The Name of the Wind

It's been awhile! I've started a gaming only blog called the Semi-Amateur Gamer over on Board Game Geek, so I've been writing over there. However, I still want to keep this blog up, so I thought I'd write a book review. That is right, a good old fashioned book review. Not sure I've ever done that. So what's the book? It is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

First off, I listened to this on my drive out to Kansas and back, which was 20 hours in 2 days. That still left 7 hours worth of audio, which I finished throughout the week. This was the first time that I've ever listened to a whole audio book, I'm an avid podcast listener as you know, but books not so much. Unless I'm making such a long drive again, I don't think I'll ever do this again. It was great while driving, but I kept falling asleep if I just sat in bed and listened. Also, it felt weird.

Okay, now to the actual review. Kvothe is the main character from the story, first you meet him as an innkeeper in some no name town, then you hear as he tells his story. In fact, most of the book is him telling of his childhood, with the occasional pop back to present day. I really liked this format. In general, I like explanations of how someone got somewhere (super hero origin stories are the best!). He tells you about his parents, his hard times, his happy times, and his sad times. I think Rothfuss does a good job with analogies, really descriptive of how Kvothe feels, so the reader understands where he is coming from.

To be honest, some parts of the story were rather drug out, with an almost are we going to get there feeling. There are a whole lot of characters come in and out of Kvothe's life, but they are introduced slowly, so they don't really confuse you as in some books where 20 generic characters are thrown at you in the first chapter. The world that is built is one of fantasy, but really one where magic is more like science. 

*Side Note* How come in these fantasy worlds, yes even LotR, thousands of years go by and there about zero scientific advancements? It is like they are stuck in the middle ages for millenia. Is it because of the crutch of magic?*Side Note Over*

Anyways, Kvothe adventures throughout his childhood, making enemies, friends, learning, and having a few adventures. The book is the first in the Kingkiller Chronicle, so it doesn't get all the way back to the present, which is to be expected. Overall though, I'm excited about this series, perhaps more excited about a book series than I've been since Cornwell's Saxon Series.

Recommendations

Fantasy Fans - I think this is a good choice. It isn't extreme fantasy and almost feels a bit more like a book about Leonardo da Vinci with fantasy thrown in, but I'm still hooked.

Completists -  I made the mistake of starting this before the last book is out. The last time I did this was the Inheritence Cycle. I told myself then I'd never do that again, but now I've done it. I hate myself. Don't you hate yourself.

Light Readers - Stay away from this. I think 27 hours audio tranlates to nearly 700 pages, but these pages are not Harry Potter level reading, rather much deeper and more intricate.

Living Life Together

This week marked the 5^th year anniversary of our community group meeting for the first time. Our community group is comprised of 10 adults and 13 kids from Faith Church. We try and meet every other week together to discuss our faith in Jesus, our trails of life, pray together, and in general intentionally live life together for Christ.

This past weekend we went on a retreat to a lake house in Northern Indiana (sadly one of the families couldn’t make it) and had just an absolutely great time. I’m the only fisherman in the group, so I got up earlier both mornings and went out on the lake to catch some bass, which though it means I’m really tired at night (also angry one night after fishing for 30 minutes because I lost a HUGE ONE, but I don’t want to talk about it). We all then had breakfast together, with kids spread between two tables and adults just sitting around on couches or standing and discussing the day. Then throughout the day we would boat together, tubing and skiing (and attempting to ski), wrangling lunch and supper, disciplining and playing with the kids, then finally getting all the kids in bed. The adults then stayed up late, playing games, discussing life, heaven, and Jesus,  and answering questions like what brought our group together, and finally when everyone is so tired their blurring their words going to bed (Which isn’t late as you think, because all those kids can really wear someone out!).

Living Life Together is what we call our group and that is what we really try to do, because we truly believe that in order for us to grow in Christ and we must also grow together. I hear far too often from Christians that they don’t need to be in church, that they can love God on their own, because after all it is a personal relationship. That is contrary to what scripture says and also practically just not good. My family and my walk with Christ have been strengthened from living in community with fellow believers. He has used them to encourage us during trials, help us move & watch our kids, sharpen our beliefs, and fill our lives with laughter. Our kids get their lives invested in by other adults and they get to see how those adults also live and follow after Christ. In return, we get to encourage, help, and invest right back into the other families’ lives as well.

This post started out as a “let me tell you about my weekend” post, but I guess I’ll end it as a challenge and encouragement to those Christians reading this. Get involved in a local group of believers! Don’t just walk in the door Sunday morning at 11am and rush out as soon as the sermon is over at noon. Be intentional, find where you can fit in, and live in community with other believers. Yes we are not perfect and yes there are just as many hypocrites in the church as there are at the local country club, but we aren’t called to live our lives on our own!

If you won't take my word for it, here are some verses to read and consider: 

Hebrews 10:25 - Don't forsake meeting together.

Romans 12:5 - We are one body.

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 - We're all one body and have a purpose.

Ephesians 5 - Reminds us that Christ is the head of the Church.

Lawrence Invitational Badminton Tourney

When it comes to pure fun and relaxation, Labor Day is my favorite official holiday of the year. If you’ve read my blog before, you know that Gen Con is the best holiday of the year, but for some reason the Federal government won’t recognize it, which makes Labor Day the winner. Anyways, why Labor Day you ask? Well, let me tell you…

The legend begins way back in the dark ages of 1988 (I was 5 years old) when my Uncle Jim & Aunt Theresa hosted a Labor Day party.  They were sitting around eating & drinking, thinking about something to do, and decided to get a badminton set out and play a tournament. They made a trophy consisting of two beer cans screwed to the top of a 2x4 about 8 inches long and gave it to the inaugural winners my Uncles Jim & Tony. Everyone had such a fun time that they decided to do it again next year and the year after and it has been continuing ever since.

