Casual Game Friday: TBA

I tried to find a patriotic-type game for today, but I couldn't find any that I thought were up to snuff. So I picked one called TBA. It has stars, cannons, and explosions. I thought that's probably good enough.

In TBA, your goal is to get your white star-spangled ball through a series of blue cannons to the final red cannon. Simply tap the space bar to move the ball. You're timed while doing this, though you don't need to worry about it to progress through the game. Each level has a different set up which presents a different challenge. You've got to time it right to get the ball to the some cannons which constantly move.

There's a catchy techno tune going on in the background to spice up the mood of the game.

The game isn't difficult, and is distracting for a while, but not too long. Just right. I think you'll like it for this Fourth of July.

Play TBA!

Book Report for June

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
I really liked this book. It's narrated from the perspective of a teenage boy with autism. The plot is good, but isn't anything earth-shaking. Told from his point of view it is fascinating. I recommend this book, unless you avoid reading books with swearing, as there is quite a bit.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C O'Brien
Check another off of my Newbery list! This was my first time reading this book. It was similar to the movie until the last section. I liked this book a bit, even though it's about animals. Maybe that isn't surprising since I liked Watership Down, too.

Alchemy by Margaret Mahy
So I got this book by accident. A couple of people recommended The Alchemist to me, and I forgot the exact title and so reserved a copy of this book instead. And I read it and wasn't that impressed, but figured out I had the wrong book. This book is a magic teenage genre that's fun, but not deserving the rave reviews other people had given it (or so I thought).

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Borrowed this one from a friend of mine. I thought it was a pretty good layman introduction to Taoism. Winnie the Pooh is a good example of how to just Be. I found myself having a lot of questions about the philosophy, but there's probably just not that kind of information in a book set in the Hundred Acre Woods.

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman, Ph.D.
Recommended highly by Katya! I thought this was a great relationship book. I appreciated how instead of harping on all the things couples do wrong, he concentrated on things a couple can do right to balance out those wrong things that everyone inevitably does. There were some cool exercises to do, too. So I recommend it, too.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
We saw the movie last month, and I heard there was a book, so I reserved it at the library. It was different from the movie in a few ways, but was the same Lone Man Against the World theme. This time it's not a medical specialist fighting zombies in NYC, it's an average Joe staving off vampires in suburban America. It was written in the 1950s, so the worldview is a little different, too. But it was good, if you like science fiction, and if you liked the movie for it's themes and story (rather than for Will Smith's abs).

Monster by Walter Dean Myers
This book gives you a peek into the life of a black teenage boy being prosecuted as an accomplice to murder. He's the hero of the story, so you see everything through his eyes. He talks about being imprisoned and the life and people there. He talks about how it affects his family relations. Mostly, it follows his trial. It keeps it interesting though, as sometimes trial books can get bogged down. I really liked this book and recommend it.

Little Fuzzy by H.M. Piper
Recommended by Chris. Another science fiction book from the 50s. It's about a new race of beings found on a human inhabited planet. Are they just animals or are they 'people'? They're called Fuzzies because they're covered in hair and they're just so darn cute. I did think it was funny how all these gruff, manly characters went all doe-eyed and paternal on the Fuzzies. Also, I don't like the word 'pappy'. But other than that, it was good. It made me think about the line of sentience, and human worth.

Ode to My Abode

Disclaimer: Watch out! I'm waxing poetic again! If you like real poetry, you may not want to read this. It'll probably cause you some pain.

My residence is getting old and it needs a lot work
Which the management for some reason likes to shirk

There's spots on the ceiling in each and every room.
The house needs re-roofing, one could assume.

The wood floors get a category all of their own.
They're warped, gapped, scratched, and when walked on, they groan.

And if you drop a ball, you'll be surprised to find
It rolls to one spot in a corner because the floor's inclined.

And with all the linoleum's dinginess and gore
You'd think that I never have mopped the kitchen floor.

How many layers of caulk are found in the shower?
I've never dared to count, it'd probably take an hour.

The front door's paint is peeling and the wood is quite cracked.
Lindsay has taken it upon herself to remedy that fact.

Every time that door is open she's right there to fix it.
Finds every piece that's come loose, and then she goes and picks it.

There's so much more wrong with the place where I happen to reside.
But maybe it's not so bad. I'll look on the flip side.

I get to see my husband much more because it's so close to work.
It only takes a few minutes for him to get home, and that's a major perk.

Actually I must admit the neighborhood is quite nice.
We're lucky we get to live here for our low rental price.

The area is walkable; there's a trail just down the street.
And down the road a little bit, there's lots of places to eat.

Maybe this place isn't so bad; there's some things that make it okay.
I guess I'll look on the bright side, since we have to stay.

My Family Reunion in Pictures

It all started with an onion truck. We were driving to my family reunion in the Smoky Mountains, and we passed an onion truck, and I had to take a picture. I mean, really, how often do you get to see an onion truck with onions visible on the road? But I'll bet the driver was a little weirded out.


We stayed in a very large cabin. Four stories, eight bedrooms, three hot tubs, lots of stairs, and even an elevator. Of course, with over thirty people in the house, it was kind of necessary. Especially the hot tubs. The view was pretty nice, as you can see.


