My team and I left a little surprise for about 60 co-workers this morning.  Let's just say it involved the little stickers pictured here and the optical sensors or trackballs on the bottom of their mouse.

Actually, thanks go to Noam for giving me the idea by pulling the prank on me a while ago. It takes people a bit to figure it out. Usually one or two unpluggings of the of mouse and a restart - or at least that's how long it took me.

And, before they try and weasel out, my accomplices:

If you've seen the Google April fools joke, it's a good one, but there is an Easter Egg.  If you expand the browser further and further to the right the image of the Martian landscape keeps going.  It should be mentioned that I have a dual monitor setup that extends 2560 pixels across.  Now I haven't been able to reproduce this, but when you expand all the way out to 2560 a little text bubble appears at the far right on the martian horizon in the photo that says "Welcome to Mars. Nice monitor". So pay attention as you do it, and if you figure out how to reproduce, please let us know.  Guessing it's a cookie thang.

Here is what it looks like on my screen (click the image for the full size):

I have yet to explore the questionnaires, etc.  But you better believe I'm signing up.

I love April Fools.

I have been looking at this game for some time. It's more or less from the same family, press your luck or choose, as Coloretto but a little lighter. I noticed that the English release was available, Circus Flohcati, but the game snob I am I wondered if I could get the original German. Well, good old eBay delivered at a very reasonable price. Here is the description from funagain

The object of the game is to collect many valuable Circus cards to achieve the highest points score. In the course of the game, cards with circus attractions are displayed in one row in the middle of the table. On his turn, a player chooses and takes a card from the row, either into his hand, or to form a Trio for bonus points. Before selecting his card the player may, if he wishes, draw cards and add them to the row in order to improve his choices. However, if he draws an attraction which is already in the row, he forfeits his right to take a card. The game ends when one player succeeds in staging a Gala Show, with one Circus card from each attraction!

I've been a bit behind because I'm working on a new site.  Sorry, it's still under wraps.  There are a few of you who know about it, but let's just keep it on the D/L until it's ready - it's morphed a bit.

Last Thursday Shawn hosted a board game night at work.  We had taught ourselves El Grande a few weeks before and got to play a full game (4 Players).  It's a really great zero-sum-ish majority game ripe with all kinds of tight trade off decisions.  It's been out for a long time and I'm glad to finally have gotten to it.  Finally one less game that I own and have never played - it's a bit embarrassing.

After games my wife and I went over to Bar 169 so hear Ronan play an acoustic set.  He was really great, some fine guitar playing, a little harmonica and really heart-felt challenging lyrics.  Definitely will catch his next one.  Bar 169 on a Thursday night was a bit of a strange crowd that added to the fun.  Prior to Ronan played some singer chick who used background music and vocal tracks through the PA.  And on top of that she sang really pop-y crap.  After Ronan one of the women (of a table of about 8 lesbians) who had been sitting close to the "stage" got up and played.  She was better than I expected and only played 4 songs or so.  We were busy congratulating Ronan and relaxing.  Then as we were getting ready to leave this guy comes on and plays "new age piano" to a rhythm track.  He proceeds to finish one song and state that the next one was either inspired by or dedicated to his brother.  A SLIGHTLY different rhythm track comes on and he proceeds to play a different riff on the same melody he played in the first song.  We left.

As we stood outside Chealsea's friend Matt (if I remember correctly) is opening a restaurant, whose name I don't know, on February 26th literally next door to Bar 169. We got a tour of the place top to bottom and it looks great.  It is going to be a local produce driven menu - according to Matt, the head chef, it will be about 60% (or was it 80% vegetarian) and of that a good portion will be vegan.  Sure, all the carnivores just rolled their eyes, but I'm a huge fan of the veg and I'm looking forward to giving it a try. 

The interior of the restaurant is great as well.  When you first enter at street level there is a large bar with 3-4 big banquettes, a great place to have a drink and/or wait for your table.  Then as you move to the main dining room there are several generous banquettes on either side of the open area.  The ceiling has great small bulbous fixtures hanging down through large wooden slats.  At the very back of the space there are a couple archways beyond which is a large sunken area.  On the back wall there is a "green wall" covered in plants.  At first glance I thought I was looking out on a subterranean patio, but as it turns out there is a bar on the level below that opens up to the top.   The "back bar" seemed like a swank hideaway.  It got even cooler when he told us there was a separate entrance at the street you had to be buzzed through, after which you walk down a very cool wood slatted long hallway.

