Age . . . and Time

I feel my body creaking. When I hit 40 I could swear I heard a bell ring: the warranty had expired. My feet started it at 39 with plantar fasciitis, both arches aching and making it difficult to walk on campus at UCI. Then at 40 my toes ached as the nails were too wide and had to be cauterized on the edges. At 41 I was diagnosed with diabetes which rocked my world and completely changed how I ate. My right shoulder went out and I had a hard time throwing a baseball. Now at 42 I am having a rotating pain from the groin, to left hip, to lower back, and now to right hip. It is troublesome to move. I know its not the worst of things, but I paid good money for this body.

DK On-Line

DK of course stands for Denmark, not for Donkey Kong or the Dead Kennedys (good 'ole punk band in their time). Facebook has enabled an explosion of contact between old LDS Danish missionaries from 1986-88, when I served. I have still been wary of Facebook, I know it is not as creepy as MySpace but I am not sold on so much open access to lives. But the ability to gain so much contact with people, the memories of which are fading fast, is enthralling. Currently many missionaries I knew are interfacing on facebook and it is thrilling to be connecting with them again.

 

 

I never really went to any mission reunions. I don't really like reunions, I've never gone to any high school ones. I love the gospel and thought the missionaries I served with were great, but the mission was frustrating in Denmark. Low baptismal rates, never saw my President much, cold weather, it was tough. I learned so much from my mission but never really felt I had made much of a difference there. I always felt I could have worked harder, done something more to make a difference. The danish people were great too, but I doubted if anyone there would remember me. I never thought I would ever see the land or people again, but that changed in 2004.

It was exciting to hear that a temple was being built in Denmark, but more unusual was that the temple would be built out of an existing building, the Priorvej chapel I had actually served in. Of course I wasn't planning on going, no way I could afford it as we were renting in California with 5 kids. That is where charity came in and bestowed the most amazing gift on me. At my institute the students knew about the temple and set about without my knowledge in raising money to send myself and my wife over there. I was blown away when they gave this gift to me. It was the greatest trip to be able to share my mission, the land, and the people with my wife. The danish people I came to know from my mission embraced me like I never thought possible.

My mission president, DV Jacobs, was the new temple president, and I was able to speak with him for a sense of closure on my mission. But the real healing for me took place during the dedication of the temple, as President Hinckley gave the dedicatory prayer it struck me when he said:

"We thank Thee for this land, where the restored gospel was first preached more than a century and a half ago. We thank Thee for Thy faithful servants who have come here as teachers of Thy divine truth. We express our gratitude for the many thousands who have responded to their message over the years."

The spirit bore witness to me that I was numbered among the faithful servants, and it had not been for naught, that I had made a difference. Before I left Denmark that same witness was borne to me multiple times as I heard similar testimony from many of the Danish saints. I am grateful that facebook connects me again to those Danes and missionaries I shared so much with.

Top Ten Board Game Websites

It is difficult to find your way around the world of board games. What is a meeple? (game pieces made popular from the game Carcasonne). What is AP that afflicts many game players? (Analysis Paralysis). What is the difference between Monopoly and Designer Board Games? (miles and miles). Where do I go for news, reviews & prices on board games? Here is where I frequent on the net:

1. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ . Simply the best place to find reviews, commentary and playtesting on any board game you want. The all-time ranking system and bajillion entries make this the mecca. The well-organized user reviews with pros and cons make this spot absolutely necessary to visit before you buy any game. Even has a collection of variant rules or game helps for each game. No games sold from here, but there are links.
2. http://www.timewellspent.org/ . A great place to review, window shop and buy games. The layout is easy to navigate, with rankings of popular games by month and all-time. Also links to the Spiel des Jahres winner (the Oscar of the hobby) and Deutscher Spiele Preis (for heavier/brainier games). Great customer service for purchasing.
3. http://www.cardhaus.com/ . I know this site deals more with Collectible Card Games, but they have a good list of board games with great prices, and I was able to sell them cards and trade for games painlessly. Great customer service.
4. http://www.criticalgamers.com/ . I can spend hours here reading articles. Goes more in depth in the gaming world with strong reviews and even helps one to understand game development. Not a huge variety of what you find, but it doesn't get meatier. It will even include tips for game strategy.
5. http://www.boardgamenews.com/ . Another portal into the board game world, they also have good in-depth articles, I especially enjoy the interviews with game designers. They don't pull any punches in their observations, but give you a great feel for what is out there. They even have a cartoon strip of game pieces for some comic relief.
6. http://www.funagain.com/ . Excellent overall site that is easy to navigate with top sellers, reviews and favorites. The reviews are substantial to allow you to assess the game. Their beginners guide is great, with "building bridges" to help you make the transition from kid games like monopoly to strategy games, tailoring a game to your personality, and even video blogs that show, explain and review games.
7. http://www.boardsandbits.com/ . A nice site to order from with a great layout and a rotating front page that highlights many games at once. Good prices and a constant list of new arrivals every day.
8. http://www.boardgamerevolution.com/ . Bundles, bundles, bundles. The best place to buy games in groups, or basic games along with all of their expansions. Discount prices for the game bundles makes this a must for bigger orders.
9. http://www.gateplay.com/ . Great place for basic designer game understanding. Simple reviews, but the complexity rating groups for games will help a novice navigate. Free shipping over $100 attractive, and their gateway bundles to introduce you to gaming well-thought out.
10. http://www.tabletopwars.com/ . This is a colorful site, but hard to find your way around. The best part are the forums and user reviews of games.

