Weblog
16 days ago: 6 days a week
You can now catch me 6 days a week hosting Team Trivia games!
- SUNDAY (8:00 pm) at Quaker Steak & Lube
- MONDAY (10:00 pm) at the Lion’s Den
- TUESDAY (8:00 pm) at Champs Sports Grill
- WEDNESDAY (7:00 pm) at the Dark Horse
- THURSDAY (7:00 pm) at the Rathskeller
- FRIDAY (10:00 pm) at Quaker Steak & Lube
- This our Sex, Sports, & Rock’n Roll show
Note that the shows are at different time each evening. Two are a little early 7pm, two are at the traditional time 8pm, and two are “late night” 10pm. If you can’t make it to one of these shows then you just don’t like trivia.
On July 10th I’ll open our first Bloomsburg PA show at Harry’s Grille. I’ll host this Thursday night at 8:00pm show myself for the first few weeks, just until we can hire and train a host for that area. I’m hoping to have 3-4 shows in that area by this fall so it would make a great part-time job for someone who lived up there. Let me know if you know anyone.
I’m also looking for a venue to host non-smoking Team Trivia. All of our current State College locations are great places to play Team Trivia and the only negative I ever hear is there are a few folks that would like a non-smoking venue. It will be a little tough to fit another show into our schedule but I think the right location would do very well advertised as ‘no smoking’. If you think of a good place let me know.
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Team Trivia is a registered Trade Mark of The Answer Is… Productions, Inc. and TTP Entertainment, Inc.
25 days ago: Colonization
2K Games Announces Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization™ for Games for Windows®
Sid Meier’s Classic Colonization is recreated as a new stand-alone title in the Civilization IV® universe
New York, NY – June 9, 2008 – 2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization™, the next offering in the award-winning Civilization IV® universe, is currently in development at 2K’s world-renowned Firaxis Games development studio. Conceived from the ground up to take advantage of the Civilization IV engine, Colonization will be available fall 2008 exclusively for Games for Windows®.
“We’ve received many requests from fans over the years to bring back Colonization and now seemed to be the perfect time to do that,” said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. “The Civilization IV engine provided a fantastic foundation for a new Colonization experience and allowed us to create something great for both new players and long time fans of the game.”
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31 days ago: The Scotsman
This old drinking song has always cracked me up. I have an mp3 of the tune if I can figure out how I’ll link it here.
words and music by Mike Cross
Well a Scotsman clad in kilt left a bar on evening fair
And one could tell by how we walked that he drunk more than his share
He fumbled round until he could no longer keep his feet
Then he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
He stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street
About that time two young and lovely girls just happend by
And one says to the other with a twinkle in her eye
See yon sleeping Scotsman so strong and handsome built
I wonder if it’s true what they don’t wear beneath the kilt
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
I wonder if it’s true what they don’t wear beneath the kilt
They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be
Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see
And there behold, for them to see, beneath his Scottish skirt
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth
They marveled for a moment, then one said we must be gone
Let’s leave a present for our friend, before we move along
As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon, tied into a bow
Around the bonnie star, the Scots kilt did lift and show
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
Around the bonnie star, the Scots kilt did lift and show
Now the Scotsman woke to nature’s call and stumbled towards a tree
Behind a bush, he lift his kilt and gawks at what he sees
And in a startled voice he says to what’s before his eyes.
O lad I don’t know where you been but I see you won first prize
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
O lad I don’t know where you been but I see you won first prize
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44 days ago: Stanley Cup backs Penguins
The NHL Stanley Cup final get underway this Saturday when my Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Detroit Redwings in Detroit. The Pens have had an incredible successful post season sweeping Calgary in the first round, then downing the NY Rangers and their captain, Jaromir Jagr, in just 5 games, and absolutely humiliating Philadelphia with a 6 goal shut out to win that series in game five.
I have a really good feeling about the rest of the playoffs, even the Stanley Cup wants the Pens to win.
Trivia Fans…
The cups finals will be on a Saturday-Monday-Wednesday schedule so there should not be any conflicts with Team Trivia (at least not my shows). Even Wednesdays at the Dark Horse should be OK, trivia starts at 7pm and game coverage doesn’t even start til 8 so I’m not sure when the puck will actually drop.