Picture of Original Trophy

The trophy itself has grown and changed over the years. Originally the charge of the champions was to improve the trophy ever year and bring it back for the next champions. The original trophy gained a banner, a second level, some birdies, and was quite a sight. Predicting that eventually my younger brother would win the trophy as a 12 year old, Jim knew my mom wouldn’t like beer cans in his room, so Tony went dumpster diving behind a trophy shop and put together a 3 foot tall Frankenstein monster of a trophy in the mid-90s, which continues to travel today.  Here is a picture of it in its current state. It had to be taken to a trophy shop for repair in 2014 as all the travelling had caused snapping of the flags and breaking of the posts.

Trophy as it is now.

The Lawrence Invitational Badminton tournament in 2014 marked the 27^th time that Lawrence family members and friends converged on court. There are usually between 8 and 16 teams that play in the double-elimination tournament. There are two courts set up for play and players ranging from ages 8 years old to late 50s. I’ve now played in 17 different tournaments, my first one was 20 years ago, missing three years while in college. My first year I played with my aunt’s brother, then a couple years with my cousin Scott, then in 1998 began playing with my best friend Ryan. We’ve been playing together ever since. In our 14 years playing together we’ve made it to the championship every time, losing twice, the most humiliating loss coming to my brother and my cousin Scott (yes, my former partner and yes they beat us twice in a row from the losers bracket). Ryan and I have yelled at each other, hit each other with a racket (sometimes it is necessary to give your body to the game), come back from the loser bracket, played in the mud & rain, sweated and bled for the game, and generally took a whole lot of heckling from the Mark & Mark team.

Ryan & I in 2008. I couldn't find earlier pictures though I know they exist.

I think the reason that Labor Day is so fun for me is the competition. I love competition and tournaments. Basketball tournaments, Netrunner tournaments, badminton tournaments, rock/paper/scissors tournaments, it doesn’t matter. Just give me a tournament. This one is fun for all the trash talking that goes on throughout the year and during the day. The jokes cracked at everyone’s expense, the rooting for the underdog , watching a good volley while enjoying a burger and snacking on the ridiculous amount of dessert that is always there, and ending the summer in the camaraderie of competition and food. It is awesome that my aunt and uncle still host this, though they’ve stopped playing in the tournament quite a while ago, yet are now watching the 3^rd generation of players beginning to pick up the rackets and smack the birds.

Ryan & I in 2014

So never plan on me attending your Labor Day cookout or going camping over that weekend or taking a trip to see a natural wonder, because it ain’t gonna happen. I’m playing badminton.

100th Geocache

So normally I post about Every 100 Games that I've played. This time I'm going to post about the 100th geocache we found. It'll only take a couple more years for my 200th one. Geocaches are more rare in my house than board games.

We went out for an evening of geocaching as a family. It is a bit hard to get 3 kids in and out over and over again from a van, but we were able to find 4 caches and had a DNF (Did Not Find) on one cache where it looked like the fence row had recently been cleaned out and thus probably caused a cache casualty. The 100th find for us was Heavy Metal out in McCordsville. It is on a metal bridge over a creek. Just a simple car key magnet stuck to the guard rail.

I like bridge caches, perhaps not as much as my wife likes the actual bridges, but I do enjoy them. However, my favorite caches are cemetery ones, where you can wonder around and see all the grave stones and think about the lives those people led and search for the oldest stone. Those caches tend to be nice and peaceful, though I've found a couple near a busy road that weren't so much.

The geocaching adventures continue and I need to find 24 more to meet my year goal. I'm hoping to put out my very own cache soon and also send a few more travel bugs into the wild this year. The picture below is after our 101st find, which was out at the McCordsville Cemetery.

Kaylee and the Moon

This is definitely part of the "life" portion of this blog. This last week it was my turn to drive Kaylee to Cubbies (sorta a Christian boy/girl scouts) on Wednesday night. As we pulled out of our drive, Kaylee noticed the moon in the sky even though it was still daylight. No big deal, I say, "yep, there it is."

Well, by the time we pull out of our neighborhood, she starts getting really excited. "Dad, the moon is following us!" I try to explain that it is so far away, that it doesn't really matter how far we go, it'll still be there with us. She of course says, "oh" in that 4 year-old way, that many of us still use when we're 30 years-old, that means we don't have a clue.

As we start down the highway, she says, "Dad, it is still there. I'm watching it and it is still there." At this point, I've given up on explaining and just agree with her. Then we turn on Meridian from the highways and she exclaims, "That stinkin' moon! It will not stop following us!" I'm laughing at this point. She is still trying to figure it out. Offering explanations of perhaps Jesus is making the moon follow us or somehow the Earth is making the moon follow us.

Now that I've wrote this down, it'll be a good memory many years down the road. It'll be following us, just like the moon was that day.

2014 Resolutions: Theology, Board Games, Life

Sometimes I like to make resolutions in order to not keep them. So here are those resolutions by category. It’ll also give me a good blog to write next December on how I failed. 

Theology

1. Read Mere Christianity again. It has been a very long time since I’ve read this book and so I want to give it another read.

2. Memorize Colossians 3. The whole chapter. Colossians, along with James, is one of my favorite books in the Bible. This might be the toughest of all these resolutions.

