Cliff Claven’s Jeopardy Dream Board
In my favorite episode of Cheers, Cliff Claven has a chance to put his head full of trivia to good use by competing on Jeopardy. The categories were: Civil Servants, Stamps From Around the World, Mothers and Sons, Beer, Bar Trivia, and Celibacy. Hilarious.
Don’t Bite the Hand that Cleans You
The last quarter of the year is always difficult for Sheppard House. Every October our necessary obligations escalate into an avalanche that clogs the family calendar until January. Every year we get a little better at taming the holiday schedule. This year our deft family management ushered in the tranquility that accompanies the new year nearly a month early. Elise even managed to apply some of the slack in the schedule to whittle through some items we placed on the back burner. Among them was dental appointments.
As the dental hygienist made conversation she made a passing mention at the volume of business the dentist oversees near Christmas. She could not understand why so many people scheduled dental appointments around the holidays. I politely explained that dentists were in a service industry, yet they work the same hours as their clients. Hence, the clients must use their time off to schedule service. I compared it to banks, who have recently begun to change their schedules. Although my point was valid I probably should have held my tongue until she was finished wielding those sharp instruments in my mouth. Mental note: dental hygienists are very protective of their office hours.
05.3.09I Shouldn’t Blog When I’m High on Hog…
The Sheppard house has kept a keen eye on this swine flu since the early in the epidemic. We’ve warned the kids about the tell-tale symptoms:
- hair loss
- enlarged lower canines
- fusing of the metacarpals
- swelling of nasal cartilage
- tightened mangled vocal chords
- pronounced “bacony” flavor
Check out this news report:
If I’ve learned anything from playing video games it is this: shortly after the earth is ravaged by H1N1 we will be hit by the outbreak of yet another virus that will reanimate dead tissue and pave the way for the invasion of the zombie pig people. I’m working on a list of witty one-liners to use as I slaughter the hog-like harbingers of doom. So far all I got is “Ebedy-ebedy-that’s all folk!”.
Different Linux Experiences
Embedded Developer requisitions often request or require an “understanding of Linux”. This always raises the question, “Do they want someone who can develop on a desktop running Linux or develop an embedded product running Linux?”
To those that don’t understand, let me elaborate. I am an “embedded” software developer. That means I write computer programs, but not for desktop or laptop PCs. Rather, I use a desktop PC to write programs that are loaded onto devices that have computers in them like cell phones and medical devices. Learning enough Linux to build programs is easy. It takes much more effort to understand enough about Linux to use it in an embedded device. The job qualification isn’t clear how Linux is used or how familiar a candidate should be.
Settlers of Catan
The end of our last family holiday gathering concluded with a cut-throat game of Settlers of Catan between the Sheppards and the Shaffers. No surprise, I brought home the gold. Settlers of Catan has been my favorite board game since I discovered the game 2 years ago. The only trouble is finding people to play with. I decided to summarize the rules while showing exactly how the game is designed to maximize everyone’s fun. Maybe I can win a few new fans. However, I must warn you. You won’t find this game in Walmart next to Milton Bradley’s greatest hits. Settlers of Catan is the breakaway hit generated by “independent games”. A special breed of geeks develops cultish followings many independent games which are often kept in a corner of your local comic book store. However, just as Star Wars has more mainstream appeal than Battlefield Earth, Catan has earned a spot on the shelfs at Target and some bookstores due to the recognition it received for the many awards it has won throughout the world.
The game board is a large island made of different hex shaped tiles. Each type of tile is associated with geography and that geography’s natural resource. Forests produce wood. Mountains produce ore. Dice rolls determine which tiles produce resources and players with towns next to those tiles collect the corresponding resource. This means that at the opening of each player’s turn, any player is likely to get new resources. Players return their resources in order to build more towns which must be connected by roads. Everyone is encouraged to trade in order to get the combination of resources they need. No one plays a mere spectator between turns. There is always something to keep players attention.
The game punishes people that hoard cards, further motivating players to trade in order to gain what they need. When any player rolls a 7, anyone hoarding more than 7 resource cards must discard half their hand. That player must also move the “robber”. The robber is a figure on the board. The hex tile he resides on is incapable of producing resources even if the number of the tile is rolled. The tile can produce resources only after the robber is moved again. Players can move the robber by playing “army” cards they draw from a deck of utility cards that can be purchased with their resources. This is one of the few means players can attempt to block another player’s path to victory.
No one enjoys playing a game when failure is certain and slow. Settlers of Catan avoids that problem in three ways. First, there are many different ways to win the game. The goal is to earn 10 victory points. Victory points are earned in many different ways. Points are awarded for towns. Certain utility cards the players can purchase award victory points. Two points are awarded for maintaining the longest road or the largest army. Largest army refers to the player who has played the most army cards during the game. The variety of means helps to avoid situations where players have no means to win. Chances are likely there is some way a player can word towards victory points.
Second, the social aspect of the game levels the playing field. Players are unwilling to trade with players on the cusp of winning. They are much more willing to trade with people they don’t see as threatening. Hence, those far behind progress quickly and others stall just before victory.
Just as a slow demise is frustrating, large swings in the score make for an exciting game. Yet too many swings can make the game seem too random. As you may recall, players can invoke a 4 point swing by building the largest road or army, both of which are fairly cheap. A 4 point swing can reduce a hefty lead like 8 – 4 to a mere tie.
Have I earned your interest? If so, go buy a copy and share it with your friends. Folks with an Xbox can play a version in the on-line arcade. Give me a call when you find time. I’m always up for a game.