Derby Time!

Pinewood derby is an annual ritual where fathers face off and lend their help to their sons to elevate the honor of their family name. or something like that. Even though I am an eagle scout (earned some 3 days before I turned 18), nothing gets my scouting juices flowing like pinewood derby. It truly is a great way to work with your son and help him to feel accomplishment. Granted dad does alot of the work, but we still make it a combined effort. We'll talk over ideas first, then let my boy pick one. Dad cuts the wood to a basic shape for safety reasons, then my boys help to sand it. My boys do the basic paint job, then dad adds detail. I must admit I get into making the cars look unique, my creative side comes out and I find it a very satisfying project to work on with my boys. Our family has had some really cool designs between Jonathan and Caleb that have looked great and raced well.


Jonathan's three years in scouts had three fun cars. The first was the best, a shark design that weighed only 4.5 ounces (limit is 5.0) that we didn't worry about until we realized weight is one of the most important factors and you need to be close to the 5.0. Regardless, he still placed 2nd with the car. The next two were fairly successful racers with an army assault vehicle and a roadster with a crazy driver.


Caleb had a space shuttle last year, but this year's design topped them all. He called it "Wipeout", a double wave car that had two surfers on it, one paddling and the other in a barrell in back. It looked awesome, but raced even better, taking first place out of 28 cars.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

20 days, 1 hour, 6 minutes until pitchers and catchers report. I can smell it. Aside from the hot stove reports and trade rumors, my boys enable me to get a jump on the baseball season through little league try outs. Last year was a dream as I got to manage, was able to draft both of my boys on the same team, and we were the DODGERS! It doesn't get better than that. This year with fewer teams I am not managing, but hope springs eternal to still coach. On Saturday was the first day of tryouts, and with both Jonathan and Caleb trying out at different times enabled me to watch for a couple of hours. They both looked pretty good, they love to play. Jonathan has played baseball every season since he was 5 years old, and now at age 11 my lefty is at the level where I first entered into little league baseball.

 

Both my brothers Randy and Jason played baseball for many years, until at least age 12/13. I have always had a love for baseball, I would go with dad on occasion to Dodger games, listen to Vin Scully on the radio on Saturdays in the back yard, I would collect cards, play Superstar Baseball card and dice game hours on end, and track statistics. But I didn't play baseball much as a kid except in the street. The main culprits were various injuries, the primary one being a chipped piece of bone in my leg that wrapped in the muscle that had a type of tumor on it, osteo-something or another. The surgery to take it out left me in a full leg cast for 4-6 months in the 5th grade with 50 or so stiches in a scar that ran up the outside of my entire upper thigh of the right leg. I learned how to shoot a basketball on crutches and pretended to shoot people with a crutch every day at school as I sat against a wall during recess.

My first shot at playing organized ball was age 11 in Huntington Valley LL for the Minor A A's. That was kind of late to be starting, as many kids retired from baseball at that age. I was a little squirt and in the lower half of the team in skill. It was a great team as I remember because we won the championship and went on to play in a tournament for a few rounds. One of the few moments I remember of that season was when I was playing left field with 2 outs in the bottom of the last inning, and the opposition's tying & winning runs on base. The batter hit a shallow fly to short left field and I came racing in. Even though I called for the ball, our shortstop came out (typical ball-hog skilled kid) to try for it. We collided, popped heads, and I was knocked cold. When I came to, lying on my back, I had the ball cradled in my glove and had preserved the victory!

