Wings of Glory, X-Wing Miniatures

The Baron's Fokker swoops in on the poorly positioned enemy

Last night I played a couple of games with Aaron. First, we played two quick aerial duels with his new Wings of Glory pack.  In the first match, I totally screwed up in maneuvering, and the Red Baron shot down my Sopwith Camel.  In the second match, we charged one another in a blaze of guns. He hit me and my engine started smoking, but his gun jammed and I knocked him out of the sky.

Rebel ion cannons keep Imperial ships in disarray while the HWK shimmies through picking off the wounded.

Then we played a (roughly) 100-point X-Wing Miniatures match. Aaron's young son Collin and I were the Rebel team, and Aaron was the Imperials. It was a tricky match-up: Collin's Y-wing and B-wing were using disabling ion cannons, while my HWK made most of the actual kills with a blaster turret. The Rebels won with no ships destroyed.

I had a great time.

Magic Labyrinth

With the family. It's one of our favorites.

A Fishing Spider

Dolomedes tenebrosus, a fishing spider, living near the green house at school.

D. tenebrosus photo by Mark Tabler

Last aluminum can haul

For a few years I collected cans from recycling, getting the cans mostly from the break room at work and from some relatives who set them aside.  It originally started as a means to just set aside a little money for coin collecting, though over the past couple of years my goal has mostly been to get money for table top gaming.  It’s not a particularly fruitful pursuit:  every six to nine months I was taking them to the recycling center, and getting between $30 and $60 per trip.

However, we have decided that garage space is too much at a premium at our house, so Friday was my last trip.  This was $33 worth of cans (about 52 pounds).

I have given my can bin to my co-worker, Carolyn, who wants to take over.

Why I like board games...one reason, any way.

Most people who know me well also know that for a few years I have been obsessed with board games.  I guess “obsessed” is the right word.  I spend a lot of time thinking about them, reading about them, listening to podcasts about them, and watching videos.

I can trace my history in this.  I remember, when I was about ten or eleven years old, asking my parents for a strategy game for Christmas.  I got Stratego, which I enjoyed. Shortly after that, I discovered Dungeons and Dragons, though my friends and I played with a very skewed, watered-down version of the rules that we made up in lieu of reading and understanding the real rules.  After that, RPGs remained my mainstay in the gaming department until I was about 30.  After that, due to time constraints (both on my part, and my friends’), I started moving back into more and more board games and card games.

But why?  That is harder for me to figure out.  What do I find so attractive about games?  And why do I like certain games more than others?

There are numerous reasons, but a new one that occurred to me recently is the concrete nature of the rules of the situation the game creates.  A game creates a little world (which, within the theme of the game, might be something abstract and geometric like alternating checkered squares, or it might be expansive like an artistically-rendered galaxy populated by various aliens set on conquering and colonizing neighboring star systems), but this world functions on a system of rules that the players know and must work within.  I like this “logic” aspect.  I like knowing “if A, then B;” or “if A, then you must choose from A, B, or C.”  The rules might be complex, and not solvable in the way that tic-tac-toe is solvable, and the choices might be hard, but there are rules that I can look up and which do not change.

In this regard, I find games a refreshing temporary refuge from real life.  In real life, every single person is playing by a different set of rules. (It just occurred to me that maybe this is one of the big attractions of religion.  Maybe, on one level, many people like religion because it makes them feel like other people who share the same faith are going by the same rule book, and it makes their society more understandable.)  I think most people play by similar rules sets, but they are so complex, inscrutable, and mutable that the rules can hardly be called rules.

It does occur to me that comparing a game rule book to a metaphorical “real life” rule book might be sort of forced.  It might only be an apt metaphor for someone like me who spends a lot of time thinking about games.

In that regard, a month ago I took a class pertaining to the legal bases for government appropriations, and we spent quite a bit of time skimming through legislation and legal decisions with regard to federal agencies’ budgets, financial obligations, and expenditures.  Half way through the class it started to feel to me like I was reading a very large game rule book, which prompted me to think, “When your primary system of thought is game rules, everything looks like a board game.”  This is akin to “When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”  I liked the class much more than I expected to, perhaps because it seemed so much like a game rule book.

I don’t think this is the primary reason I enjoy board games, but it’s up there.