I'm looking forward to being in the know on this one.  If his restaurant is anything like Chealsea's other friend Allan's BBQ place, Georgia's BBQ (Yes, Chealsea is quite the hook-up), then I'm sure his food and his reviews will be will be great.  I'm going to have to be sure and soak it all in before the New York Times effect sets in.  But that is a whole different post about how I have a love hate relationship with the New York Times reviews and recommendations. I'm perfectly willing to check out places they recommend but am pissed when they tell the rest of the city about my secret places.  That being said, here is the link to Alan's / Georgia's BBQ's link in the NYT

This is fun. I had heard tell of this event from some folks. I was overjoyed to find a photo of it. You all look so young.

Everyone needs a curling sweater. In fact, with any luck, this blog may be providing coverage of the 2008 U.S. Club National Championships in Mankato, Minnesota in March! My mother-in-law's team is in them. Go T-Dawg!

I was out bid... I am crushed. The bidding started at $20, I had it for $25 with a max price of $40, and it went for $41... Did I mention I am devastated?

This was a complete and total I'm Feeling Lucky Google moment. I was actually looking to have the phrase "we have a problem" translated into German because there is a problem in a UI I'm working on caused by the German version of a label.

Apparently there is a blog about Wii problems called Wii Have a Problem... Complete with a running count of broken parts. The post I stumbled onto was about a guy who had apparently tossed a Wii controller out a 12 story window while playing bowling

On Sunday July 23rd 2007, a Wii Remote committed suicide by launching itself through the blinds and through the window of John Doe's apartment. No one was injured as the glass and controller landed on the roof of the restaurant 12 stories below. There are now alleged reports that this may be an involuntary manslaughter case due to INNOCENT PROTECTED's fingerprints being found on the controller. The controller wrist strap broke off of the primary suspect's wrist and Wii Bowling was believed to be playing at the time of the incident. Witnesses could not be immediately contacted for comment.

This is certainly something I don't have to tell the women in the game group I'm in, but now according to a "reputable" survey of people in the UK there is empirical evidence. Or at least that's what the Wired blog network says: Female Gamers Have More Sex

Perhaps even more promising for gamers is the fact that many of the women that we interviewed who have only recently started playing games said that they now have sex more often than before.

So if you haven't all ready, get out your joy sticks now ladies.

Axis & Allies Revised Edition
Revised Edition, released 2004 by Hasbro / Avalon Hill
Axis & Allies
Original Edition, released 1987 by Milton Bradley Gamemaster Series

I've been playing Axis & Allies, original edition, since approximately 1993. This year for Christmas I received a copy of Axis & Allies, revised edition. Until recently I had only read about the map and rule changes. My brother and I managed to squeeze in a game Christmas day (and well into the night). To cut to the chase, I'm a fan of the changes to the game itself and not a big fan how light the cardboard on some of the new pieces is. I'm not going to endeavor a full on detailed explanation of the game and detailed review. If you're looking looking for that Tom Vasel has a detailed write up that gives you lots of detail.

In my estimation my brother and I are pretty experienced and sophisticated players of A& A both having about 10 years of play behind us and most of the time against on another. In the original version it was more or less a fore gone conclusion that the longer the game went on the higher the chance that the Allies would win as long as Russia made life difficult for Germany and the US keeps a modest amount of pressure on Japan to keep them blowing IPC's on a navy. The new version balances that out in several ways. First, the re-jiggering of Eastern Europe, splitting the Caucus into two spaces (Caucus and Belorussia) and putting a factory in Caucus.

This makes it possible for the Germans to do some real strategic damage to the Russians and gives them a possible land passage to North Africa. This doesn't change the standard Russian strategy of infantry, infantry, infantry but it provides Germany with an effective flanking maneuver and spreads out the Russian infantry into more spaces making it a more even fight. Also, the increase in defensive capability of the tank makes the German Blitzkreig strategy work. The addition of the Sahara Desert to North Africa makes the German hold on Africa more reasonable and kills the cheap shot Germany used to have of running it's tank all over Africa.

In the Pacific the US Navy is significantly weaker and the Japanese is significantly stronger with a second carrier group. The smaller Islands have shed their IPC value making the US Island hopping strategy be just a strategy for getting within range of Aisia and Japan. I played the Axis against my brother's Allies. Japan was pretty devastating by building a factory on Kwangtung and churning out tanks that allowed it to push the US out of China, take India from the British and capture the Russian East all the way to Russia. He did make one small mistake with the US fleet that set his Pacific efforts back two turns making the Japanese in Asia strategy have an couple extra turns to build momentum.

All in All I'm pleased to have the new version. There are definitely more subtle changes including the addition of a couple new units that I've glossed over. The bottom line is, if you've played the game and moved on, it's time to revisit. If you've never played, you're in for a treat - it's gotten even better. If you're still playing RISK - get a life and trade up.