I'm a fan of Bridge (and to a lesser extent Spades...and I guess also Hearts). I learned in high school but actually didn't play much at Cal (the Bridge club ran out of the math department was way intimidating). I then played more in grad school (even a collegiate championship because I didn't exhaust my eligibility in undergrad) and still play online with some grad school friends. The online game had stopped after other people started to have kids and I had to do too much international travels, but restarted since the pandemic shutdown.
Another card game I used to play was Mille Bornes. My cousin got it for us when they visited from France around 87 and I brought it and played with my roommates in college. I used to also play it with the boys. it was a lot of fun. I think the Sun workstations in the WEB also had a version.
it was pretty hard to find an edition of Mille Bornes that had the original French artwork. there is an American version out there, but not nearly as entertaining.
nothing is as satisfying as giving someone else a Creve! (flat tire)
I think mine had all the french words. Not sure if that is the original french artwork or not. I don't know if I still even have it in one of the bins in the garage.
Love Mille Bornes. We used to play it as kids all the time. We also used to play Hearts, and the three of us kids once beat my Mom so badly at it that she walked away and refused to play with us ever again.
But my favorite card game growing up (and even today whenever I'm with the particular group of friends I grew up with at Tahoe) is Pedro, which nobody outside of SF ever seems to have heard of.
Anyone else familiar with the game Mao? The whole point of the game is that you don't explain the rules and have to figure them out, plus the winner of each round gets to make up a secret new rule.
Hearts is a lot of fun. Learned to play at my first job. It was when Windows for Workgroups was the OS and our office was wired up with coax for our network. We would either play Hearts (first 4 to join) or networked FPS games. Once we had a power outage so we walked to Picantes and someone brought a deck to play analog Hearts.
We used to play Descent and Heretic/Hexen during lunch. I've always had a hard time playing FPS so it took me a while to get used to Heretic/Hexen. For some reason flight sims aren't as bad.
Duke was expected to win by more than two touchdowns and went off as a 4–1 favorite.[19] Some wondered why Oregon State would even make the trip. Before the game, the NBC announcer that called the game, Bill Stern, asserted that the Blue Devils could beat the Beavers by throwing 11 helmets on the field. The comment was heard by members of the Oregon State team at the hotel. After the game, George Zellick told reporters that the team was "hopped up" to win the game based on Stern's comment. The weather, also, seemed to favor the visitors. One Duke player claimed that there was more rain than he had ever seen. The Beavers' Gene Gray, looking up at the same sky, described the weather as "misty." The temperature was a hair over 40 degrees at kickoff. The referee that was supposed to handle the opening coin flip was Lee Eisan. Eisan was the second-string quarterback for the 1929 California Golden Bears, who lost the Rose Bowl 8–7 to Georgia Tech after Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels ran 69 yards the wrong direction to set up the game-winning Georgia Tech safety. Eisan made a less often talked about blunder. In the third quarter, trailing 8–0, California ran an end around pass on fourth down. The end around sucked all of the Georgia Tech defenders in. Eisan used the misdirection to get behind the defenders and might have scored a touchdown but fell down and failed to make the catch. Eisan could not find a silver dollar in North Carolina, so he borrowed a 50-cent piece from Oregon State's Martin Chaves. The Blue Devils won the toss and elected to receive. Before kickoff, there was a moment of silence to honor those lost at Pearl Harbor 25 days before.
Love Phase 10. Back in middle school, I would sometimes play with some friends and my favorite math teacher and he would always taunt the person text to him by showing the Skip(s) in his hand. I've since learned that you can Skip anyone, not just the person next to you.
Tomorrow at around noon the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds are doing a flyover and the course they're flying takes them within a mile of me three times. I'm looking forward to it but am afraid there will be a lot of folks not social distancing. Everyone have a fun and safe weekend.
As I came home from a walk I noticed they brought in a mobile sign that says to stay safe and practice social distancing. Hard to believe it's a coincidence. I bet they are expecting folks to gather in the park across the street to watch. I think I'll take a walk to get away from any crowd.
After all day rain yesterday we have a bit more this morning. But the afternoon should be better and the weekend looks like 70s and mostly sunnier. About time.
It was mostly sunny and perfect for mowing after work yesterday. Looking similar today, except rain is supposed to move in this evening, and make for a soggy Saturday (of course). Sunday should be better, and then good weather next week for sitting inside working. (Just like normal!)
A Japanese aquarium closed during the coronavirus outbreak is asking people to make video calls to their eels so the sensitive creatures remember humans exist and don't pose a threat.