3. Create a small study of the book of Jude. I don’t know much about the book, tucked right in there before Revelation, so perhaps creating a small study on it will help me know it and understand it more.

Board Games

1. A couple years ago I attempted to play each of my games at least one time. I nearly succeeded, only having 2 or 3 small card games not get played.  I’m not doing that again. It was horrible. This year instead I’m going to attempt to play my 10 favorite games at least 5 times each. You can see my current favorite games here: Top 25 Games of All Time - 2013 Edition. It is possible this list will change in March/April, in which case that new 10 favorite will become this resolution.

2. In 2012 I “published” my first game via The Game Crafter. Guild of Thieves was fun and enjoyable to design and publish. Now I want to get moving again on another design. I’ve got two different games, one of which, I want to publish via a print on demand service by the end of 2014. Bad Bass Fishin’ and City Builder are the current working titles.

3. Win a Netrunner tournament. This year I played in several Netrunner tourneys and was able to win a couple. The taste is in my mouth. I need more. So I’m going to resolve to win just one Netrunner tourney this year, but that tourney must have at least 8 participants. I don't want too small of a goal.

Life

1. Currently I’m sitting at 88 found geocaches. I’d like to be at 125 by the end of the year. That is 37 new caches. This is a good goal, because more often than not, when I’m geocaching I’m doing so with my family. So good family time.

2. What would a New Year’s Resolution list be without a health goal? Nothing! That is what. So here is mine. For the first 90 days of the year compete in a “health challenge” against myself and perhaps my wife. The results of this health challenge being losing 10 lbs and more energy.

3. I want to take Kaylee fishing at least 3 times this year. She already has been bugging me about going to the pond across the street in the woods. So I am going to make sure I take her at least 3 times whether it is there, the Fischer Lake near my parents, or the river. If you’ve ever fished with a 4 year old, you know this isn’t an easy task. Especially for a guy who likes to fish like me.

Happy New Year everyone! What resolution are you doing? Perhaps resolving not to resolve anything? (Mind Blown)

Bonus: Not have a beard all year long. Okay. This isn't real. I love beards.

Sting from Dune

I see look-a-likes all the time. Sometimes it is with famous movie stars, sometimes with just us regular folk, but for some reason people remind me of other people. For instance, I have a friend who reminded me of Hiro from Heroes when it was on. There was that time when I was eating lunch and I pointed out to my buddies that the lady sitting behind us could've been Laurence Fishburne's long lost sister. I'm serious. Absolutley, positively, probably was. I'm going to go google him to see if he has a sister that lives in Indiana. (Okay, I'm back) However, my most prominent look-a-like I've ever crossed paths with is Sting from Dune. There is a gentlemen that works in the same building as me, that 5 years ago when I saw him for the first time, I thought "Hey, that is Sting from Dune!" and I've thought that ever since. Matter of fact, him reminding me of that movie actually got me to watch that movie, because I'd never seen it. (Don't watch it, it sucks.)

Now I'm not talking about any Sting like this one:

I'm talking about Sting from Dune: 

My co-workers don't think he looks like him, but he does. He meaning this guy I see in the halls of the building and who he looks like is specifically Sting from Dune. I don't know how it started, but now whenever I happen to walk by him in the hallway, I try to say something about Sting or Dune. I'm wondering if he is catching on, perhaps he is, but I'm still doing it. Sometimes it is tough to get a Dune or Sting reference plugged into a normal conversation but sometimes the spice just flows (see what I did there?). Occassionally, though I'll just blurt out things like, "Harkonnen! Sand Suits! Sting! Arrakis!" and whoever I'm with will just have to try to understand the situation, realizing that perhaps somethings are best left unsaid. 

Maybe one day, I'll actually get to meet this fellow, who I'm sure is a way better guy than Sting was as Feyd-Rautha, but until then (and probably after), he'll always be known as Sting from Dune. Next time you are walking down the street and see someone that might in a slight way remind you of someone else, perhaps you should shout out something like "The Spice must flow!" and see if they notice.

Now let me tell you about Zombie Guy...

A Snow Chair

We had the last snow of the year yesterday, at least I hope so, because I'm ready to go fishing. Normally March is my thinkin' 'bout fishin' month. Not so much this year. Anyways, Kaylee and I went out and played in the snow. It was perfect for making snowballs, snowmen, and Kaylee's favorite thing, Snow Chairs.

She insisted, before making a snowman, we make a snow chair. I told her I'd make her a Snow Throne, but she didn't like that idea, so snow chair is what we ended up making (I still think it turned out more like a throne). We had a really good time, played in the snow for about an hour, and even shoveled the driveway. Though that seemed pointless as it has almost melted off today anyways.

Our snowman, didn't have a hat, so Kaylee was satisfied with ears instead. That is about it. This blog is about theology, board games, and life. Most of the time, after writing for a year, theology and board games bleed into life (especially theology), but this post is simply about life. Playing in the snow with a three year old. Good and fun times.

Podcasts

So over the past few years I've taken to listening to some podcasts. Mostly they are gaming podcasts, but I do have a couple non-gaming ones thrown in there. I thought I'd write about the ones that I keep on a regular rotation now, as I've given some up as well.

The Dice Tower - When it comes to board game podcasts, this is the grand-daddy of them all. I think they've been going for something like 9 years now. They make a fun podcast, have lots of different contributors, and provide some good insight on various board games. Mostly though, I listen for their Top 10 lists. Every other week they do a Top 10 list of games for a specific category, such as games from 1998 or games you'd play with your mom. These are entertaining and also give you some good ideas for possible purchases and trades.