Labor Day swimming

Was Monday our final swim of the summer? Probably. I told the girls to strike a pose.

Sunday night Shadowrun

I have been playing roleplaying games with the same core group of friends for 25 years. Maybe 26—I will have to double check—but I think I started with these friends in 1989.  A few old friends dropped out over the years, and a few friends joined, and there are quite a few who came in late and left again after a few months or years. There was a period of a few years when I was living in Wyoming and was not a member of the group, and there have been a few long stretches when for whatever reason we were not getting together to play with any kind of regularity.

The past decade has been a struggle because people have kids and other family obligations (not to mention some health problems, business travel, family vacations…), but I feel like things are sort of on the upswing again as kids get older and members of our gaming group are able to spare a little more time away.  It is still hard to meet more than once a month, but I have confidence that we will keep getting together.

We started playing 2^nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in ’89, then started in on Shadowrun in the mid-90s.  There have been forays into other interesting games over the years (the most significant being Earthdawn, but also a couple of short starts into Star Trek and Star Wars RPGs whose rules bases I cannot remember, and a few other short-lived games), but different versions or editions of D&D and Shadowrun have been the mainstays.

 

Here is a photo from this past Sunday night, when I was able to get together with Keith, Paul, and Aaron.  A few other of our main players could not make it, but our game proceeded nonetheless.

Certainly, the appearance of the players has changed over the years. A few of us have a lot less hair on our heads, and we generally weigh more.  The games are still pretty much the same, though.  One big difference here is that there is no Mountain Dew on the table.  We’ve mostly moved from almost exclusively drinking sodas to beer, water, coffee, and tea, depending.  Another big difference:  laptop computers and smart phones have largely taken the place of rulebooks.

Stink bug molting

Just in case you thought you could not detest them more, here is a loathsome photo from my sunflowers.

Kentucky State Fair

We went out to the fair a few days ago, and had lots of fun looking at the art and craft entries and the animals.  Then we took what I thought would be a brief visit to the midway.

After quite a bit of discussion, we spent a small fortune on getting the girls bracelets that would let them ride as many rides as they wanted.  I was a little dismayed by the expenditure, but consented.  I'm glad I did.  It was worth it to see them overcome their fears and ride some very big rides, and LOVE it.  They sat together on this one:

...which was very high. I was impressed by their bravery, especially that of my 8-year-old, who was quite nervous at first.

Then she and I got on the Tilt-a-Whirl:

She wasn't sure she wanted to ride it, but I wanted to ride it with her, so finally we both got on it.  At times, it spun so fast that it really pinned me to the back, and I was a little weary of it by the time we exited.  But she got off, convinced her sister to get on, and they rode it together.  The 10-year-old wasn't too fond of it, but her little sister rode it five times in a row, even by herself.

Posting to blog

I have been posting mostly photos lately, but not much written material.  I think on reason is that sometimes I don’t have much to say.  Other times, though, I feel like I have so much stuff “backlogged” in my mind, stuff I could post to my blog, that I don’t know where to begin (or I want to post it chronologically, and feel like I should backtrack, but I can’t retrace my steps.)  But then after realizing I’m thinking about this I realize that there is no reason to feel this way, that no one cares if my blog is in chronological order, that no one cares if it tells a coherent narrative, and that few people end up reading it anyway…so, it does not matter what I say, when I say it, or in what order.  If I want to post stuff here for my few readers to read, I should just put it up when I think of it and when I have time.

Old drawing

Apparently I drew this one evening over at Keith ' s house about 20 years ago (Probably 1996 or '97).  I drew it on the back of some Shadowrun game material. When I was over the other night he showed it to me.

Clouds on a building

Just a photo I took while running lunchtime errands.

Dinner

Looks like Chinese is on the menu tonight.

A panoramic view from the Washington go on Monument. The Capital Building is at far right, The White House partially obscured by trees at center, and the Lincoln Memorial at far left. 

View from the Mall

The Wasp - haunted Ruins

Goofing off with the phone camera at the San Diego airport at 5:15 a.m.

Sunset on the Pacific

I did not stay to watch the sun set last night, but tonight I did. It would have been so much better with my family; it made me miss them even more, because they would have enjoyed it so much.

My feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time

Sent on the new Sprint Network from my Samsung Galaxy S®4.

