95 horrible weather

I am not sure if it is the fact I am getting older, spending more time outside because I have little kids, or am now paying attention, but there seems to be a lot of horrible weather lately.
The ice storm this past winter and the cold cold snap that caused it has really made me weary of bad weather (still not into using the term polar vortex. At least not until I understand the science behind it). Having a house doesn't help matters as I now seem closer to the world than I did living in a condo tower. Now extended rainfalls are concerning as I listen for my sump pump.
Apparently we are getting three days of rain which is going to be a challenge with child #2 if we can't have walks outside.
Fun times. At least it is not snowing...yet.

96 Quick game update

Visiting family this weekend in Owen Sound and actually got to play some card games(!) instead of the usual sitting in front of the couch watching one person play a video game. I should say that I am not against video games, as I am currently working through the latest Tomb Raider on the PS3 (which I highly recommend, similar in gameplay to Batman:Arkam asylum, but more interesting characters, story, and atomsphere), I just really enjoy playing board games when with a group of people.

The first game of the night was San Juan. My brother really likes this game, partly due to the fact that he is undefeated in it. This was the first exposure to the game for my brother-in-law and he quite enjoyed it as well. Both menitioned that they liked how quickly the game rules can be picked up and that you spend most of your time playing the game. My brother took first, my brother-in-law took second. I made a gamble on the chapel early game, but it slowed my card drawing and slowing my development of a card drawing engine. The game's pace was good and didn't drag. A good solid game.

After that we brought out Mundus Novus, a game of spice trading. It is a card game of trading to get sets or sequences to acquire doubloons or special cards to make it easier to get sets or sequences. I always like this game, but it is hard to teach. Unlike San Juan, it tries to be universal with the use of symbols rather than words. This move has made the game less intuitive. Still, it is a clever game with interesting decisions and interactions between players.

Finally, we wrapped up with a game of Love letter. I have spoken of it before and I don't really want to repeat myself, but this is a good game. This is a treasure, a game that you can play with anyone. It is fun and fast with a little bit of card counting to imply strategy.

It was a fun night. Board games and friends. Good times!

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Shedding (entry 97)

I must confess that I had forgotten how sleepy, perhaps lethargic is a better word, paternal leave can be. The days do tend to blend together and one's passions and ambitions are forgotten in the volume of time that paternal leave accords. It might be more the fact that children are beings of now, particularly when they are under a year old, and despite one's best efforts you find yourself shrinking your horizon to a couple hours, a day, maybe two, as find yourself more in their world then your own.

Despite these feelings of being too passive (as I often feel when I come to this blog) I have been active to an evolutionary way, allowing small things to accumulate. The value of these changes are a matter of debate, but I will start with the easy one. I have lost weight through a combination of mostly eating at home and the long morning walks I take my son on for his nap. I didn't realize it was happening until my jeans stopped fitting. I have decided to add some upper strength (push up and chin ups) and some yogas to my week to see if I can improve further. This extra energy has been consumed by my children, but there is something satisfying to being able to carry both of them up the stairs without being winded.

I still seem to be obsessed with the Internet, particularly You Tube. A mix of board and video game reviews and playthroughs, courses on history, biology, news and event analysis, long interviews-- these fill the background of my days. I notice that I struggle with silence now, uncomfortable with being alone with my mind. I think I have eluded to the loneliness of paternal leave for men (I am not sure if it is unique to me, but I have read several newspapers essays that share my experience) and this mental tic is likely a cause of it. I believe warmer weather will help with this (if only to make the weather nicer to walk in).

I have started reading again, mostly web articles, which is an effort to rebuild my concentration, which my Internet obsession and various other activities has so greatly destroyed. I have been researching some interesting developments in improving your memory through flash cards, updated into digital forms. They appear to be thoroughly tested methods, so I am giving them a try, once I decided on what I want to memorize...French maybe?

My weekends seem very full, with most of my relaxing happening in the few hours between the kid's bedtime and mine during the week. Doing a little bit of things that will hopefully develop into something.

I think I will leave it there, my rambling shedding of winter blah, ending only with the happy thought that out my sunroom's window new shoots of grass are popping out. Spring is here with all its sunny promises.

S

 

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