Along with the rest of America, I've been hearing good things about yoga for years. And I always sort of meant to try it without ever really getting around to doing so. I did go to one class about 5 years ago, but then I sprained my ankle pretty severely and never ended up going back. (Grande jetes and stilettos do not mix no matter what your drunk brain tells you.)
I decided to actually give it a go a week or so ago. I was taking a public speaking class at work and our final presentation was twenty minutes about something we had an emotional connection to. The talks were really interesting and ranged from adopting a dog to the art of pairing beer with meat when BBQing to rock climbing. One woman chose to talk about her experience becoming a yoga instructor and the various benefits she'd experienced.
This came right at the time that I was realizing I hadn't been to the gym for over a month and was trying to figure out how to get back in the habit of working out. I decided that signing up for a yoga class would keep me more accountable than just working out on my own. Not to mention that having someone else there to motivate you really helps with each individual workout. I'd noticed that with a personal trainer present I could easily lift 30 lbs above my head, but on my own 25 lbs was a struggle. External motivation is key.
I began by looking up some yoga studios near where I live. I was hoping for an evening or weekend class that didn't cost too much. But prices looked to be about $30 per class, which can add up really quickly when you're looking at 1-2 classes a week. I was juggling numbers and trying to figure out if just canceling my gym membership would be a good idea when it dawned on me that my gym offered yoga classes.
I went to the website, hoping that my membership entitled me to some discount, at least in comparison to the other studios. It turns out that the majority of yoga classes offered at my gym are free. Even better, there are three every week that fit into my schedule. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 and Saturdays at noon. Suddenly my $70/month gym membership seemed like an astoundingly good deal.
I missed the Saturday class, but made it to Tuesday's Vinyasa yoga. It ended up being a good class to start with, as the focus that week was more on continuous breathing than getting all the poses exactly right. The teacher was really nice, and I only fell over once. We moved through the poses a lot faster than I expected, but I think that's a hallmark of the Vinyasa style. I'm sure the other classes will focus more on holding poses and building strength and balance.
I ended up stretching muscles I'm not sure I've ever stretched before, including all of the muscles around my shoulder blades with one pose. I also feel like I got a pretty good thigh and arm workout, and I'm sure an ab workout will come as my skill level improves.
All in all I really enjoyed the class, and I'm looking forward to more. It was really relaxing and a good way to finish what had been an incredibly stressful day.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
And Then the Best Man Peed in a Bucket
This post is late, but I still wanted to write it.
My best friends got married at the beginning of August. And, as anyone who knows them would have expected, the entire weekend was incredibly fun.
Festivities started with the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. The Rehearsal went smoothly, except for three geese who really wanted to be involved and weren't nearly frightened enough of humans. Okay, they didn't ruin anything at all, they just scared me a bit.
Dinner after was delicious with the typical speeches by the fathers, gifts to the bridal party, and a whole lot of really good wine. Then all the younguns went to the On the Border across the street for margaritas and beer. It ended up being a massive college reunion, with people I've seen only occasionally or not at all since graduation. No one stayed out too late, since we all had to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the wedding the next day.
The day began with mimosas (as all days should) and board games. Then card games and sandwiches. We were probably the least exciting bridal party ever. The photographers arrived at 11 to take pictures of the getting ready process and ended up with pictures of us playing SkipBo. They also took a ton of pictures of the bride's dress and a good ten of me braiding my hair.
At 1:00 everyone threw their formal wear on and went out for the groom's first look of the bride and lots of posed pictures. Even this didn't end up lasting as long as they'd scheduled for and everyone spent the last couple of hours before the ceremony drinking wine and playing cards.
The ceremony itself was adorable. Thanks to the Pennsylvanian Quakers, the bride and groom were able to officiate it themselves and pronounced themselvesman husband and wife.
The guest list seemed to be comprised entirely of family and people we'd all gone to college with. A few of the couple's friends from high school and grad school were there, but the whole evening really had the feeling of a massive college reunion.
There were lawn sports and a bouncy castle to entertain everyone. The bride tore her dress in the bouncy castle and it had to be fixed with makeshift safety pins (read: a straight pin and a cork). There was a truly absurd amount of wine. The bar actually ran out of water long before they ran out of wine.
Officially the reception ended at 10:00. But that's also when they lit the bonfire. So while a lot of people did go home at ten, many stayed and hung out by the fire. Someone decided it would be a good idea to provide everyone with their very own bottle of wine or champagne, so this resulted in even more drunkenness.