The photo is of Stanley Joseph Cup, age 59 of Saltsburg, PA a diehard Penguins fan. Bob sent me the article about him. Read more here.
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53 days ago: Too much Garrett
About a year ago I start a project on my flickr page to take a picture of myself everyday. Ok so I didn’t exactly stick to it, there are several gaps where I go a month or more without adding a new photo. Well I just uploaded photo #100!
I’m going to stick with this project and try to maintain the one photo every 3-4 days average that I have right now. I see that other people have similar projects but most people just commit to posting some kind of photo each day, apparently I’m the only egomaniac that takes pictures of himself. I kinda wish I had done it the other way but since I’m this far along I’ll keep with it. I still think it will be interesting to see the changes as time goes on.
One change I am going to make is I’m going to try and make the photos be of me out in the world with my friends and family rather than the simple webcam pictures I’m doing now.
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54 days ago: Champs 5/13/2008
Sorry guys, not show tonight at Champs. Game three of the Pens/Flyers series is on tonight same time we would normally have trivia. I hate missing trivia but I’m super happy for the Penguins.
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58 days ago: Beach Trip ‘08
Yesterday I sent out this email…
Because of the problems I had with last years trip I was going to send this email and say something like “should we go…” or possibly “I’m not going to do it…” but you know what? There are always problems surrounding this trip and it’s always a great trip anyway.
So time to start planning my annual beach trip!
At this point I really need to know who is interested to get some details together. Many years I have said that I would take this trip by myself if it came to it but I’m hoping not to have to do that. Everything is tentative at this point but here is the plan…
- Dates: first weekend in October, drive down on Thursday and back on Monday (my birthday is that Sunday)
- Location: Regency Towers in Panama City Beach Florida. Nice condo right on the beach.
- Cost: varies a lot depending on how many go but it will be around $200 per person.
So here is how this will work. We are in the planning stage right now so there is no cost or obligation just let me know if you would like to go or if you would like to change the dates or location or whatever. Is there someone you want to bring along? (wife, girlfriend, roommate, etc.) Once I know who is interested in going etc. I’ll get price quotes for everything and send out another message. At that point I’ll probably need a deposit of some sort (small) and a commitment.
So if you could take a minute right now, reply just to me not everyone (it drives some people nuts when they get 10 email all on the same thing), and let me know what you think. This will be my 9th trip and hopefully the best one yet.
Garrett
I’ve already received these responses…
Responder #1: lol…ok, I’m probably only saying this because I got this email at the perfect moment today…but YES I am interested. Obviously I can’t pay anything until I get a job. But if that causes too much havoc with the plans….I have faith that there will be a 10th trip. :-)
But you’re right to plan it despite any complications. We have to enjoy life, not just work & stress all the time and you’re email was a great reminder of that. So thanks for the email and thanks for keeping the trip alive.
Responder #2: I will be going to school and working part time but I’m sure I can get enough monies together to afford it even if I can only eat ramen noodles while there. Can you still sell plasma? I will also see if I can pull [girlfriend] away this year….
Responder #3: Weird, I did not get this email and only saw it because [Responder #2] ignored your instructions and replied to all! Anyway, I’m still in :)
That makes 5 people who wanna go already so the trip is on! Do you wanna come along?
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60 days ago: New Show – the Dark Horse
I’m starting a new show today at the Dark Horse Tavern in downtown State College. The show itself is not new but the time is. My game will begin at 7:00pm which is an hour later than the old show, that’s why I had to take over for Trivia Gerry, he does the G-Man show that same night.
It should be fun! If you do come down enter from the Calder Way side not the Collage Ave. Be sure and get the MySpace answer from Trivia Steve’s blog before you head out.
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Team Trivia is a registered Trade Mark of The Answer Is… Productions, Inc. and TTP Entertainment, Inc.
65 days ago: Gin Rummy
Gin (or Gin Rummy) is a simple and popular two-player card game created by Elwood T. Baker in 1909. Gin, which evolved from 18th-century Whiskey Poker (according to John Scarne), was created with the intention of being faster than standard rummy, but not as spontaneous as knock rummy.
Gin is played with a standard 52-card pack of playing cards with Aces are played only as low.