                                            (I am # 3 in front)

I went to play on the Majors level the next season, where my lack of skill was evident as I failed to get a hit for the entire first half of the season. My coach Don Crosby had faith in me, and would give me opportunities to succeed. I remember the day the "hit" happened. I recall closing my eyes as I swung and somehow connected to rip a double to the right-center fence. Everyone knew how much this meant as there was literally a standing ovation, they stopped the game and the coach came out to shake my hand at second base. I remember seeing how proud my dad was as he clapped and had a HUGE grin (he had told me that he should stop coming to my games because he thought he was bad luck for me). I could hardly see as I stood there on second base and just cried. I got game ball of course.

My last year playing was age 13, called senior minors. It wasn't much fun as my lack of skill was more evident. I played 3rd base and could only make the throw to first on a bounce. My coach yelled at us, we had major team disharmony, and it wasn't fun. My mom supported the team by sitting in her parked car where she could see, and honked in proxy for applause. I did make the 13-year old all-star team, but only by virtue of the fact that I was one of only two 13-year olds on the team and you had to have two from each team on all-stars. My fever for playing returned (and skill level greatly increased) only as a young adult in my glory softball playing days. My boys are not superstars, but they can hold their own. Jonathan has sometimes worried about his skill and ability, but he is leaps and bounds ahead of me as he will play this year at the age when I first put on a uniform.

Gate-Keeper of Oz

My little thespian Hannah just completed her latest musical play, the Wizard of Oz. She played the gate-keeper and was so vibrant on stage with a wonderful cast.

She has always had a flair for the dramatic and I had the priviledge of performing with her last year in Annie, along with her sister Sarah.

She really blew me away when I saw her for the first time on stage as Peter Pan at age 10, I had no idea who this person was! She is my fearless hero.

Tuesday Top Ten

Perhaps a good way for me to crystallize what I like and what I rank. I'll start with my top ten baseball books. Obviously this is limited to what I have on my shelf and what I have read, which may not be that extensive. But I must say that books about baseball hold a collective fascination for me. The top pick probably says more about me than anything else, as nothing comes close to it:

1. The Numbers Game by Alan Schwartz. Some may feel that this book doesn't qualify as it isn't about the game of baseball itself. But it IS about the history of baseball through numbers and statistics, and the fascinating, if not other-worldly, connection between the two. It combines for me two of my biggest areas of geekdom: baseball and numbers. When my wife got this for me (one of the most perfect gifts and gave me the confirmation Michelle was meant for me), I read it at the beach in two days. Written well with a delicate balance between layman's terms and esoteric sabermetric lingo, it completed me.
2. The Boys of Summer, Roger Kahn. The book is in two parts, with the second half pretty good, but the first half is enthralling. I felt like I was there in Brooklyn following the Dodgers.
3. The Official Rules of Baseball, David Nemec. Goes through the whole rulebook and gives historical background along with anectodal insight as to how it has shaped the game. My years as an umpire helped me to eat this one up.
4. Total Baseball, Thorn & Palmer 3rd edition. The marvelous SABR articles on statistics enabled this tome to replace The Baseball Encyclopedia (Macmillan 8th edition) as my main source of statistical fodder. Like the Encyclopedia, the blackened edges of the pages from Total Baseball testified of its consistent use. For updated statistics, I now use the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia, 4th edition.
5. The Teammates, David Halberstam. A marvelous weaving of past and present among 4 Boston Red Sox teammates that illuminates the bonds of friendship in baseball.
6. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, Jane Leavey. Great biography of an elusive figure. My copy was signed by Steve Garvey in the airport.
7. The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James. Densely packed collection of baseball notes of the game and its players in historical context. Awesome features includes Ugliest Players and Strangest Batting Stance in each decade.
8. The Ultimate Baseball Book, ed. Denial Okrent & Harris Lewine. Probably the best collection of baseball pictures that I have never seen before. Not just a picture book, but an engrossing text that delves deep into the stories that make baseball history.
9. The Perfect Game, ed. Mark Alvarez. A collection of essays from SABR (Society of American Baseball Research) that unveils many hidden aspects of the game and its players.
10. Where They Ain't, Burt Solomon. A fascinating story of the Baltimore Orioles of the 1890's, the first real dynasty in baseball that gave birth to the modern game. Some of my favorite players were on that team including Wee Willie Keeler, who coined the phrase "hit 'em where they aint."

