At least, not yet.
Every other time I've traveled, I went out every day, camera and curious eye ready to see and report on something new. This trip, I've just been holed up in the house, working, just as if I was in Israel. One town is really like another with your head down over your laptop, brother.
Even shabbat is going to be here, in Oxford.
I can't let next week pass this way. As soon as the important work is done, I have to get out on the town.
Yehuda
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Session Report, in which they play Fluxx while I'm away, thank God
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: Fluxx, Amun-Re, Tichu.
First of four sessions at Nadine's house, while I'm away.
First of four sessions at Nadine's house, while I'm away.
When Did Lectures Become Entertainment?
I guess I always saw "lectures" listed next to movies, dance, theater, and so on, but somehow I never connected them to entertainment.
I must be an adult.
Seeing how Rachel prepares for her "performances", having prepared my own, having gone to a lecture about Darwin's influence on American culture last night, and recalling all the TED presentations I've now seen, I am now connected to the fact that lectures are entertainment. One man/woman plays.
Even more: lectures are verbal blogging. A post in a series of posts and responses in the continuous global forum.
I must be an adult.
Seeing how Rachel prepares for her "performances", having prepared my own, having gone to a lecture about Darwin's influence on American culture last night, and recalling all the TED presentations I've now seen, I am now connected to the fact that lectures are entertainment. One man/woman plays.
Even more: lectures are verbal blogging. A post in a series of posts and responses in the continuous global forum.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Oxford Pictures
First pictures of Oxford. I haven't gotten out much, yet.
Just outside of Oxford is a small lake. We stopped at the lake to tovel some dishes and silverware.
Rachel
Rachel tovelling
Off the side of the street on which Rachel is living, Silvoor Lane, Oxford
View down Silvoor Lane, towards Chestnut Street
Reverse view down Silvoor Lane
At the beginning of Silvoor Lane, there are steps down to the Silvoor Biological Sanctuary; I haven't explored it, yet
Fall colors on the Miami University campus
A Halloween banner on Dodds Hall
Leaves on grass
Xylophone players; in the background, hundreds of students practiced some kind of half-time show for a sporting event
A percussionist
The Ohio license plate reads "Birthplace of Aviation"
A Game of Thrones players at the Miami University Strategy Gaming Club
Pathfinder players at the MUSGC
Magic players at the MUSGC
Just outside of Oxford is a small lake. We stopped at the lake to tovel some dishes and silverware.
Rachel
Rachel tovelling
Off the side of the street on which Rachel is living, Silvoor Lane, Oxford
View down Silvoor Lane, towards Chestnut Street
Reverse view down Silvoor Lane
At the beginning of Silvoor Lane, there are steps down to the Silvoor Biological Sanctuary; I haven't explored it, yet
Fall colors on the Miami University campus
A Halloween banner on Dodds Hall
Leaves on grass
Xylophone players; in the background, hundreds of students practiced some kind of half-time show for a sporting event
A percussionist
The Ohio license plate reads "Birthplace of Aviation"
A Game of Thrones players at the Miami University Strategy Gaming Club
Pathfinder players at the MUSGC
Magic players at the MUSGC
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Miami Magic and the Missing Mana
Student life is vibrant at Miami University. Buildings and houses are still adorned with Halloween decorations. Banners call passersby to dances and performances. Students outside are engaged in discussion, music, and performance.
I met up with the Miami University Strategy Gaming Club, which meets Sunday and Tuesday evenings. The group started with wargaming and RPGs back in the mid-seventies, and was revived again by, among others, Dave Chalker in the late nineties/early aughts. Unfortunately, I didn't keep notes and so don't recall anyone's name (they were all nice people, however).
Five or six people played Pathfinder. The GM used his computer and an overhead projector to display the battlefield, and he positioned the virtual PCs in their locations, including such enhancements as line-of-sight, and so on. They all seemed to be having fun.
Three people played board games, from a stack which included the long and complex - Game of Thrones, Twilight Imperium III - and the very chaotic - Fluxx, Munchkin, Junta, etc, with nothing in between. There were no middle of the road strategy games like Settlers or Puerto Rico. I opted out of playing any of these. Later in the evening I convinced them to try It's Alive, I have no idea how it went over, except that they didn't play it a second time.