We hiked up to Grotto Falls in a small group on Monday morning. It was a nice, easy hike, 1.3 miles. The falls were a little sparse, but it was still fun. Lindsay came in the hiker pack. Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures of this outing, so you'll have to take my word for it. This was also the hike where Lindsay figured out that my CamelBak is a 'dink' [drink]. So Peter was carrying her on his back, and I was connected to her like an umbilical cord because she didn't want to stop chewing on the valve.


That afternoon, we went to Ripley's Aquarium, which was surprisingly good, considering that this is the same Ripley's that does "museums" that are more sensationalist than educational. I was expecting a pop culture aquarium, but it was just a normal one. They had a cool underwater tunnel where you could see fish swimming all around you. The sharks in the tank were still scary despite the inches of glass between us. They'd just kind of sneak up from one side and you'd see a shadow.

Lindsay almost got eaten by a shark, but it turned out to be dead.

Tuesday we got to leave Lindsay with aunts and uncles and go out for the night. We doubled with my parents and ate at a yummy trout restaurant. Then we went mini-golfing.

It actually took us a while to find a place, but only because I wanted a place with fake blue water. There are probably about fifty putt putt places in the area, but fake blue water is a part of the fake golf experience. It was fun even though I lost with a score of sixty strokes. Peter won with thirty-eight. I'm terrible! But I had a lot of fun because it was one of the only dates we've been on since Lindsay was born. And we actually spent money on non-renewable entertainment, which was also fun.


Wednesday we got a big group to go up to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Park, and on the Appalachian Trail. That was only .5 miles, but it was steep, so I thought it was hard.


We got up there in time for the sunset. The view was totally worth the hike. It was actually chilly up there. The temperature down lower was in the 80s, but up here it was in the 50s. We have some pictures of us as a family up here, but I look terrible in them, so I figure I won't let them go public. (However, if you'd like copies sent to you personally, for ego-building use, please shoot me an email and I'd be glad to help you out.)


Rainbow Falls we did on Thursday. Lindsay got to be babysat again, so we were without child. This one really showed me how out of shape I am. It was 2.7 miles up and then you came back the way you went in. Going down was fine, but going up was killer. But I just took my little breaks and lagged behind and made it just fine.


The falls here were lacking, too. We were so happy with the weather all week because it didn't rain, but then the falls were dismal because of it. Oh, well. Here's a family group picture right behind the falls.


On the way back we saw a rattlesnake on ON the trail. It finally moved off the trail, but we got to see it for a while from a safe distance. It was actually really pretty. It didn't look shiny like you expect reptiles to be. It was satiny and very matte.


Lindsay got to come with us on our last hike up to Laurel Falls on Friday. It was another easy one, and we got lots of people to come! This hike was especially fun because when we got to the top a guy was proposing to his girlfriend. We got to see him get down on one knee and put the ring on her finger. Cute.


Lindsay liked these falls. She played in the pools with a stick and splashed around.

There were some other more family oriented things we did, too, but there weren't pictures of that. We used the hot tub after a hike. We went shopping in the arts and crafts area. They had some very cool pottery. We watched movies on a projector screen with surround sound. We ate lots and lots of cookies. We initiated people to the Wii. We had lots of fun conversations. It was a nice, relaxing week.


Friday evening we packed up and left since Peter had a Bar class Saturday morning. We were all tired. Even Lindsay, who's averse to sleeping in the car. But here's proof positive she can do it! Of course she woke up thirty minutes later and stayed awake the rest of the time, but it's a start!

Casual Game Monday: Grid Game Puzzle

What!? Casual Game Monday? What is this world coming to? People can be so unreliable sometimes.

I'll keep it not too complicated today. We don't want to take up too much time, it being Monday and all.

Grid Game Puzzle a.k.a. Reaction Effect is a chain reaction game that doesn't really have a point. It's just fun to see what turning one tile will do and how many chain reactions it will start. My max after playing a few minutes was 465. What's yours?

Play Grid Game Puzzle!

So Sorry!

I don't know if any of you noticed, but I missed Casual Game Friday this past Friday. I'm so sorry! We were on vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains for a family reunion, and I got busy, even though we had an internet connection. I hope you'll forgive me for missing that, and for not blogging at all.

To make up for it, I'll blog every day this week. And you'll even get a Casual Game Monday to start you off.

Dlock!

A conversation with Lindsay yesterday

Lindsay, pointing to the scale in our bathroom: Dlock, dlock!
Me: Hmm, it does look like a clock, but it's actually a scale.
Lindsay thinks
Lindsay: Noooooo... nooooooo... Dlock!

She's already smarter than me!

Casual Game Friday: Rollercoaster Rush

Rollercoaster Rush is a little action-type game for you today. You are the rollercoaster brake operator, so it's your job to make sure that the passengers get thrills with out having the cars crash. That's bad because then your passengers have to use their parachute packs.

You only use the left and right arrows on the keyboard to control how fast or slow the cars go, so it's very straight-forward. You get a fulfilling feeling watching the people fly through the sky and successfully land on the track. It took me a couple of runs for some tracks to anticipate where I needed to slow down.

The graphics are simple with great style, and the sound makes the game pretty fun. Get a high enough thrill rating, five stars, to move on to the next track. The free online version on this game let's you play all the tracks in the U.S., though the full version has many more tracks in a couple other countries.

Play Rollercoaster Rush!