The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast - This is a group of 4 guys that talk about gaming of all kinds. Video gaming, board games, RPGs, miniatures, just about everything you can think they'd discuss. Mostly it is board games, but I like it that they discuss other parts of the gaming hobby that I'm not involved in. The real reason I listen to them though is because as a listener it is like you have just been placed in their game room, after a game, and you hear 4 long time friends just shootin' the breeze. This podcast is what I imagine would be in any game room in any situation with buddies of a long time. I can see myself sitting around talking to my long time gaming buddies like Jonathan, Dave, and Ryan just recording it. This would be the Secret Cabal - just Indiana style.

Ludology - This is more of a gaming thought podcast. Goeff and Ryan, both pretty smart guys, discuss specific game topics or theories or sometimes will even go very indepth on a single game. Most interesting to me though right now is that they are live blogging, I guess that is what you'd call it, where they are doing every other episode on how their design of a game is progressing. Their thoughts, feed back, problems, just about everything about the process. This makes for some really interesting discussion and since I like designing games...ok...one game, I like this podcast.

On Board Games - This is the podcast I was able to be a guest on once. These guys often have a rotating 3rd chair, which makes for a lot of variety in their shows on a lot of gaming related subjects. One thing I have noticed though, is that I usually don't agree with Donald who is one of the co-hosts, which actually is a good thing, because I know if he says he really likes a game then I'll probably not like it as much and vice-versa.

Agenda7 - This is a brand new podcast that is on Andriod: Netrunner, which I talked about the last time I blogged. I've been enjoying listening to it and have been surprised how professional they already are with their content. I tried out a couple other Netrunner podcasts, but this one was by far the best of them. I'll stick with this podcast if I stick with the game itself as a good source for playing strategies and deck building thoughts.

Winvasion - This was my first single-game specific podcast. It only has 3 episodes so far, but it is about Invasion, so it has to be in my rotation. Invasion is probably now in my Top 5 games of all time, so any podcast where they discuss it is great.

This American Life - The first of two non-game related podcasts (where my listening is really lacking I know). This was recommended to me by a friend at work and I have really liked it. It is basically a reposting of a Chicago radio show. It is a very weird show with all kinds of topics. There are stories about people who hear music in all sounds, people who map the cracks of sidewalks in the cities, tele-evangelists, abusive parents, and just about any random subject you can think about.

Mark Driscoll - Sometimes I also try and listen to Driscoll's sermons as well. Though I don't line up with him theologically in everything and I'm also not a big fan of his church model (him preaching via screens to every church), he preaches with passion and he also preaches the truth. His sermons are not only entertaining, but insightful, and give me a something more deep to think about throughout the week than games or whatever random subject This American Life happens to have.

So that is a lot of podcasts, Didn't realize I regularly listen to that many, though I just recently added Agenda7, Winvasion, and This American Life. Anyone got suggestions for another non-gaming podcast to listen to?

11:11

In first Thessalonians Paul admonishes them in chapter 5 to do a lot of things, be thankful, don't return evil for evil, to be sober. However, he also throws in "pray without ceasing" and that is what I wanted to talk about today. I've never been what you'd call a "Prayer Warrior". My grandma Pat is for sure, but I'm still lacking in that discipline. However, I have taken up a reminder to myself to pray for my children.

Every time I see a digital clock say 11:11, usually in the morning, since I'm unlikely to be up most night at 11:11, I pray for my girls. I pray that they'll come to know Jesus like I know him and even more so. I pray that they'll listen and obey their momma and I. I pray that Krista and I will in-turn raise them right, be patient with them (something I fail at plenty), and invest in their lives. I pray for their future husbands, that wherever they are, they are growing in their love for Christ. Finally, I might pray for something specific that is happening that day such as Ella's snotty nose (okay, that one is happening every day and has since she was born) or Kaylee's latest hurt.

These prayers don't take any time really, often before 11:12 comes around I'm done. They are silent, they don't bother others, but they help me pray without ceasing. Of course, nobody really prays without ceasing, but the point that Paul was making and the point that I'm making is that prayer should be a part of your life. It, like his other commands, should be how you live and who more important to pray for then the beings God has trusted to you to raise and given you stewardship and responsibility over?

It's funny, since I started doing this, I've noticed how much more I notice it is 11:11. I have begun looking for it, hoping I'll see it. Of course, I can pray whenever (that's what is so awesome about not having to have a priest or sacrifice to intercede for me), but having this reminder to pray in a busy, pre-occupied day is a good thing.

Here is a cool source of potential prayers for your children: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/31-biblical-virtues-to-pray-for-your-children/

An Expected Journey (some spoilers)

I didn't mess the title up. Nine years ago, after coming out of the midnight showing of The Return of the King, I expected I'd eventually be making the journey to see Bilbo's journey through Middle-earth happening on the big screen. Friday morning at 12:01 am, I did and so here are my thoughts on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

First, going into this movie, I was expecting to watch a hobbit themed fantasy adventure film and honestly this was much more than just it felt very Hobbit! This surprised me and maybe Jackson will wander more from the book in the next two installments (he did in LotR), but for this first one I thought he stayed pretty close to the book and had several direct quotes from it, including the cleaning up song by the dwarves and my favorite direct quote about how the game of golf was invented by Bullroarer!

Second, I was really worried that they were going to make a Gandalf/Galadriel love connection. Thankfully they didn't. They just showed how much Galadriel cared for and comforted Gandalf which is true to form, since she really wanted him to be the leader of the White Council. Either way, though I don't think the hand patting and hair brushing had to be in the movie, I do think it wasn't done romantically, so I'm just fine with that.