Around twelve people, including myself, played Magic: the Gathering. Eight of us played a tournament. We "booster" drafted from a collection of excellent cards from the past five years or so. Many rares and powerful cards in the lot, as well as some key commons such as Incinerate and Terror.
The remaining players played a Magic variant where you can play with any cards you want, but with only one of each card in the deck and a minimum deck size of 100 cards. Kind of bizarre.
All the players are regular players, with up to date knowledge of all the cards and how to integrate current strategy and tactics. My last analysis of Magic was around 4th edition, though I've played with the commons and uncommons of many of the sets since. None from the last year or so, however. I expected a) to take a much longer time drafting and playing than any of the other players, and b) to lose badly. But it looked like a challenge.
It's tough drafting when you have no idea of the relative worth of the cards you're seeing. And when of the fifteen cards from which you have to pick, four or five of them are simply awesome. I drafted nearly entirely black/red, with nothing but direct damage, creature kill, mana diversity and boosters, and fliers. I played a little light on land, only 15, plus some mana boosters, but it was also only a two color deck, and it was hard already leaving out cards that killed multiple creatures. Back in my hometown, the deck was unbelievably strong. How would it hold up here?
Against my first opponent, the answer was "fantastic". In our two games, I took maybe four points of damage in game two. His problem was, his deck was a control deck that used my creatures against me, but I had very little in the way of creatures. So he sat empty while I killed what he played and burned him down. I was surprised at my easy victory, and got a little cocky. Needless to say I lost the next two matches.
Both of them were very close. I went 2 games to 1 against both opponents, and in one of each of the games that I lost against each opponent I had him down to 1 point.
In my second match, my opponent played white, blue, and green. I lost the first game because he got out a nifty combination of cards: one imprinted a creature from his hand, so that, every round, he could pay its mana cost and bring out a copy of that creature; and the creature he imprinted was a Clone.
This also depended on me playing creatures he could use, but not entirely; he could target his own creatures as well. I got stuck. I also misplayed, having a hard time wrapping my head around the combination, and ended up giving him my cards to copy at the wrong times. He managed to clone one of his own creatures that let him draw two cards whenever such a creature came into play. He was drawing so many cards, he had to toss.
I won the next game, but lost the third from not having enough mana in my deck. I considered adding more mana to my deck, but I was reluctant to toss anything.
In the third match, I won the first game; he played a black and white deck, with multicolor splash. He knocked me down to 10, but I killed everything he had and then burned him. In the second game, I was a little light in mana, and he got out better cards, too many for me to control. In the third, I simply didn't draw lands until it was far too late. So I should have thrown in another land or two, after all. Die and learn.
Still, four games won and four lost, is not bad.
I met up with the Miami University Strategy Gaming Club, which meets Sunday and Tuesday evenings. The group started with wargaming and RPGs back in the mid-seventies, and was revived again by, among others, Dave Chalker in the late nineties/early aughts. Unfortunately, I didn't keep notes and so don't recall anyone's name (they were all nice people, however).
Five or six people played Pathfinder. The GM used his computer and an overhead projector to display the battlefield, and he positioned the virtual PCs in their locations, including such enhancements as line-of-sight, and so on. They all seemed to be having fun.
Three people played board games, from a stack which included the long and complex - Game of Thrones, Twilight Imperium III - and the very chaotic - Fluxx, Munchkin, Junta, etc, with nothing in between. There were no middle of the road strategy games like Settlers or Puerto Rico. I opted out of playing any of these. Later in the evening I convinced them to try It's Alive, I have no idea how it went over, except that they didn't play it a second time.
Around twelve people, including myself, played Magic: the Gathering. Eight of us played a tournament. We "booster" drafted from a collection of excellent cards from the past five years or so. Many rares and powerful cards in the lot, as well as some key commons such as Incinerate and Terror.
The remaining players played a Magic variant where you can play with any cards you want, but with only one of each card in the deck and a minimum deck size of 100 cards. Kind of bizarre.
All the players are regular players, with up to date knowledge of all the cards and how to integrate current strategy and tactics. My last analysis of Magic was around 4th edition, though I've played with the commons and uncommons of many of the sets since. None from the last year or so, however. I expected a) to take a much longer time drafting and playing than any of the other players, and b) to lose badly. But it looked like a challenge.