Most of my memories of that day are of great conversations with people I don't see anywhere near often enough. The wine flowed freely and lasted forever (Kevin and I were even able to take a couple of bottles home with us). And we played what may have been the largest game of Dr. Killebrew ever. The end of the night is one big blur.
The next morning was filled with rain, hangovers, and blessed breakfast sandwiches. And a bucket that had been mysteriously filled with liquid overnight. At least he missed the floor.
My best friends got married at the beginning of August. And, as anyone who knows them would have expected, the entire weekend was incredibly fun.
Festivities started with the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. The Rehearsal went smoothly, except for three geese who really wanted to be involved and weren't nearly frightened enough of humans. Okay, they didn't ruin anything at all, they just scared me a bit.
Dinner after was delicious with the typical speeches by the fathers, gifts to the bridal party, and a whole lot of really good wine. Then all the younguns went to the On the Border across the street for margaritas and beer. It ended up being a massive college reunion, with people I've seen only occasionally or not at all since graduation. No one stayed out too late, since we all had to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the wedding the next day.
The day began with mimosas (as all days should) and board games. Then card games and sandwiches. We were probably the least exciting bridal party ever. The photographers arrived at 11 to take pictures of the getting ready process and ended up with pictures of us playing SkipBo. They also took a ton of pictures of the bride's dress and a good ten of me braiding my hair.
At 1:00 everyone threw their formal wear on and went out for the groom's first look of the bride and lots of posed pictures. Even this didn't end up lasting as long as they'd scheduled for and everyone spent the last couple of hours before the ceremony drinking wine and playing cards.
The ceremony itself was adorable. Thanks to the Pennsylvanian Quakers, the bride and groom were able to officiate it themselves and pronounced themselves
The guest list seemed to be comprised entirely of family and people we'd all gone to college with. A few of the couple's friends from high school and grad school were there, but the whole evening really had the feeling of a massive college reunion.
There were lawn sports and a bouncy castle to entertain everyone. The bride tore her dress in the bouncy castle and it had to be fixed with makeshift safety pins (read: a straight pin and a cork). There was a truly absurd amount of wine. The bar actually ran out of water long before they ran out of wine.
Officially the reception ended at 10:00. But that's also when they lit the bonfire. So while a lot of people did go home at ten, many stayed and hung out by the fire. Someone decided it would be a good idea to provide everyone with their very own bottle of wine or champagne, so this resulted in even more drunkenness.
Most of my memories of that day are of great conversations with people I don't see anywhere near often enough. The wine flowed freely and lasted forever (Kevin and I were even able to take a couple of bottles home with us). And we played what may have been the largest game of Dr. Killebrew ever. The end of the night is one big blur.
The next morning was filled with rain, hangovers, and blessed breakfast sandwiches. And a bucket that had been mysteriously filled with liquid overnight. At least he missed the floor.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Kingkiller Chronicle: Names Were Important to Him
As I said in the last post, I spent the month of August doing a pretty in-depth re-read of the first two books of Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle. I used color-coded post-its to keep track of a variety of things, and as you can see in the picture it got a little intense
I used blue to track the Chandrian and any stories concerning Lanre and Haliax. Red tracks Kvothe and any hints to his past or what he's been up to between the story he's telling and the present-day frame. Green tracks Denna, who remains a mystery. Yellow is for any mention of faeries and the moon. Orange tracked stories and history, and especially things connected with Tehlu and the Amyr.
So I have several blog entries planned. There's a lot in these books that I want to start. I'm going to start with something pretty straight-forward, though: Kvothe's various names.
Fairly straightforward, but I wanted to gather Kvothe's names. We get a list of them right at the beginning and then discover the stories behind them over the course of the book.
Kvothe - Kvothe's given name. He claims that it means "to know", which is certainly fitting.
Maedre - The name given to Kvothe by the Adem. It's supposed to be his true name and has a triple meaning.
E'lir - This is the nickname Ben gives Kvothe because he "was clever and [he] knew it". It's also the first rank of the Arcanum at the Univerisity, meaning seer.
Dulator - Kvothe says his first lover gives him this name. We know that's Felurian, but we never see her call him this in the story. I have no idea what this could mean.
Shadicar - There's no mention of this in the first two books. I guess it will come up in the third book.