Del Mar - Powerhouse Park

Sent on the new Sprint Network from my Samsung Galaxy S®4.

Del Mar Beach

I was going to walk over to those cliffs, but after walking for about half a mile I got to this point and realized the high tide had foiled my plans.

Sent on the new Sprint Network from my Samsung Galaxy S®4.

Pretty glads, and tomato anticipation

Black walnut ink house portrait

8 x 11.25 inches, finished today on my lunch break.  This one was commissioned by a lady in Nashville.

Carcassonne

Playing on my birthday. One of my birthday wishes was for someone to beat me at a game I like (not too difficult, really.) Erin obliged.

Moon/dying tree

A few games

I got to play some games last weekend.  I met up with Travis and a few other guys and played a new card game (new to me, anyway) called Fairy Tale.  It took me 1 ½ games to catch on to the rules, but once I finally understood how to read the cards the game seemed fun and pretty simple.  If I ever come across an inexpensive copy I wouldn’t mind picking it up.

Then we played Magic: The Gathering, which I have hardly ever played, and with which I am only slightly familiar.  I did very well for much of the game because I started with some good cards, and then, since I was a newcomer, no one was bothering to attack me.  But after a while, the two other players remaining in the game realized I had grown into a threat, and wiped me out.  I think Magic is a fun game, but I can’t see myself ever getting into it in any way that’s nearly as serious as the game’s enthusiasts.  Too much money, too much time.  That being said, I’ve considered getting a starter pack just to play with family and friends, but hesitated because I already have games I want to play but don’t have time for.

After I got home, my daughter wanted to play Magic Labyrinth, which is a good game.  I enjoy the puzzle-y, movement forecast-y element.  The next day, at my father-in-law’s, we played it again next to the pool.

Metal detecting finds

The above photo is an artistically presented image of the garbage I find.  I find it rather attractive.

Anyway, when I go metal detecting, I lug around a little plastic carry-all tub with my digging tools and rags.  Anything I find gets tossed into the tub, too.  I try to put the interesting stuff on one side, the coins in one spot, and the garbage wherever it will fit.

I don't clean out my tub after every trip.  Instead I kind of save it up. I have done very little metal detecting over the past year, but finally after last week it was time to clean it out; it was just too full to keep using it.

All together I had about $5.85 in coins.  There were a few other slightly interesting bits:

I think the corroded cap gun and one or two of the cars came from the yard of the house my dad lived in when he was little; we hunted there about a year ago. The spoon is silver clad.  The lock at top was mainly interesting to me because the little lock mechanisms sticking out the side looked neat, but you can't really see them in this photo.  Right beneath the nose of the cap gun is a small-caliber bullet I found someplace.

One coin I found was an 1896 Indian head penny, but it is so corroded that it's hard to tell what it is.

This is aluminum to recycle:

And here is the rest of the garbage:

That's a lot of garbage. Oh, well, better in the landfill than in the ground at the park or the school.  Even though the amount of junk I dig up is large, I always think it's surprising how high the ratio is of coins to junk.  At least, as long as I'm hunting in a decent spot.  There have been plenty of places where I just keep finding junk and more junk and then give up.

Mark's garden report

It is time for the garden report.

The new rain barrel is not yet installed.  It is in its spot, propped up an nice blocks, but I need to reconfigure the downspout to drain to the barrel.  I also need to re-fasten the spigot.

I planted three tomato plants.  One of them spent a couple of weeks looking yellow and sickly, but it has turned green again, and started growing.  I suspect it must have had root damage.  All three are looking good now.  Only one of them is a cherry tomato plant, and it is the only one to have any (small) fruit on it.  I rate my odds of having a ripe cherry tomato by July 4 at about 25%.  My odds of having a large, ripe tomato by that date are about .01%.

I was picking some asparagus in May, but I stopped before June ever got here, and now the asparagus patch has turned into what looks like a little enchanted woodland.  I’d like to spend more time weeding around it and then put down some mulch, but it’s obviously not struggling, so I’m not too worried.  My goal now is to keep the weeds there under control, let the asparagus run wild for the rest of the summer, and have even larger plants to harvest from next year.

I’m happy that my glad bulbs survived the unusually harsh winter.  I think some of them died, but most are growing and looking good.  The garden spot where they are growing is very weedy and overgrown, but there isn’t much I can do about that without damaging the gladioluses, so I think I’ll wait until late fall and dig the whole area up. Then I can turn over the weeds, separate the glad corms and cormels, and replant them (I hope with some mulch) next year.