It's tough drafting when you have no idea of the relative worth of the cards you're seeing. And when of the fifteen cards from which you have to pick, four or five of them are simply awesome. I drafted nearly entirely black/red, with nothing but direct damage, creature kill, mana diversity and boosters, and fliers. I played a little light on land, only 15, plus some mana boosters, but it was also only a two color deck, and it was hard already leaving out cards that killed multiple creatures. Back in my hometown, the deck was unbelievably strong. How would it hold up here?
Against my first opponent, the answer was "fantastic". In our two games, I took maybe four points of damage in game two. His problem was, his deck was a control deck that used my creatures against me, but I had very little in the way of creatures. So he sat empty while I killed what he played and burned him down. I was surprised at my easy victory, and got a little cocky. Needless to say I lost the next two matches.
Both of them were very close. I went 2 games to 1 against both opponents, and in one of each of the games that I lost against each opponent I had him down to 1 point.
In my second match, my opponent played white, blue, and green. I lost the first game because he got out a nifty combination of cards: one imprinted a creature from his hand, so that, every round, he could pay its mana cost and bring out a copy of that creature; and the creature he imprinted was a Clone.
This also depended on me playing creatures he could use, but not entirely; he could target his own creatures as well. I got stuck. I also misplayed, having a hard time wrapping my head around the combination, and ended up giving him my cards to copy at the wrong times. He managed to clone one of his own creatures that let him draw two cards whenever such a creature came into play. He was drawing so many cards, he had to toss.
I won the next game, but lost the third from not having enough mana in my deck. I considered adding more mana to my deck, but I was reluctant to toss anything.
In the third match, I won the first game; he played a black and white deck, with multicolor splash. He knocked me down to 10, but I killed everything he had and then burned him. In the second game, I was a little light in mana, and he got out better cards, too many for me to control. In the third, I simply didn't draw lands until it was far too late. So I should have thrown in another land or two, after all. Die and learn.
Still, four games won and four lost, is not bad.
Where the golden grain dwarf the lovely flowers
Cincinnati international airport is not, in fact, in Cincinnati. It's not even in Ohio. It's located in Boone County, Kentucky It's not owned or operated by Boone County, Kentucky. Kenton County, Kentucky, which owns and operates the airport, makes a boatload of money off of this strange arrangement.
It's a pretty country, and it reminds me in many ways of the outskirts of Ithaca, NY. Still, there is something depressing about rural America, and its homogenized stream of endless car dealerships, fast food restaurants, strip malls with cheap plastic and metal objects, supermarkets with 60 different types of processed everything, small farmyards, and churches.
This is just the outside. Inside, most everyone is polite and kind. Even the no-nonsense monotonous troopers at the BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) were polite. Thick-headed, but polite.
Rachel tried to get her photo taken for an American driver's license, but their policy is that everyone has to have uncovered hair for the photo. As a religious Jewish woman, naturally she objected to this. To which we were told that there is an exception for Muslim women, but not for Jewish women.
Way to turn respecting a religious difference into a case of religious discrimination, guys.
Any idiot could see that the same principle should apply here and get on with the photo, but the clerk had only heard of Jewish people putting head coverings on in synagogue, and so wasn't convinced that this was an actual religious problem. She still wasn't convinced after being shown both an Israeli driver's license and a Canadian passport, all with pictures of Rachel with her hair covered.
Four phone calls later to various supervisors, and she was given the go-ahead to let Rachel take the picture with her hat on.
Rachel's car insurance was willing to cover my driving the car under my Israeli driver's license (which I can do so legally for 1 year), but only if I got an Ohio driver's license as soon as possible. No problem. I scheduled the first available driving test at the BMV, which will be on December 2. I'm leaving Ohio November 18.
I'm hoping to hit the Miami University strategy game club this evening.
It's a pretty country, and it reminds me in many ways of the outskirts of Ithaca, NY. Still, there is something depressing about rural America, and its homogenized stream of endless car dealerships, fast food restaurants, strip malls with cheap plastic and metal objects, supermarkets with 60 different types of processed everything, small farmyards, and churches.