Lightfinger - Another name that isn't mentioned in the book. Although I suspect it could be a reference to his lute-playing ability
Kvothe to Bloodless - It's revealed early on that Kvothe earns this nickname by getting whipped and not bleeding. He repeats this act later, solidifying the nickname. It's also a bit of an underhanded compliment. Kvothe is Edema Ruh, lowest of the low. He has no noble blood in his veins (to his knowledge anyway), and is therefore "bloodless". Ambrose was probably partially responsible for how quickly this nickname spread.
Kvothe the Arcane - This nickname is a reference to Kvothe's ability in the Arcanum. He mentions it first when he talks about his duels with Fenton and the other students in his Sympathy class. However, he later says that the first time he hears this name is when he's listening to stories about himself in Tarbean near the end of the second book.
Kvothe Kingkiller - This is the name of the entire trilogy, so it will clearly be important, though not until the last book. I expect the king will be Ambrose, as he and Kvothe have a nasty history and Ambrose keeps getting closer to the throne. By the end of the second book he's about ten people away from being king.
Kote - Kote is the name Kvothe chooses for himself, and a careful reading of the book reveals that it is Siaru for disaster. For a while I did think that it could mean expect. The first time it comes up is when Kilvin says "Chan Vaer edan Kote" which translates to "Expect disaster every seven years". We already know that Chan means seven, so kote could mean a few things. But later Kilvin curses "Kist, crayle, en kote", which definitely points to the theory that kote means disaster.
Reshi - This is Bast's nickname for Kote. We have no hints about why he chose this name or what it means. Perhaps it translates to "teacher" or "mentor" or something similar.
I believe that's a complete list of the various names Kvothe gathers over the course of the story. I'm almost positive I missed a couple of double and triple meanings, since Rothfuss is extremely fond of word-play.
I used blue to track the Chandrian and any stories concerning Lanre and Haliax. Red tracks Kvothe and any hints to his past or what he's been up to between the story he's telling and the present-day frame. Green tracks Denna, who remains a mystery. Yellow is for any mention of faeries and the moon. Orange tracked stories and history, and especially things connected with Tehlu and the Amyr.
So I have several blog entries planned. There's a lot in these books that I want to start. I'm going to start with something pretty straight-forward, though: Kvothe's various names.
Fairly straightforward, but I wanted to gather Kvothe's names. We get a list of them right at the beginning and then discover the stories behind them over the course of the book.
Kvothe - Kvothe's given name. He claims that it means "to know", which is certainly fitting.
Maedre - The name given to Kvothe by the Adem. It's supposed to be his true name and has a triple meaning.
- The Flame - Kvothe says that this refers to his hair, which makes sense and is pretty basic. I wonder if there will be a deeper meaning in the third book.
- The Thunder - Kvothe says that this refers to his baritone voice. It's also a nice parallel to the fact that the Chandrian are said to "strike like lightning". Thunder follows lightning, and Kvothe always seems to be a step behind the Chandrian, following Cinder around the Four Corners.
- The Broken Tree - Kvothe says that he doesn't understand this part of his Adem name, but thinks that it could be slightly prophetic. He then offers no explanation, leaving the audience to work this out once they know his story. But we do know how his story ends - with him in an Inn unable to fight or perform sympathy and unwilling (or unable?) to play music. So I think the broken tree is Kvothe himself. Something will break him (or perhaps he'll break himself) in the third book. This also fits in with what his studies in Ademre. When he meets Shehyn, she talks about his body in terms of a tree. I'll have to wait and see how this plays out in the third book.
E'lir - This is the nickname Ben gives Kvothe because he "was clever and [he] knew it". It's also the first rank of the Arcanum at the Univerisity, meaning seer.
Dulator - Kvothe says his first lover gives him this name. We know that's Felurian, but we never see her call him this in the story. I have no idea what this could mean.
Shadicar - There's no mention of this in the first two books. I guess it will come up in the third book.
Lightfinger - Another name that isn't mentioned in the book. Although I suspect it could be a reference to his lute-playing ability
Kvothe to Bloodless - It's revealed early on that Kvothe earns this nickname by getting whipped and not bleeding. He repeats this act later, solidifying the nickname. It's also a bit of an underhanded compliment. Kvothe is Edema Ruh, lowest of the low. He has no noble blood in his veins (to his knowledge anyway), and is therefore "bloodless". Ambrose was probably partially responsible for how quickly this nickname spread.