The Sumida Aquarium, housed in the landmark Tokyo Skytree tower, has been closed since the start of March and its animals have become used to a largely human-free environment during the two-month calm.
But the aquarium said the "unprecedented situation" was having some unexpected downsides.
"Creatures in the aquarium don't see humans except keepers and they have started forgetting about humans," it said on its Twitter account this week.
"Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by," it noted. That is causing difficulties for keepers trying to check on the health of the animals.
"Let us make an emergency plea," the aquarium wrote.
"Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?" it requested, calling the event a "face-showing festival".
Buckeye-state alert:
https://www.notsopuremichigan.com/
Ha!
Other card games
I'm a fan of Bridge (and to a lesser extent Spades...and I guess also Hearts). I learned in high school but actually didn't play much at Cal (the Bridge club ran out of the math department was way intimidating). I then played more in grad school (even a collegiate championship because I didn't exhaust my eligibility in undergrad) and still play online with some grad school friends. The online game had stopped after other people started to have kids and I had to do too much international travels, but restarted since the pandemic shutdown.
i am big bridge fan too.
but after playing a lot in grad school and even collecting a few master points at tournaments, i have had no one to play with in 20 yrs.
Another card game I used to play was Mille Bornes. My cousin got it for us when they visited from France around 87 and I brought it and played with my roommates in college. I used to also play it with the boys. it was a lot of fun. I think the Sun workstations in the WEB also had a version.
it was pretty hard to find an edition of Mille Bornes that had the original French artwork. there is an American version out there, but not nearly as entertaining.
nothing is as satisfying as giving someone else a Creve! (flat tire)
I think mine had all the french words. Not sure if that is the original french artwork or not. I don't know if I still even have it in one of the bins in the garage.
We wore that game out as kids
Love me some Mille Bornes.
Love Mille Bornes. We used to play it as kids all the time. We also used to play Hearts, and the three of us kids once beat my Mom so badly at it that she walked away and refused to play with us ever again.
But my favorite card game growing up (and even today whenever I'm with the particular group of friends I grew up with at Tahoe) is Pedro, which nobody outside of SF ever seems to have heard of.
plz explain
When we were kids we'd play it on drives back and forth to Nebraska to visit relatives.
Asshole is BEST DRINKING GAME CARD GAME
we played it w/ the kids recently. they already knew how to play it but apparently at summer camp the game is called President.
We called it Presidents AND Assholes in college
Oh, also, Egyptian Rat Screw.
That is a game I haven't played (nor even heard about) in probably 15-20yrs
Cribbage baby
Progressive Rummy! I will play that any day, any time, any where.
My wife and I got into a Rummy and Gin Rummy kick a couple years ago and were playing a couple rounds a night 3-4x per week.
Parts of the Midwest enjoy euchre
Anyone else familiar with the game Mao? The whole point of the game is that you don't explain the rules and have to figure them out, plus the winner of each round gets to make up a secret new rule.
When we were kids we used to play a lot of Hearts, which is like a super simple starter game for Bridge.
hearts is a good family game as well. we have been playing it more w/ 13 and 16 yr old during coronavirus.
would love to get them bridge but it takes another level of commitment to want to track every trick and every card that went by
Hearts is a lot of fun. Learned to play at my first job. It was when Windows for Workgroups was the OS and our office was wired up with coax for our network. We would either play Hearts (first 4 to join) or networked FPS games. Once we had a power outage so we walked to Picantes and someone brought a deck to play analog Hearts.
We used to play Descent and Heretic/Hexen during lunch. I've always had a hard time playing FPS so it took me a while to get used to Heretic/Hexen. For some reason flight sims aren't as bad.
I've only ever played the computer version
There's always that ONE GUY who is constantly trying to shoot the moon, only because he does it every time no one falls for it.
thats me! i can usually manage 1 out of 3 times even when everyone knows it.
Haha, true
My grandmother taught me Hearts, Crazy Eights, and King's Corner as a little kid and we still play any time I visit her.