This is just the outside. Inside, most everyone is polite and kind. Even the no-nonsense monotonous troopers at the BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) were polite. Thick-headed, but polite.
Rachel tried to get her photo taken for an American driver's license, but their policy is that everyone has to have uncovered hair for the photo. As a religious Jewish woman, naturally she objected to this. To which we were told that there is an exception for Muslim women, but not for Jewish women.
Way to turn respecting a religious difference into a case of religious discrimination, guys.
Any idiot could see that the same principle should apply here and get on with the photo, but the clerk had only heard of Jewish people putting head coverings on in synagogue, and so wasn't convinced that this was an actual religious problem. She still wasn't convinced after being shown both an Israeli driver's license and a Canadian passport, all with pictures of Rachel with her hair covered.
Four phone calls later to various supervisors, and she was given the go-ahead to let Rachel take the picture with her hat on.
Rachel's car insurance was willing to cover my driving the car under my Israeli driver's license (which I can do so legally for 1 year), but only if I got an Ohio driver's license as soon as possible. No problem. I scheduled the first available driving test at the BMV, which will be on December 2. I'm leaving Ohio November 18.
I'm hoping to hit the Miami University strategy game club this evening.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Ups and Downs
At Ben Gurion:
"Do you know why you were pulled over for additional checking?"
"The four bottles of wine in my suitcase?"
"Perhaps. How long have you owned this suitcase?"
"I don't know."
"A week? A year?"
"At least a year?"
"Have you loaned it out to anyone recently?"
"My wife. My stepson."
"Anyone outside the family?"
"No."
"Where did you get the wine?"
"My wine rack?"
"Did someone give you the wine to take with you on the plane?"
"I bought them at Supersol."
"Did anyone hand you something to put into your suitcase?"
"No."
"Any strangers ask you to take something, or deliver something for them?"
"No."
"Did you leave the suitcases alone and then see someone dark and mysterious lingering around them?"
"No?"
"Anyone run up to your suitcases, shove something in, cackle maniacally, and run away?"
"Uh ..."
"Anyone throw something into your suitcase while you were packing it and then dive for cover under the nearest garbage can, screaming "Allah Akhbar!"?
"..."
"Anyone with a pencil thin mustache slip something in while he thought you weren't looking, look evilly out the window, and, speaking in a low, resonant voice, say, "Revenge shall be mine! Nyeah nyeah!"?
"..."
"Did my cousin Itai give you something for me? He owes me two hundred shekels, the big oaf."
----
Security quick, but I was briefly pulled over due to my bringing four wine bottles.
At the airport used the free wifi to chat with Rachel and blog. Went through PP control and then filled my water bottle.
No lines. Boarded 55 minutes early (actually, I waited until 40 minutes early, and still no lines).
Everyone's personal screen worked except mine. Mine just kept crashing and rebooting. I can tell you that the computer for my screen was running a Red Hat Linux system build 540060-212, v1.02 compiled November 19, 2004. Platform SDU I386. A five year old OS; no wonder. During compilation, loader.c kept throwing multiple errors.
Guess they wanted to save money on the screen systems. They must have wanted to save money on heating, too, because it was freezing, and meals because dinner was a sandwich and breakfast was kind of sparse, too. Everything else went smooth enough.
At Newark:
I arrived at 6 am, with a flight leaving at 7:55. Despite all the roughness that now crept into my journey, I managed to get through everything, eventually.
Luggage carts are $5. It took a while for my luggage to come out, and then I dragged it around the corner to check it back in again. They told me to go up to the fourth floor and check it in directly through Delta, which took some time. Fine.
Delta decided that I needed a new printed ticket, and not the electronic one I already had. So they printed a new one, which took some time, and I went through to security (remembering to empty my water bottle first!). Either due to Israel, or receiving a last minute ticket, I was "randomly" screened to receive the extra security check.
Aside from taking off everything, they swab various parts of your luggage to test for traces of explosives, then wand you up and down, physically poking every part. Then they do it by hand, which includes turning the waist of you pants out.