Kvothe the Arcane - This nickname is a reference to Kvothe's ability in the Arcanum. He mentions it first when he talks about his duels with Fenton and the other students in his Sympathy class. However, he later says that the first time he hears this name is when he's listening to stories about himself in Tarbean near the end of the second book.
Kvothe Kingkiller - This is the name of the entire trilogy, so it will clearly be important, though not until the last book. I expect the king will be Ambrose, as he and Kvothe have a nasty history and Ambrose keeps getting closer to the throne. By the end of the second book he's about ten people away from being king.
Kote - Kote is the name Kvothe chooses for himself, and a careful reading of the book reveals that it is Siaru for disaster. For a while I did think that it could mean expect. The first time it comes up is when Kilvin says "Chan Vaer edan Kote" which translates to "Expect disaster every seven years". We already know that Chan means seven, so kote could mean a few things. But later Kilvin curses "Kist, crayle, en kote", which definitely points to the theory that kote means disaster.
Reshi - This is Bast's nickname for Kote. We have no hints about why he chose this name or what it means. Perhaps it translates to "teacher" or "mentor" or something similar.
I believe that's a complete list of the various names Kvothe gathers over the course of the story. I'm almost positive I missed a couple of double and triple meanings, since Rothfuss is extremely fond of word-play.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
August
So...August kind of got away from me
I attended the wedding of my best friends and had an epic weekend
I went camping in Arizona with my dad's side of the family and played a ton of pinochle and won three games of Scrabble (it's nice to be able to beat someone at that game).
I re-read The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear and have a ton of speculation about what's going on.
I worked a lot and got put in charge of a proposal which is terrifying, but in a good way.
I basically failed to go to the gym. Between vacations, work, metro break downs, and a general sense of laziness, I think I managed to make it four times this month. There's always next month...
I figured out how OnDemand and HBOGo work on the TV (thanks Jen!) and spent a lot of time catching up on TV and movies. I fell in love with Political Animals and had fun watching Bunheads. I was pleasantly surprised by Crazy Stupid Love (though I could have done without the babysitter's uncomfortable love triangle) and a bit let down by Bridesmaids. I think my expectations were just too high on the last one.
And now I'm gearing up for Labor Day Weekend, during which my brother and cousin are coming to visit. But I'm hoping to get back to this blog and actually post some things in the near-ish future. Especially some of my thoughts on Rothfuss' books. I have a lot of thoughts about those books.
In the meantime, I'm glad the weather is finally cooling down. I'm ready for summer to be over and autumn to be here. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is walking the dog after the sun has set. I think I'll have to switch from walks in the (not lit) park to walks around the (better lit) neighborhood.
Anyway, this has been a post to let you know that I haven't abandoned the blog. Life just got in the way. And I needed some comfort, so I started re-reading books instead of seeking out new books. Sometimes you just need a familiar story to keep you grounded when everything else in life seems to be going crazy.
I attended the wedding of my best friends and had an epic weekend
I went camping in Arizona with my dad's side of the family and played a ton of pinochle and won three games of Scrabble (it's nice to be able to beat someone at that game).
I re-read The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear and have a ton of speculation about what's going on.
I worked a lot and got put in charge of a proposal which is terrifying, but in a good way.
I basically failed to go to the gym. Between vacations, work, metro break downs, and a general sense of laziness, I think I managed to make it four times this month. There's always next month...
I figured out how OnDemand and HBOGo work on the TV (thanks Jen!) and spent a lot of time catching up on TV and movies. I fell in love with Political Animals and had fun watching Bunheads. I was pleasantly surprised by Crazy Stupid Love (though I could have done without the babysitter's uncomfortable love triangle) and a bit let down by Bridesmaids. I think my expectations were just too high on the last one.
And now I'm gearing up for Labor Day Weekend, during which my brother and cousin are coming to visit. But I'm hoping to get back to this blog and actually post some things in the near-ish future. Especially some of my thoughts on Rothfuss' books. I have a lot of thoughts about those books.
In the meantime, I'm glad the weather is finally cooling down. I'm ready for summer to be over and autumn to be here. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is walking the dog after the sun has set. I think I'll have to switch from walks in the (not lit) park to walks around the (better lit) neighborhood.