Third, the music is awesome! I absolutely love the dwarven theme music. The Misty Mountain song is great, they continue having different sounding music for the different locations that the scene is in, and Howard Shore has once again invoked an epic sound to the world of Middle-earth.

Fourth, I like the dwarves. I like them a lot. The dwarven culture is my favorite from Middle-earth (I know everyone likes elves and hobbits, but I like me some dwarves) and I think Jackson did a very good job with them. There are a 13 of them, so I understand making them a have a different beard and profile, even an old orc axe in the head of Bifur. I'm not extremely impressed with their beards though. Fili's beard is pretty much non-existant. I understand getting rid of their colorful hoods, but dwarves need beards! Out of all the beards to mess with, the biggest and most important one not to "fix" is Thorin's, and as I said a year ago when they released the first trailer, he looks like a salsa dancer. At least his beard does. He is going to be King Under the Mountain. He needs a king's beard. Okay, rant over.

Fifth, the Riddles in the Dark scene is absolutely awesome. It is funny, it is scary, it is disturbing, it is exactly what it should be. Gollum is excited to have someone to talk to and remembers games he played with his grandmother, yet at the same time he is evil. I thought it was great.

Finally, go see this movie! If you are a LotR fan, go see it. If you have yet to get into the great Tolkien universe, go see it. It is a fun, entertaining movie, that sticks relatively close to the story from the book (I'm sure this will change in the next two movies) that shows how Bilbo earns his place as the 14th member on the Quest to Erebor!

P.S. I'm going again, who wants to go?!

Opening Weekend

I guess I like doing things on an annual basis. Let's go down through the list in chronological order starting in January. Okay, never mind, we'll start in March I don't have anything for January or February. There is IndyCon, Softball (sorta), Geekway to the West, vacation with the Schwirtz's, GenCon, Labor Day Badminton, 13th Tribe Extravaganza, Opening Day Deer Season Camping Trip, Christmas Eve Shopping, and finally New Year's Eve Gaming with the Sheltons. That's a lot of annual events, this time around let's talk about opening day of deer season.

For the past 5 years, Dad and I have been going camping and hunting on opening day of deer season, and it has become something I look forward to more and more. It is a time that I know I'll look back on when I'm old (that'll be in about 5 months when I turn 30) and think of with a smile. Most years we've gotten something, at least a doe, but this year was the best time we've ever had.

A family friend who hasn't hunted very much, Greg, went with us this year. After setting out tree stands up, we went back to the camp site, cooked a potato and steak for each us, slathered them in butter (that's right both the steak and the potato), and ate out side like men. Later of course I had my chai tea and Nutella like an European or Indian man, the steak and potato was Mid-west man. During this time we saw, what we'd call redneck humor. A camper pulled up, some fellas got out and set their beer and other important things on the picnic table. They then opened the camper door, brought out a bunch of firewood (we though this odd as the back of the truck was empty) and then next started to roll a tire out. It went down one step, then the second step, and then hit the ground. You see where this is going, the tire just kept rolling, down the hill from the camper and the slightly over weight, cut off flannel shirt guy, trying to keep his pants up while chasing the tire yelling "Oh S&#!" and hoping to stop it before it went pummeling another campers site. It was a good laugh for us.

We then played  a couple games, which I've brought on this very trip before, in which Greg used his cunning to defeat us at Small World. Then he took a real liking to the bottle in Bottle Imp and was disposed of. It was getting late about this time, say 8:30 at least, so we turned in for the night. We woke up the next morning at 4:45AM and took off to kill some deer.

I was in my tree and ready to go at 6:46. About 7 o'clock I saw a silhouette on the top of the hill, heard the deer walking around a bit, but never saw him. I continued to wait patiently and about 8 o'clock, among the war sounds that is opening day on public ground, I once again saw a silhouette going the opposite direction at the top of the hill. I thought he had gone on by, but as luck would have it, he did an about face, stepped into my line of sight for a brief moment, and without hesitation I shot a 6-point buck at about 65-70 yards. I was excited! I waited 45 minutes or so, continuing to hear coming from the direction of Dad and Greg, and then texted them (yeah, we're high tech deer hunters) about 9 saying, I was going to get down and clean my buck. I looked up from texting and now see a doe, padding her way towards me, looking over her shoulder (on opening day the deer are a bit skittish and I don't blame them). She heard a shot, paused for about ten minutes behind some brush, I couldn't get a shot on her. Finally, she moved and I was able to take her as well at about 25 yards. Two deer in one day! Never thought I'd do that.

To make a long story shorter, Dad also got one that day, so we had 3 deer to check in and drop off at the meat locker. We were all so tired and worn out from dragging and driving, we decided to call it a successful weekend and packed up to hit the road home. So after 5 years, I'd say camping and hunting has become a great tradition with my Dad and I. Maybe it'll continue with myself and Kaylee or maybe the tradition then will be going to some American Girl doll convention. Whatever it is, family traditions whether during the holidays or just the regular days are good things.

The spoils. That's three deer you see there or as I like to think of it, that's some good eatin'.

It's Been Awhile

It's been awhile. I don't really have something specific to write about, so let's just do some bullet points.

• Since winning the North America Championship for Warhammer: Invasion (a card game I play), I've been waffling on whether to attend the World Championship, but I'm thinking now that it is an opportunity I should take. Won't be a yearly thing, but I'm sure it'll be fun to do. We even had 8 people at our last Invasion Night here in Indy. Thanks to Meetup.com. If you've never been to that website you should check it out.