I have sown seeds for purple coneflower and Shasta daisies.  I grew daisies when we first bought the house, but they failed to return the second year for some reason. I hope these do better.

Back in March (I think) I had a few potatoes on our kitchen counter, and they had started to sprout.  I covered them in a pot in our yard, and they grew until last weekend when I noticed that the leaves were turning yellow.  It was getting hot and the weather had been dry, so I decided it was time to dig them up. I ended up with enough to go with dinner last night.  I sliced and boiled them with onion, then oiled and baked them with rosemary until they had turned a little brown.  We had them as a side with fajitas, and they were quite good.

Spiderwort, bee balm, coreopsis, and daylilies are all blooming. They look nice.

There is a little blackberry sprig coming up in our yard, ten feet from the main plant.  I think I’ll give it to Helga.  She said she wanted some again, and the blackberry bush originally came from her.

I have some green onion and basil started from seed in a whisky barrel planter with some lavender.  They came from last year’s seeds, but they had been refrigerated, which I think is a good way to store seeds, and now they are growing.  They are all pretty scrawny, however.  It might be because I have not kept the soil in the barrel moist enough.

The kale I grew last year is growing again after dying back.  I did not know it was perennial.  It’s pretty scrawny, though, and is already starting to bolt.  That whole area is covered in a layer of leaves I piled there last fall, and that annoying ground ivy is growing over that, so that whole area looks sort of rotten.  It’s in the back of this area that I sowed the coneflower and daisy seeds. I might rake up the rest of that spot and put in more sunflowers, which I have started in a couple of other spaces.

I guess that’s all I feel is worth mentioning.

Jumping in

Father's Day

I have been posting few photos and even fewer sentences to this blog.

I had a very nice Father’s Day. I was told on Saturday that I had to sleep in on Sunday, so I did as instructed.  This gave the girls time to fix me a breakfast in bed (peanut butter and jelly toast, a sunny-side up fried egg, and chocolate soy milk mixed with La Croix sparkling water.) 

They gave me clay sculptures they had fashioned, which were cute and which I may put on my desk at work. 

I told them that what I wanted to do most was play board games, and let them pick which games.  We ended up playing two games of Clue: The Great Museum Caper.  I was the thief in the second game, and got caught before I even stole the second painting.  Then we played Sorry!, which is not a game I hold in any esteem, but which involves such a barrage of character-building misfortune and eye-poking that I manage to feel somewhat engaged.

Then we met up with some other family members, including a couple other dads, for dessert.  The late afternoon was spent chatting and swimming, then I did a little gardening at home.

Buddy

Potatoes

A couple of months ago I had a few potatoes that were shriveling and sprouting on the kitchen counter, so I buried them in a pot. Today I figured it was time to unearth the resulting growth, since the leaves were yellowing and summer heat is setting in. This is what I got.

Archery lesson

Floyds Fork

Wading at Simons birthday 

Spiderwort and asiatic lilies

Watermelon with teeth

I carved this at the request of my daughters' art teacher as a centerpiece for the school art show.

Farmer vs. Businessman

My family visited some friends over the weekend, and their 8-year-old son was eager to rope someone into playing a board game he had created.  I did not play (he did not specifically invite me), but I watched with interest.  He had obviously spent a fair amount of time putting it together.

The premise: A 2-player game in which one side is a farmer and the other is a businessman. The business man has a car, the farmer drives a tractor.  You select your choice of weapon: bow and arrow, pistol, or musket.  You then fight one another was well as fighting goblins as you work your way up to fighting and defeating the Boss, thereby winning the game.

I gather that some of the inspiration comes from some video game or other that he and his classmates play, but I have no idea what.  Anyway, I thought it was pretty funny, and I was impressed. Hooray for 8-year-old gamers.

 

 

Plein air painting on lunch break

This is the result of several sessions of painting over at E. P. Sawyer Park during lunch. It is acrylic on panel, 10 x 16 inches.

Derby Day corn hole

I took this photo because I wanted it to go with photos from around 1974 of family playing horse shoes in the exact same spot.

Pool duck

It is like a pool toy that can't be touched.