Anyway, this has been a post to let you know that I haven't abandoned the blog. Life just got in the way. And I needed some comfort, so I started re-reading books instead of seeking out new books. Sometimes you just need a familiar story to keep you grounded when everything else in life seems to be going crazy.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Initial Thoughts on Ready Player One
I'm only about 50 pages (4 chapters) in to Ready Player One, but I already have lots of thoughts about it.
I'm mostly enjoying it so far. The introduction and first chapter completely hooked me. I'm excited to see where this goes and how it plays out. The premise is lots of fun. The world is richly detailed. It's an apocalyptic future I can really see happening.
But the writing is clunky. Once the second chapter hits the plot basically stops so Cline can give the reader an extended info dump about this world he's created. Rather than revealing details subtly through action and dialogue, he just lays it all out. More than once I wanted to reach through the pages to remind him that the joke isn't funny if you have to explain it.
I liked the detail that Wade Watts' dad named him that because alliterative names reminded him of superhero alter egos. It was a great way to round out a character we never meet, breathe some life into him. And I thought Wade's avatar handle, Parzival, was clever. But then Cline spent a page explaining Percival's part in the Grail Quest and I felt my eyes glazing over. A well-read reader will get the reference. An intelligent reader with a spark of curiosity will look it up. Someone who doesn't care simply won't care. The author doesn't need to spoon-feed his readers like this.
Maybe it's just because I'm used to authors who expect a bit more from their readers. I just finished Dune which is a rich and subtle book. I'm nearly finished with my third or fourth read-through of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series and I'm still catching new references. I like authors who drop these things in their books as easter eggs for their readers. It makes reading more fun.
But Cline has to point out and explain all of his references. Even though one of the characters actually says "I mean, did you ever hear of Wikipedia? It's free", he doesn't trust the reader to get the hint. And I can't be the only person who now reads books with my phone close at hand so I can Google words I don't understand or references that sound half familiar.
Of course, all of this sort of makes sense with the narrator he's created. Wade is very much an 18 year old boy, with the vocabulary and ego to match. So maybe this can be written off as character building rather than world-building. But even then, he shouldn't have to break down acronyms like XPs and MMOs. Every character in the book should know what these are, given the setting. And any reader who doesn't know probably has no business reading a book about a video game that has more or less taken over the world.
I also don't need to be told how to pronounce Art3mis; that requires only the most passing knowledge of leetspeak. You don't even need to know what it's called to work out that the 3 is standing in for the letter e. And the pronunciation of Aech ought to have been clear from Wade's penchant for calling the guy names like Harry, Henry, and Humperdinck.
This is getting ranty. I do like the book. I'm just frustrated by its lack of subtlety. But then certain passages make up for it. The argument Wade and Aech get in to about Star Wars and whether or not Ladyhawke is a worthwhile movie was a lot of fun to read. Even though I hadn't heard of Ladyhawke, I was able to figure out what I needed to know from context. I just wish Cline trusted the reader a little more to figure these things out for themself.
I'm mostly enjoying it so far. The introduction and first chapter completely hooked me. I'm excited to see where this goes and how it plays out. The premise is lots of fun. The world is richly detailed. It's an apocalyptic future I can really see happening.
But the writing is clunky. Once the second chapter hits the plot basically stops so Cline can give the reader an extended info dump about this world he's created. Rather than revealing details subtly through action and dialogue, he just lays it all out. More than once I wanted to reach through the pages to remind him that the joke isn't funny if you have to explain it.
I liked the detail that Wade Watts' dad named him that because alliterative names reminded him of superhero alter egos. It was a great way to round out a character we never meet, breathe some life into him. And I thought Wade's avatar handle, Parzival, was clever. But then Cline spent a page explaining Percival's part in the Grail Quest and I felt my eyes glazing over. A well-read reader will get the reference. An intelligent reader with a spark of curiosity will look it up. Someone who doesn't care simply won't care. The author doesn't need to spoon-feed his readers like this.
Maybe it's just because I'm used to authors who expect a bit more from their readers. I just finished Dune which is a rich and subtle book. I'm nearly finished with my third or fourth read-through of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series and I'm still catching new references. I like authors who drop these things in their books as easter eggs for their readers. It makes reading more fun.
But Cline has to point out and explain all of his references. Even though one of the characters actually says "I mean, did you ever hear of Wikipedia? It's free", he doesn't trust the reader to get the hint. And I can't be the only person who now reads books with my phone close at hand so I can Google words I don't understand or references that sound half familiar.