This my second random screening; the first was in Dallas four years ago. Now, as then, the screener asked me if this is what it was like in Israel, as they heard Israel had tough security screenings. I said no; they ask more personal questions and then screen those who they feel are suspicious. They don't just pop up numbers and take random people. The guy said "oh". As I left, an elderly guy with a cane of some 80 or 90 years was being pulled over for the "random" security test.
That took some time. I still managed to make it to my gate 10 minutes before boarding. Checked wifi, but it cost $8 to connect. As I was boarding, they didn't like the cardboard boarding ticket I had, and gave me a new paper receipt. That took some time. Eventually we took off in the tiny plane.
In Cincinnati:
Need to wait two hours for Rachel to pick me up. Battery power running low and I forgot the American electrical adapter for my laptop. Wifi is free.
"Do you know why you were pulled over for additional checking?"
"The four bottles of wine in my suitcase?"
"Perhaps. How long have you owned this suitcase?"
"I don't know."
"A week? A year?"
"At least a year?"
"Have you loaned it out to anyone recently?"
"My wife. My stepson."
"Anyone outside the family?"
"No."
"Where did you get the wine?"
"My wine rack?"
"Did someone give you the wine to take with you on the plane?"
"I bought them at Supersol."
"Did anyone hand you something to put into your suitcase?"
"No."
"Any strangers ask you to take something, or deliver something for them?"
"No."
"Did you leave the suitcases alone and then see someone dark and mysterious lingering around them?"
"No?"
"Anyone run up to your suitcases, shove something in, cackle maniacally, and run away?"
"Uh ..."
"Anyone throw something into your suitcase while you were packing it and then dive for cover under the nearest garbage can, screaming "Allah Akhbar!"?
"..."
"Anyone with a pencil thin mustache slip something in while he thought you weren't looking, look evilly out the window, and, speaking in a low, resonant voice, say, "Revenge shall be mine! Nyeah nyeah!"?
"..."
"Did my cousin Itai give you something for me? He owes me two hundred shekels, the big oaf."
----
Security quick, but I was briefly pulled over due to my bringing four wine bottles.
At the airport used the free wifi to chat with Rachel and blog. Went through PP control and then filled my water bottle.
No lines. Boarded 55 minutes early (actually, I waited until 40 minutes early, and still no lines).
Everyone's personal screen worked except mine. Mine just kept crashing and rebooting. I can tell you that the computer for my screen was running a Red Hat Linux system build 540060-212, v1.02 compiled November 19, 2004. Platform SDU I386. A five year old OS; no wonder. During compilation, loader.c kept throwing multiple errors.
Guess they wanted to save money on the screen systems. They must have wanted to save money on heating, too, because it was freezing, and meals because dinner was a sandwich and breakfast was kind of sparse, too. Everything else went smooth enough.
At Newark:
I arrived at 6 am, with a flight leaving at 7:55. Despite all the roughness that now crept into my journey, I managed to get through everything, eventually.
Luggage carts are $5. It took a while for my luggage to come out, and then I dragged it around the corner to check it back in again. They told me to go up to the fourth floor and check it in directly through Delta, which took some time. Fine.
Delta decided that I needed a new printed ticket, and not the electronic one I already had. So they printed a new one, which took some time, and I went through to security (remembering to empty my water bottle first!). Either due to Israel, or receiving a last minute ticket, I was "randomly" screened to receive the extra security check.
Aside from taking off everything, they swab various parts of your luggage to test for traces of explosives, then wand you up and down, physically poking every part. Then they do it by hand, which includes turning the waist of you pants out.
This my second random screening; the first was in Dallas four years ago. Now, as then, the screener asked me if this is what it was like in Israel, as they heard Israel had tough security screenings. I said no; they ask more personal questions and then screen those who they feel are suspicious. They don't just pop up numbers and take random people. The guy said "oh". As I left, an elderly guy with a cane of some 80 or 90 years was being pulled over for the "random" security test.
That took some time. I still managed to make it to my gate 10 minutes before boarding. Checked wifi, but it cost $8 to connect. As I was boarding, they didn't like the cardboard boarding ticket I had, and gave me a new paper receipt. That took some time. Eventually we took off in the tiny plane.
In Cincinnati:
Need to wait two hours for Rachel to pick me up. Battery power running low and I forgot the American electrical adapter for my laptop. Wifi is free.
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