• We're back on Wednesday nights with Youth Group while Kaylee and Ella are attending Cubbies & The Kids Room. It's been nice to get back in the groove for that. I taught the other night, didn't do too well, but still enjoyed it and hope God used it somehow. The small group of guys that I'm leading are real fun too, with Freshmen through Seniors in it. I'm excited to see how they grow and change over the year.

• Kaylee and Ella are playing more with each other. Kaylee especially tries to include Ella in a lot of things such as taking a "nap" on the welcome mat on the front door or playing Barbies. Speaking of playing Barbies. I did that.

• It's cold enough now that I think I'm done fishing. Didn't get to go as much as I would've liked to this year, but what year do I? The times I did get to go were fun and I did catch a couple nice small mouth, which just makes me happy. Next year, I'm for sure going to go more on the White River in Noblesville. I want to at least try it.

• I was going to cut my hair, Krista said I shouldn't. Usually I do what I like with my hair (read buzz it), but since she asked me not to I think I'll relent this time. It's getting a bit longer. We'll see how long this lasts. Maybe long enough for dreads? 

• I've made an Essen Resolution. That's something I just came up with. I'm only going to purchase 2 board games and 1 expansion for a year. That's right, until next October not many new games. If I can trade for games, that is fine. If I can sell games, then use that money to purchase new games, that is fine. I just don't want to grow my collection much more. Running out of room and not getting to play everything as much as I'd like. This of course doesn't include Invasion expansions, which is starting to become a separate hobby of its own. I make the rules for Essen Resolutions, so don't judge me.

• I listen to Talk Sports Radio more now than I listen to Country Music Radio

• I'm reading in Acts right now, read about Ananias and Saphira, the people who held back money from the church. Then read Acts 5:13 which says, "Yet none of the rest dared join them (the church), but the people esteemed them highly." My thought on this is how serious this was taken. Joining up meant a lot and people respected those that did join, even if they themselves weren't willing to commit. Just interesting.

Okay, that is all the random catch up stuff. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog reading.

Family Strategy

Strategy is a word I like. Maybe it is because I've studied business much of my life. Perhaps though, and this is why I think I like it so much, is because I'm a board gamer and you often need to have a good strategy to win. I think strategy can be used in more than business and games though, I think it can be used in family rearing and growth as well. As matter of fact, I think it is something that is required if you want to succeed in leading your family.

The other day I was talking with a buddy about what we want our kids to eat. I said, "red meat off the bone!" of course. No seriously.

The point is that we were talking strategy in how to raise our kids healthy. Krista and I try to discuss family goals at least once a year such as what improvements we want to do with the house, what things we'd like to buy, what activities we want the girls to get into, where we'd like to go, and then most important how we are going to make those goals happen. That is where the strategy comes in. We'd like Kaylee & Ella to grow up learning the Bible and participating in activities with others their age in order to make sure they are ready to join teams later in life. So we've enrolled Kaylee in "cubbies" at church. Ella...well she still slobbers and snots a lot, so we've got a strategy of having a snot rag around.

Do you have a family strategy? I think similar to the 5-year plan you hear about in interviews or the business plan you need to write in order to get a loan, family strategies should be an important part of our lives each year. They not only help you define what you are doing as parents or spouses, but they also help define what you need to do as an individual to contribute to that family strategy. I'm guessing, and hoping, that as the girls get bigger they'll want to have input in these family strategy discussions. No, they won't be making the decisions, but the more we get them involved in the strategy the more they will likely embrace it and run with it (see what I did there, a strategerized even that).

For now though, it's Cubbies, snot rags, and surviving the bed time break downs.

Dreaming About Turtles and Laptops

So I was 35 minutes late to work today, because for some reason I shut off my alarm. I'm glad I did though, because in that time I had a dream. Now this isn't an MLK dream, but an actual dream while sleeping a la Jacob from the Bible or somebody from Inception. More likely Inception.

I was at a river, a rushing river, and I feel like there were other people there. For some reason there was a huge log that this river was rushing into. It was a big, black, gnarly (I like spelling that word) log, that was as big as a house with a large black hole. Occasionally, birds that were in the duck/goose family would fly into this hole and come back out with a turtle in their beak and fly away. Not sure why they were doing this, but they were.

After awhile, one of these birds came out with a pretty large turtle in it's beak, which must've meant the bird had to be large. I don't remember, so quit asking me how large! This turtle was about the size of a turkey carving plate during Thanksgiving. I decided to catch it. Don't know how I did, whether I caught the bird first or just sweet talked the bird into dropping the turtle, but eventually I did catch it. Even avoiding getting bit in the process.

Once I had that turtle out of the bird's beak, I realized there was a laptop strapped to its back! That's right a regular old laptop, not an iPad or whatever you Android users say is equal to an iPad, but just a regular old flip up the screen and start typing laptop. Somehow I found videos on this laptop of people dancing and singing. I don't know what they were dancing too, probably something by the Black Eyed Peas, but it was there. Don't ask me how the laptop survived in the log, on a turtle, then being carried by a bird in it's beak, but it did!

I then was magically transported, you know how this works in dreams, to a log cabin where I tried to get the turtle to be still so I could get my friends to record a video with me on the laptop. First, I don't know who my "friends" were, but since it involves turtles and laptops I'll assume Sean Chambers was one of them. Also, I hear you asking now, why did you leave the laptop strapped to the turtle? Again, I don't know. Perhaps it was important to the turtle to remain with the laptop. Perhaps, and I'm stretching a bit now, the laptop was his shell. Either way, at some point my dream ended with my futile attempt to get my friends to record on the laptop that was strapped to a turtle.