Of course, all of this sort of makes sense with the narrator he's created. Wade is very much an 18 year old boy, with the vocabulary and ego to match. So maybe this can be written off as character building rather than world-building. But even then, he shouldn't have to break down acronyms like XPs and MMOs. Every character in the book should know what these are, given the setting. And any reader who doesn't know probably has no business reading a book about a video game that has more or less taken over the world.
I also don't need to be told how to pronounce Art3mis; that requires only the most passing knowledge of leetspeak. You don't even need to know what it's called to work out that the 3 is standing in for the letter e. And the pronunciation of Aech ought to have been clear from Wade's penchant for calling the guy names like Harry, Henry, and Humperdinck.
This is getting ranty. I do like the book. I'm just frustrated by its lack of subtlety. But then certain passages make up for it. The argument Wade and Aech get in to about Star Wars and whether or not Ladyhawke is a worthwhile movie was a lot of fun to read. Even though I hadn't heard of Ladyhawke, I was able to figure out what I needed to know from context. I just wish Cline trusted the reader a little more to figure these things out for themself.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Counting Cards
We played a bunch of Pinochle while my dad and brother were in town last week. I've been playing this game with my family since I was about seven years old. At least, that's when I started sitting on my dad's or uncle's or grandmother's lap and "helping" them play. They taught me the rules and strategy and it wasn't long before I was playing on my own, and even winning occasionally against the adults.
At one point last week, my dad muttered to himself "I think that's all the trump" which got me thinking about playing cards. Part of the strategy I was taught with Pinochle was the importance of counting cards. You need to know how much trump is still out there and who probably has it. It's also good to know who has aces left, if there are any, along with which suits people are short in. If I play a 10 of clubs, I should know either that it will go all the way around or that my partner will trump it.
When I started playing more games with Kevin, our friends from college, and his high school friends, there was always this same assumption that people were counting cards. In Settlers of Catan it's more beneficial to steal cards from people who have what you want. And you know what people have by paying attention to what they draw. In Dominion, your strategy has to rely, in part, on what other people are drawing. If someone is grabbing all the offensive cards, you need to pick up some defensive cards and maybe grab a few of the offensive ones to prevent them from getting all of them. You should have a decent sense of not just the proportions of your own deck but those of your opponents as well.
I guess the point I'm making is that counting cards is always sort of assumed. Generally I lose a card game because I haven't been paying close enough attention to this or because I've miscounted. If I'm focused, I stand a much better chance of winning, because I know how certain plays are likely to go. Occasionally I get lucky and someone else hasn't been paying close enough attention, allowing me to sweep in with a surprise.
So it was confusing to me when I started playing games with some of my coworkers. This was part of project in which we were trying to develop a training type game (and perhaps I shouldn't expect too much from grunts). When I mentioned keeping track of these probabilities, they mostly wrote it off as impossible. Something only a genius would do. Who can keep all those numbers in their head?
It surprised me to learn that not everyone grows up counting cards. The probabilities associated with a deck of cards are so deeply ingrained in my head that it barely even feels like math any more.
I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I realize I'm probably working with a biased sample, but did you grow up counting cards? Do you consider it strategy or cheating (obviously casinos have opinions about this)? Do you think it's a mark of higher intelligence to keep track of probabilities? Or is it something anyone can learn to do?
At one point last week, my dad muttered to himself "I think that's all the trump" which got me thinking about playing cards. Part of the strategy I was taught with Pinochle was the importance of counting cards. You need to know how much trump is still out there and who probably has it. It's also good to know who has aces left, if there are any, along with which suits people are short in. If I play a 10 of clubs, I should know either that it will go all the way around or that my partner will trump it.
When I started playing more games with Kevin, our friends from college, and his high school friends, there was always this same assumption that people were counting cards. In Settlers of Catan it's more beneficial to steal cards from people who have what you want. And you know what people have by paying attention to what they draw. In Dominion, your strategy has to rely, in part, on what other people are drawing. If someone is grabbing all the offensive cards, you need to pick up some defensive cards and maybe grab a few of the offensive ones to prevent them from getting all of them. You should have a decent sense of not just the proportions of your own deck but those of your opponents as well.
I guess the point I'm making is that counting cards is always sort of assumed. Generally I lose a card game because I haven't been paying close enough attention to this or because I've miscounted. If I'm focused, I stand a much better chance of winning, because I know how certain plays are likely to go. Occasionally I get lucky and someone else hasn't been paying close enough attention, allowing me to sweep in with a surprise.
