looking for Blue Moon for Steph. Unfortunately none of the tables there had a copy. I saw a copy of Gauntlet of Fools for $15, but when I went to buy it someone had just picked it up. I met Brian there and we went back to his place to play some games. Nick stopped by the flee market later and picked up Tongiaki.
Yesterday when coming back from Bo’s Wedding I ran over some glass and got a flat tire. Steph was nice enough to come pick me up at the train station in Palo Alto. This morning I had to walk all the way to the train station and barely missed the 8:36 train leaving. The next train was scheduled at 9:11, and was also 10 minutes late. Tonight I’m going to have to take care of my bike, and replace the inner tube and chain. I think the tire should be fine, but I’ll just have to wait and see.
I played a game of ad astra with Max and Steph. I got the card that makes you win with 42 points early on in the game and nearly hit it. Had I been able to move once more I would have hit 42 exactly. As it was I was kingmaker in the end as the score card I played would make either Steph or Max win depending on the choice. I officially chose Steph, but it really didn’t matter at that point.
I had a great time talking to Robert at TGI Friday’s. I could really use his help on the board game to get the iconography right and the mechanics clearly displayed.
I got my fitbit!! it is really cool, and I’m really happy I got the Flex. In all the ways that you could prefer one over the other I prefer the Flex. I understand the people that prefer the One, but that just isn’t my style. I need something that is attached to me, doesn’t provide a big distraction, and is really hard to lose. The only time I need to take it off is when I’m diving or charging.
My first day on it has gone well as I’m above the thresholds on almost everything.
Today for lunch I went to Mela Tandoori Kitchen with Bo and Yumin. This was right before their wedding. I got lots of pictures of them but gave the memory card to Bo so that he would have the pictures, and I’ll update this post when I get the pictures.
This book goes into the Darwinistic past of religion and how it has changed into what it is today. They start out with prehistoric societal religions that held the groups together, and made them sacrifice themselves for each other. They then go into how early religions built on each other by taking narratives and festivals. They go into how the major religions of today started forming. Finally they get into how the current nationalism is a form of religion without calling out a specific deity (think manifest destiny). I really like the book and it makes me think about how the foundations of religion are group cohesiveness and the ability to drive people to the greater good of the group over the good of the self.
It's an Exciting World 