Tag: play

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Gaming, Circa 1974

As long as I can remember, this simply designed wooden game sat on the coffee table in my grandparents living room. Growing up, I loved playing the game with my grandpa and grandma. The gameplay was simple. You spun the top, hoping it knocked the eight wooden balls into the eight divots. Each divot had a point value. Once the top stopped, you added up your score. Your opponent took their turn, and you repeated until you were tired of playing or dinner time arrived — whichever came first. Dinner usually won.

This was all long before the age of Mortal Kombat, World of Warcraft and even before the Internet (as we know it today). I didn’t care (not that I knew better). The game was just fun!

My grandparents have both since passed on, and the game now sits on my coffee table, in my living room. And the game still makes me smile. Partly, it’s the memories that it brings me. But a big part is the simple joy of a well-designed game. No batteries required.

Sometimes in life, it’s the simple things that bring us joy.

I shot these photos with my iPhone 4 mounted on a GorillaMobile tripod. To capture the motion of the spinning top, I used the Slow Shutter Cam app. I created the collage with Diptic and stylized it to give it a “70’s” look and uploaded with Instagram. I’m really pleased with the results.

Sometimes in life, it’s the complex things that bring us joy.


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On Today’s Schedule

I’ve got a lot of little projects cooking right now, and today is my day to play catch-up. Before I give you a rundown of today’s schedule and the varied projects I’m juggling, let me give you a peek at my weekend.

Yesterday I took the day off — not such a bad idea considering it was Saturday. In the morning, Lynn and I took a hellacious ride on our mountain bikes. Hellacious not because of the technical difficulty of the ride, but because of the hill we climbed to get back home: one mile uphill at about a 7% grade is enough to make anyone’s calves just about burst. It was also my first time out with my new biking shoes that click into the pedals. And yes, I fell over, not once, but twice. I’m really looking forward to my first endo on Meadows.

After one of Lynn’s wonderful veggie wraps for lunch, I headed to the Apple Store in Irvine for an iPhone workshop. This is the more basic of the two workshops the store gives on iPhones, so I didn’t expect much, but I was curious to see if there was some hidden features I haven’t stumbled across.

There were about ten people attending, as the 20-something Apple employee gave his tour. As expected, it was pretty basic. Most of the attendees were about 15-20 years older than me (and I’m no spring chick), and were really struggling with the most basic concepts. I did, however, learn a couple of new things.

First, when viewing wide-screen videos, you can double-tap the video to fill the screen. This should come in handy, especially when I’ve watching them on my TV through the A/V cables.

AppMark.comHe also shared a great website specifically for iPhone users. AppMarks.com is optimized for display on the iPhone, and even looks much like the iPhone springboard, with links to a number of handy iPhone web apps.

Next, I learned how you can search for nearby businesses when using the map application. Simply search for a business — say Starbucks — and all the mega-corp’s nearest coffee houses will be sprinkled across your map with push-pins.

Finally, I learned how to easily type special characters like ñ, í, and ¿ — especially handy since my Spanish 2 class starts up this Tuesday. You simply hold down the key for a moment and you are presented with other variations.

I would not recommend this workshop to your average person. This is for your mom who isn’t sure how to use a mouse. There is an advanced class next weekend. If time permits, I’ll see if its any juicier.

After the workshop, I caught the end of the Packers-Seahawks game in Green Bay. When I left for the workshop, the game had just started, and the field was dry. When I got back, it was the third quarter and there was about four inches of snow on the field. Awesome for the unpredictable nature of football in snow, and for the fact that Green Bay won.

Although I really don’t like the Patriots, I watched that game, too. They handily beat Jacksonville, but that was no surprise.

Finally, I hooked up the Xbox 360 and practiced my Guitar Hero licks until Lynn got home. It was fun to just play for a change. Something I probably need to do a little more often.

Now, what’s on the docket for today?

Well, there is football, although I will be working on my laptop. I’ll post a list of the projects next.