So it was confusing to me when I started playing games with some of my coworkers. This was part of project in which we were trying to develop a training type game (and perhaps I shouldn't expect too much from grunts). When I mentioned keeping track of these probabilities, they mostly wrote it off as impossible. Something only a genius would do. Who can keep all those numbers in their head?
It surprised me to learn that not everyone grows up counting cards. The probabilities associated with a deck of cards are so deeply ingrained in my head that it barely even feels like math any more.
I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I realize I'm probably working with a biased sample, but did you grow up counting cards? Do you consider it strategy or cheating (obviously casinos have opinions about this)? Do you think it's a mark of higher intelligence to keep track of probabilities? Or is it something anyone can learn to do?
Monday, July 2, 2012
Power Outage
On Friday night a massive thunderstorm came through DC. The weather report had indicated a possibility of thunderstorms, but what we got went beyond that. Winds in excess of 70 miles per hour. Near continuous lightning (most of it heat lightning, but it was still a pretty cool show). And then the power flickered and went out.
When I woke up the next morning we still didn't have power. This meant, among other things, that I couldn't make myself tea and I couldn't take a hot shower. The morning took a lot longer than usual. Kevin destroyed me in two games of Settlers of Catan before he decided to head out to Charlestown and get out of the heat.
I psyched myself for a cold shower then went to the gym, which at least had air conditioning. I was also able to charge my phone and get a hot shower. Feeling much better about life, I decided to go see Magic Mike. A couple of hours in a dark, cold movie theater would be the perfect way to escape the mid-afternoon heat.
There was a 2:25 showing. Since it was about 12:30 at this point, I figured I'd have time to get something to eat before the movie started. It took me a bit longer than normal to get to the movie theater, but it wasn't too bad. Most of the traffic I encountered was due to stop lights having been turned into four-way stops thanks to power outages that seemed to have struck at random.
I made it to the mall around 1:00 and quickly discovered that I was not the only person who had this idea. I picked a garage and began looking for a parking space. An hour later I still hadn't found one. It seemed that every time someone got in their car and left, it was the car right in front of me who managed to get the spot. By 2:00, the garage was more crowded than when I began and I decided to give up.
It took me until 2:30 to get out of the garage.
I think Hell, if it exists, may involve spending eternity searching for a parking space that doesn't exist. Without any music, which I at least still had. There was a lot of car dancing while I tried to stay calm in the endless gridlock.
When I got home our power was back on. We were really lucky; there are still a ton of people in the area without power (including Kevin's mom, who stayed with us last night).
I think I learned my lesson, though. Next time there's a power outage, just stay home. Or at the very least, don't go anywhere with a parking garage.
When I woke up the next morning we still didn't have power. This meant, among other things, that I couldn't make myself tea and I couldn't take a hot shower. The morning took a lot longer than usual. Kevin destroyed me in two games of Settlers of Catan before he decided to head out to Charlestown and get out of the heat.
I psyched myself for a cold shower then went to the gym, which at least had air conditioning. I was also able to charge my phone and get a hot shower. Feeling much better about life, I decided to go see Magic Mike. A couple of hours in a dark, cold movie theater would be the perfect way to escape the mid-afternoon heat.
There was a 2:25 showing. Since it was about 12:30 at this point, I figured I'd have time to get something to eat before the movie started. It took me a bit longer than normal to get to the movie theater, but it wasn't too bad. Most of the traffic I encountered was due to stop lights having been turned into four-way stops thanks to power outages that seemed to have struck at random.
I made it to the mall around 1:00 and quickly discovered that I was not the only person who had this idea. I picked a garage and began looking for a parking space. An hour later I still hadn't found one. It seemed that every time someone got in their car and left, it was the car right in front of me who managed to get the spot. By 2:00, the garage was more crowded than when I began and I decided to give up.
It took me until 2:30 to get out of the garage.
I think Hell, if it exists, may involve spending eternity searching for a parking space that doesn't exist. Without any music, which I at least still had. There was a lot of car dancing while I tried to stay calm in the endless gridlock.
When I got home our power was back on. We were really lucky; there are still a ton of people in the area without power (including Kevin's mom, who stayed with us last night).
I think I learned my lesson, though. Next time there's a power outage, just stay home. Or at the very least, don't go anywhere with a parking garage.
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