Bang Appétit

Today we went to Petaluma for the treasure hunt Bang 15: Bang Appétit. Unlike most BANGs, this one was not in the Bay Area, and it was not a Night Game. The theme was food, and my favorite puzzles were #3: Spice Rack and #6: Cubist Cuisine. We were very far from winning, but had a blast nonetheless. Check out the photos I posted, and be sure to try the maps version too.

On the ski lift

I took this picture with my phone when I was on the ski lift.

Dismounting a camel

Here is a video from our India trip, hosted by Google Video. I've cut out the audio since all you can hear is the sound of the blowing wind:

Games, games and games

During the four-day weekend of thanksgiving, we spent three nights playing games. We played St. Petersburg, Attika, Tickets to Ride and Shadows Over Camelot.

My favorite out of all these is St. Petersburg. The lack of resources means that you can to plan carefully, and it is very satsifactory when you finally build that expensively card that you've been saving up for.

Tickets to Ride was great too. The rules are simple, but the hidden tickets make the game unpredictable and interesting.

At first we liked Attika quite a bit, until we played one game when there was so much blocking that the only way to win was to build all the buildings. That made the game a bit of a drag.

Shadows Over Camelot is quite different from the others since it is a co-operative game. The fact that every player (except the traitor) is aiming for a common goal diluted the game control a bit, and I ended up wish that I brought a book while I was waiting for my turn.

All in all, we had a great weekend of games :)

Seen on a car with a "I ♥ Canada" Sticker

Wallace & Gromit

Just went to see Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Like the other Wallace & Gromit movies, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was very entertaining. As a bonus, the short movie Madagascar: A Christmas Caper was shown before Wallace & Gromit. That was very nice too.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

To celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, I digged into my box of random stuff and found my Chinese lanterns, plus some Christmas lights. I mounted the Christmas lights on the fireplace, hoisted the lanterns beneath it, and let the lights sink into the lanterns. The effects are quite good :)

Raging Waters

We went to Raging Waters today. We went at the opening hour, and it was not crowded at all. We tried all the slides, and my favorite is the Blue Thunder where I often got lifted from the slide a tad. Dragon's Den was also very neat.

After lunch it got quite crowded, so we only played a little bit more before heading home.

Triskaidekaphobia

The English language has a lot of specialized vocabulary. On this Friday the 13th, I discovered that there is a word for "the fear of the number 13" — triskaidekaphobia. There are even words for "the fear of Friday the 13th" — paraskavedekatriaphobia, paraskevidekatriaphobia, and friggatriskaidekaphobia.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

We saw The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy at the theater last night. The story deviated a bit from the book, but the spirit was intact. We enjoyed it a lot.

John Hargrave's Credit Card Prank

It is a well-known fact that no one checks your credit card signature in the US. What I did not know was how crazy it can get!

Most Densely Populated Island

According to Guinness World Records, the Most Densely Populated Island in the world is Ap Lei Chau. Hey, that's where my grandma lives!

California High-Speed Rail

From KESQ:

The California High-Speed Rail Authority today adopted routes and station locations that will be used in detailed environmental reviews for the 700-mile system, which would link San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield and San Francisco with trains running at top speeds of more than 200 mph.

I went to check out the official web site of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, and this line really caught my attention:

With bullet trains operating at speeds up to 220 mph, the express travel time from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles is just under 2½ hours.

That will be so cool!

A gasoline-saving sticker

Via Denver Post:

The disc is to be taped or glued to the bottom of your car's gas tank. Promoters say it significantly increases gas mileage and improves air quality. They don't say how it works, beyond claiming it sends "holographic frequencies into the gas tank and changes the molecular structure of the gasoline."

Yeah, right.

My favorite patent, #5443036

Method of exercising a cat:

A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other animal with a chase instinct.

Eyezmaze Grow

The Grow game from Eyezmaze is so addictive! There are all these interactions between the objects, and you have to install them in the right sequence to make everything grow to the max. A very well done game.

Rocket Mania

Lately I've been playing the game Rocket Mania a lot. The goal is to connect the fuse to the rocket. If you launch three or more rocket at the same time, you get some coins on the board. Grab them, and your rockets will be upgraded when you advance a level. I love these strategy games. Another game I like is Alchemy, also by PopCap.

Free hotel room for Jesus' parents

A British hotel chain is offering couples called Mary and Joseph a free night's stay over Christmas, according to Reuters. Quite a creative way to get some free press coverage!

Rear Window

Just saw Hitchcock's Rear Window. I always thought that the movie was about the rear window of a car. The rear window in question actually belonged to an apartment, and it faced into the courtyard. The fact that we could only get a glimpse of life from this window added a lot of suspense to the movie, and made it very interesting.

zipdecode

Now you can see how zip codes spread :)