So I was 35 minutes late to work today...

The Week of Summer

It felt a bit like I was high school this last week. Krista and the girls went up to Wisconsin to see the family on a last minute trip and I stayed back to work. So I worked hard and played hard. I had a good week, though I missed my girls. Here is a rundown of what I did this week, which reminded me of highschool, since during the summer in high school my weeks looked similar.

Monday

Worked late and then decided to go and watch the Amazing Spider-man with one of the senior guys from the youth group. I stopped by the new game store called Game Time in Castleton, then went over and watched the movie with Chris. Throughout the week, when I had a few minutes, I'd proceed to watch the previous 3 Spider-man movies as well. Which made for some late nights! Here are my quick thoughts in the order of how I liked the movies: Spider-man 2, Spider-man, The Amazing Spider-man, Spider-man 3 (Topher Grace as Venom is just ridiculous).

Tuesday
Worked late again and then went over to grill out with our community group. It's was some good conversation the Hobbit, Dune, and I even was able to eat without feeding the kids. The burgers were absolutely great by being mixed with apple sauce, crackers, and some other things I'm not remembering now. After that I went over to my buddy Dave's house to play some Command and Colors: Ancients. His wife was out of town too and so we took the chance to play games, which we both get to do, but not very often together. I played the Romans and he played the Carthaginians in a battle I cannot remember. I got out to a 5-0 lead, but only ended up winning 7 - 5.

Wednesday
My brother and his fiance took me fishing out near Illinois in a nice little farm pond. After dinner at a Steak place that I guess is somewhat famous for hosting IU, Illinois, and Purdue basketball teams, we got out on the pond. It was some of the best fishing I've had in a while. Both Lindsey and Caleb caught huge bass, while I missed mine. Though I did catch a lot of very nice, maybe even 1lb Crappie. I didn't get home and in bed until 12:45am, which meant 5:45am came early, but it was really worth it! I love fishing and was glad to get to go. Hope I get to go back. Here is a picture:

 

Thursday

Worked last again Thursday, came home and got some business out of the way on the computer and then went to the first game of the softball tourney. We got beat. We got beat 10-7. We hit horrible, with 3 of the innings being a 1-2-3, two of those innings with our top 3 lead off hitters. It didn't make me happy.

Friday

After staying busy all week, I was originally planning on just relaxing by myself Friday night, but instead sent out a text to some buddies for some ad hoc gaming. Both Brendan and Clint responded and so we enjoyed a few games together. First Clint and I played Battle Cry, with the Union getting a victory at Gettysburg - Pickett's Charge. Then Brendan joined us for Ninjato (designed by Indianapolis's very own A.B. West), Hansa Tuetonica (I mopped the floor with them, but they'd never played before and I've played quite a bit), and the King of Tokyo (my current HOT game). They took off around 11:15. I got in bed around midnight.

Saturday

Got up at 6:30 to go and play in our 2nd tourney game of softball. We played on a field we'd never played on before and it is by far the nicest field in the league. This didn't help our hitting though, I went 1 for 3, my only hit coming because nobody covered first when I dribbled the ball down the right field line. Hurt my shoulder, my groin, and got beat 9-3. I've decided I can't manage a team in the playoffs, because thus far my softball teams are 0-4 in play off games and they haven't even been close. With that done at 9:15 or so, I came home and showered, cleaned the dishes for the girls arrival, and then went to play games at the Indy Boardgamers Meet-up. Where I played Trajan (if I owned it this might be my HOT game right now), Eclipse where I scored the highest I've ever scored with the Hydran, and then finished up the day with Train of Thought (a party game I didn't enjoy). I got home about 6:10 and the girls arived about 6:20. We unpacked the stuff from the van and went to get some Yats, which is the perfect way to end the week!

I missed my girls after this week though and I'm really glad they are back! Seriously though, if you knew me at all in high school, you'd know this is what I did during my summers. Though you could substitute golf or basketball in for the softball, and I'd be mowing grass instead of being a desk jockey.

The Musings of a Three Year Old

This is my 100th post. I honestly didn't think I'd get that far when I first started writing this blog, but here I am. Today is also Kaylee's 3rd birthday and so I thought I'd give you readers a few things she says that I think are pretty funny.

1. She is constantly pointing out crosses. She'll say there is a cross daddy! There is another cross. She doesn't realize that most of the time she his pointing out churches, but we'll get there.

2. Whenever we say anything about time, she says it is 11:40. Doesn't matter what time of day it is, whether it is dark out, raining, or bright and sunny. If I ask Krista what time it is, Kaylee pipes up and says it is 11:40.

3. She likes to find out if we're happy. Maybe Krista and I'll be having a little argument, maybe we'll just be eating dinner, Kaylee just likes to randomly ask us if we're happy. I think this is interesting. First, because she cares about us and wants us to be happy. Second, because I know someday I'm going to have to teach hur the difference between happiness and joy.

4. About 4 months ago we went to a car wash. Ever since then, she is always asking if we're going to a car wash. If she sees anything that remotely resembles a car wash, she automatically thinks that is where we are going.

So those are the 4 musings of a three year old. Happy birthday to my Kaylee! Now I see it's about 11:40 and time for me to go...