The objective in Gin Rummy is to score more points than your opponent. The basic game strategy is to improve one’s hand by forming melds and eliminating deadwood. Two types of meld exist:
- Sets of 3 or 4 cards sharing the same rank.
- Runs of 3 or more cards in sequence, of the same suit.
A player’s “deadwood” cards are those not in any meld. His deadwood count is the sum of the point values of the deadwood cards— aces are scored at 1 point, face cards at 10, and others according to their numerical values. Intersecting melds are not allowed; therefore, if a player has a 3-card set and a 3-card run sharing a common card, he can only count one of them and must count two cards as deadwood.
Dealership alternates from round to round (the dealer to the first round is usually determined by cutting the deck; low card deals). The dealer deals a ten-card hand to his opponent and himself. The 21st card, the upcard, is placed face-up in a central location known as the discard pile. The remainder of the pack, placed face down next to the discard pile, is called the stock pile. The non-dealing player has the option of taking the upcard and playing first. If he or she does not, the option to take the upcard passes to the dealer. If the dealer does not want the upcard, play proceeds with the non-dealing player taking a card from the stock pile.
On each turn, a player:
- draws either the (face-up) top card of the discard pile, or one card from the stock pile
- may “knock”, ending the round, under certain conditions
- discards one card from his or her hand onto the discard pile
Play continues, in alternating turns, until one player knocks or only 2 cards remain in the stock pile. In that case, the hand would end in a draw.
In standard Gin, a player may not knock unless he has 10 or fewer points of deadwood. He must knock if he has 0 points of deadwood (known as going Gin or having a Gin hand). To knock, the knocking player ends his turn by discarding as usual, announces that he is knocking (generally by simply placing his discard face down), and lays his hand out with the melds clearly indicated and deadwood separated. The other (“defending”) player is then entitled to lay off any of his deadwood cards that fit into the knocking player’s melds.
For example, the knocking player has a meld of three Kings. The defending player has a King as part of his deadwood. He can lay off that King, reducing his deadwood count by ten. If the knocking player has gone gin, however, the defending player is not allowed to lay off.
The number of points awarded for bonuses may vary from region to region. No matter what the bonus amounts are, points are scored in Gin for the following:
Knock Points – after a player knocks, and the lay offs are made, the knocking player receives a score equal to the difference between the two hands. For example, if a player knocks with 8, and the defender has 10 deadwood points in his or her hand after laying off, the knocking player receives 2 points for the hand.
Gin Bonus – after going Gin, a player receives a bonus of 25 points plus the entire count of deadwood in their opponent’s hand. There is no chance to lay off when a player goes Gin.
UnderCut – (sometimes called underknocking) occurs when the defending player has a deadwood count lower than or equal to that of the knocking player. In this case, the defender scores an undercut bonus of 25 points plus the difference between the two hands. (In some rule sets, the bonus is only 10 or 20 points, or is not awarded in case of a tie.)
Game Bonus – once a player has acquired 100 points (or some other agreed upon number) the match is over, and that player receives a Game Bonus of 100 points.
Line Bonus – (also known as a box bonus) is added at the end of the match. For every hand a player won during the match, 25 points is added to their score.
Big Gin – prior to knocking, if all 11 cards in a player’s hand form a legal gin, the player can retain the extra card as part of their hand, and is awarded an extra 6 points per the “Big Gin” bonus.
Shutout Bonus – if a match is completed with the winner having won every hand, the points for each hand are doubled before adding the Line Bonus.
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66 days ago: Sad & Lonely
You might have noticed I removed one of my recent postings, the one from Apr-21 titled circle of life. The post announced that friends of mine had become pregnant. I removed it when I learned that they had lost the pregnancy. Follow either of the above links to Yaz’s blog and her words for yourself.
Having just lost a very dear friend, expecting a new baby was somehow comforting but now I find myself very sad. You know that feeling you get when you are almost going to cry but you don’t actually? Its weird I feel broken in a way, neither of these things happened to me per say and that is making me feel guilty for being so sad which of course makes me feel even worse. This will pass I guess. If I seam distant its because I’m not really here, my heart and mind are with the people who have lost so much more than I have.