Obscure college football trivia
The 1942 Rose Bowl was played in Durham, NC
Interesting - I had no idea:
Duke was expected to win by more than two touchdowns and went off as a 4–1 favorite.[19] Some wondered why Oregon State would even make the trip. Before the game, the NBC announcer that called the game, Bill Stern, asserted that the Blue Devils could beat the Beavers by throwing 11 helmets on the field. The comment was heard by members of the Oregon State team at the hotel. After the game, George Zellick told reporters that the team was "hopped up" to win the game based on Stern's comment. The weather, also, seemed to favor the visitors. One Duke player claimed that there was more rain than he had ever seen. The Beavers' Gene Gray, looking up at the same sky, described the weather as "misty." The temperature was a hair over 40 degrees at kickoff. The referee that was supposed to handle the opening coin flip was Lee Eisan. Eisan was the second-string quarterback for the 1929 California Golden Bears, who lost the Rose Bowl 8–7 to Georgia Tech after Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels ran 69 yards the wrong direction to set up the game-winning Georgia Tech safety. Eisan made a less often talked about blunder. In the third quarter, trailing 8–0, California ran an end around pass on fourth down. The end around sucked all of the Georgia Tech defenders in. Eisan used the misdirection to get behind the defenders and might have scored a touchdown but fell down and failed to make the catch. Eisan could not find a silver dollar in North Carolina, so he borrowed a 50-cent piece from Oregon State's Martin Chaves. The Blue Devils won the toss and elected to receive. Before kickoff, there was a moment of silence to honor those lost at Pearl Harbor 25 days before.
Spoiler: OSU won!
Q: Does Harmon probably try to squib it?
A: And he does!!!
Not obscure. Everyone knows that! And he gets it to Rogers..
There's another one...the ball is still loose!!!
as they get it to Rodgers! They get it back now to the 30, they're down to the 20...
OHHH, the band is out on the field....
Uno, Phase 10, Uno Flip
Love Phase 10. Back in middle school, I would sometimes play with some friends and my favorite math teacher and he would always taunt the person text to him by showing the Skip(s) in his hand. I've since learned that you can Skip anyone, not just the person next to you.
Cal
GO BEARS!
Whoa! CBS Sports picks the Bears to go 11-1, win the North!
Here's the link, thanks google
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/predicting-pac-12-win-totals-cal-poised-to-break-out-in-2020-college-football-season-challenge-oregon-usc/
Now watch our signature season get canceled. ***Sigh
Link???
Bon Appetit Test Kitchen Variety Show starting in a few: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbJ84xWs8aw
Lunch
A Xolo lunch, one pollo, one vampiro, one 805
Egg drop soup
Tomorrow at around noon the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds are doing a flyover and the course they're flying takes them within a mile of me three times. I'm looking forward to it but am afraid there will be a lot of folks not social distancing. Everyone have a fun and safe weekend.
If it's like NYC then there won't be any social distancing.
As I came home from a walk I noticed they brought in a mobile sign that says to stay safe and practice social distancing. Hard to believe it's a coincidence. I bet they are expecting folks to gather in the park across the street to watch. I think I'll take a walk to get away from any crowd.
Haven't played it in 20 years. Can't recall how to play it.
when you only have 1 card left, you scream "UNO, MOTHERF*CKER" otherwise you have to draw more cards.
Uno is a lot of fun. Used to play it with my boys. Haven't heard of the others.
I don't think I've ever played it.
H2O Uno is the best version
It's super simple.
This is a super helpful comment for the statement "Can't recall how to play it" haha
It was a pretty popular game at one time. I think their were game instructions on or in the box in most cases.
I remember it being a popular summer camp game during my preteen years
Weather
Sun, sun and more sun. It'll be between 78-94 for the foreseeable future
beautiful spring here. got lots of seeds started in the garden.
After all day rain yesterday we have a bit more this morning. But the afternoon should be better and the weekend looks like 70s and mostly sunnier. About time.
It was mostly sunny and perfect for mowing after work yesterday. Looking similar today, except rain is supposed to move in this evening, and make for a soggy Saturday (of course). Sunday should be better, and then good weather next week for sitting inside working. (Just like normal!)
Hear hear
Coronavirus news
A Japanese aquarium closed during the coronavirus outbreak is asking people to make video calls to their eels so the sensitive creatures remember humans exist and don't pose a threat.
The Sumida Aquarium, housed in the landmark Tokyo Skytree tower, has been closed since the start of March and its animals have become used to a largely human-free environment during the two-month calm.
But the aquarium said the "unprecedented situation" was having some unexpected downsides.
"Creatures in the aquarium don't see humans except keepers and they have started forgetting about humans," it said on its Twitter account this week.
"Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by," it noted. That is causing difficulties for keepers trying to check on the health of the animals.
"Let us make an emergency plea," the aquarium wrote.
"Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?" it requested, calling the event a "face-showing festival".
https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/forget-me-not-japan-aquarium-seeks-video-chats-eels-doc-1qx6zn1
I am mildly bummed that the Japanese could not solve this problem by using some human-like robots. I guess those are housed at the Miraikan.
Our crumbling democracy
Pro