The First

So I'm starting a blog. That is weird to me. I've never figured myself as a much of a writer, but looking back I've wrote quite a bit about board games, so I figured I'd carry it over into other areas of life. What really has made me start this blog though is a book I'm reading. It is John Adams by David McCullough. So far it is a pretty interesting book with some great insight into Adams' life, but none of that would have been possible without all the personal writing he did throughout his life. Now I don't expect to have a biography written about me someday, but I'd like my family and even myself to be able to look back and see what I was thinking about or pondering at a given time in my life. So it begins here.

"Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis

I read this quote from C.S. Lewis early this past summer while reading a book on heaven by Ted Dekker. The quote was honestly the best part of Dekker's book and hasn't left my head all summer long. A couple days ago a saw a copy of Weight of Glory laying on a table and read the first chapter where this quote is from. It really makes me think about my life and what fulfills me.

I think as Christians, myself included in that statement, a lot of times tend to focus on being content in our lives. However, when Paul tells us to in Philippians 4:11 that no matter what state we are in to be content, I think he is speaking about grasping what God has given us and being satisfied with that. However, I don't think he is saying not to have any motivation in life or not to desire more. Lewis brings up the point that we can be easily satisfied with a mediocre relationship with God, a mediocre relationship with those around us, a mediocre outlook on life. Why shoot for mediocre?! I'm not not talking health and wealth gospel here, but I am talking pursuing those desires that God gives us for Him to the fullest!

The Recommendation List

I'm getting older. I can't remember things anymore. Like where I left my wallet, where I put my shoes, and....okay, those things I've always forgotten. Just ask my wife. Or my mom. Or both of them. However, a couple months ago I did decide to use the notes function on my iPhone to keep track of book/movie/games recommendations that I get throughout the week in just general conversations. Just because someone gives me a recommendation, doesn't mean it gets on the list, but at the same time if it piques my interest its got a chance. Now, of course, my game recommendations listed are going to be smaller because I play more games than most people and I usually learn about them on www.boardgamegeek.com anyways and put them on my wish list there. So here is the list.

Books:

• Shiloh, 1862 - I know absolutely nothing about this book. I just know it is about the Civil War in some way and as I was playing a lot of Battle Cry when it was recommended to me it made the list.
• Flowers for Algernon - I think it is about a guy who gets real smart and then loses his smartness. Either way, I'm intrigued. 
• Kristen Laveron's Datter - I guess this is a really old book and originally written in Scandinavia some where. I've never read a Scandinavian book. So this makes the list. 
• Darth Plagueis - Yes, this is a Star Wars book. Chris, one of the students in the youth group, recommended it to me. He thought I'd enjoy it and not really have to have read other Star Wars books, so it's on the list.
• The Maze Runner Series - I've had this recommended by 3 different people, so with that much recommending, it is on the list and is even reserved from the library. So this one will be crossed off soon.
• Redwall - My little sister is all about this series. I remember starting them while in school, can't remember much more, I think I'll try again.
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer - I saw the trailer for the movie, understood the premise, and thought it sounded fun.
• Dune - I started this one, had to take it back to the library, so I just picked up a used copy. I can tell I'm going to like this one. A huge epic in the making, at least from the first 6 chapters or so. Once I finish Sherlock Holmes, this is next.
• 11/22/63 - About a time-traveler that tries to stop the JFK assassination. Stephen King has been hit and miss with me. I've only attempted to read two of his books before, but this has me interested.

Games:

• Rolling Freight - A board game about trains and delivering goods with dice! I heard this on a podcast, so I had to put it in my notes, I've since watched a video review. This looks right up my ally.

Movies:

• Ha! I just realized I've already watched both movies that were on my list. Waiting on Superman & Special When Lit. Both are documentaries and I enjoyed both. 

So that is the list, turns out it is mostly books, so make some suggestions for me! We'll see if they make the list and eventually get read/played/watched.

Best of Five

Krista and I have listened through Mark Driscoll's sermon's on marriage recently and now we're listening to them again with our community group. The second sermon in the series is all about being friends and so I thought I'd share how my wife and I have been using gaming to be friends. If you've never listened to the sermons, you should, but specifically the one titled "Friend with Benefits."

Back in the fall, while in the midst of playing through every board game in my collection, I asked Krista if she'd like to do a Best of Five series for a particular game. I was really being burnt out on playing a game once, then not playing it again for another year, and wanted a chance to play them more and get to learn the game more. So we began playing games, first person to 3 wins takes the series, and then the loser selects the next game in the series. This has been a great way for us to be friends, as we have some competition and fun to look forward to in an evening, and at the same time get better at our games.

I realize that this is more "shoulder to shoulder" friendship, which lines up with my friendship style more than Krista's, but at the same time it is good for us to spend time just the two of us and interacting, in this case over a game, rather than just sitting and watching a movie or reading in the same room together.

As for the games that we've played, we just finished our 15th series, which has included 14 unique games. We played Castles of Burgundy twice. The only game that we'd not suggest as a two-player game anymore, after playing it 5 times, is Tobago. It's an okay two player game, but really shines more with 3 or 4 players. I'm looking forward to our series continuing, though I'm currently on top, so Krista gets to pick the next game.

I'll leave you with a quick list of the games we've played (feel free to guess who won what series), which you might enjoy with your spouse or kids in a one on one situation, and also a quick fact about my wonderful wife who is my friend. Krista is really particular (read anal here) about how the frosting is spread on cinnamon rolls. I love her for that.

The Games (You'll notice, these names tend to be places in the world, which is weird):
The Castles of Burgundy
Agricola
Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries
Jaipur
Macao
Carcassonne
Warhammer: Invasion
Sid Meier's Civilization (2010)
Traders of Carthage
Le Havre
Santiago de Cuba
Dominion
Tobago
San Juan