Honorable Mention: The Jackie Robinson Reader, Men at Work and Baseball in the Afternoon. My brothers swears Crazy '08 is a classic, but I haven't read it yet.

When Jackie Stepped Up To The Plate

My 4th grader Caleb (alias Chay Danger - another story) had to finish a biography book report this holiday weekend for school tomorrow. The book he chose from school was Jackie Robinson: Baseball's Gallant Fighter by Sam & Beryl Epstein (1974). He knew dad would be stoked he chose a baseball player, especially a Dodger, but I admired the appropriateness of writing about Jackie on the Martin Luther King holiday. Of course everyone knows about Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball, his jersey number 42 being the only retired number for all major league teams, and him working with MLK after baseball to further civil rights. Some of my favorite books about Robinson on my shelf include The Jackie Robinson Reader (edited by Jules Tygiel), 1947: When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball (by Red Barber) and The Boys of Summer (by Roger Kahn, one of my all-time great reads). And as much as I loved Jackie as a ball player, he is on my RTCBL (the Road To Cooperstown Baseball League, a computer fantasy league that covers baseball history, see link under Other Fields) team, my favorite story about him comes from a period before he played in the Major Leagues.

Jackie Robinson left UCLA in 1941 having been a star in basketball, football, baseball and track. In April of 1942 he was drafted into the army as WWII raged, and was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas. There he ran through the typical guantlet of racial discrimination: he was restricted to segregated facilities, blocked from playing on the camp baseball team, and barred from Officers' Candidate School. He partnered with boxing champion Joe Louis, also on the base, to voice their grievance and was soon enrolled in OCS. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1943, he waged a campaign to improve conditions for black soldiers. He was soon transfered to a Tank Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas. Jackie stated, "Segregation there was so complete that I even saw outhouses marked White, Colored, and Mexican." On July 6, 1944, at the age of 25, he escorted the light-skinned wife of a fellow black officer back to the base hospital. To do so, they boarded a military bus. Civilian bus lines had their own segragation rules, and just months before in Durham, North Carolina a driver shot and killed a black soldier who had refused to move to the back of the bus. The driver was tried and found not guilty by a civilian jury. The Army began providing its own nonsegregated buses on Southern bases.

Robinson and the lady boarded and sat down at the mid-point of the bus. The driver, seeing a black officer seated in the middle of the bus next to a woman who appeared white, yelled,"Hey, you, sittin' beside that woman, get to the back of the bus." When Jackie ignored him, the driver stopped the bus, went back to Lieutenant Robinson, and demanded he "get to the back of the bus where the colored people belong." When Jackie refused and stood his ground, the driver backed down. But at the end of the line, waiting to transfer to another bus, the driver came back with the two other drivers and a dispatcher who said "Is this the nigger who has been causing you trouble?" An arguement ensued and the military police arrived and Jackie was taken to see the provost marshall. Referred to as the "nigger lieutenant" their statements were taken and another arguement arose regarding inaccuracies of the report. As a result of the event, the camp officials were determined to court-martial Robinson. When his commanding officer refused to endorse the orders, Robinson was transferred to another Tank Battalion whose commander promptly signed. Robinson was charged with insubordination, disturbing the peace, drunkenness, conduct unbecoming an officer, insulting a civilian woman, and refusing to obey the lawful orders of a superior officer.

A decade before Rosa Parks, and only 15 months before being tapped as the man to break baseball's color barrier, Robinson's court-martial was held on August 2, 1944. He was found "not guilty on all specifications and charges" by the nine judges and it stood as another sign of hope for black soldiers in the military. Jackie was honorably discharged in November 1944, signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in the spring of 1945, where Branch Rickey secretly observed him and put him on the short list for "baseball's great experiment." Jackie Robinson's stance on the bus could have cost him his entire career, if he had been court-martialed it is unlikely that he would have been chosen. For the Dodgers Jackie hit .297 in '47, .296 in '48 and .342 in '49, winning the MVP award in the major leagues.

Pandemic: the new drug

 When the outbreak in Mexico City triggered an outbreak in Los Angeles, the yellow virus had taken over. And we were just one move from curing all four diseases! Such was the drama last night as I played Pandemic with my two boys. Pandemic is one of my favorite new designer board games that I got at the end of last year. It is part of a fairly new genre of cooperative-style games where either all players win or all players lose, it's you against the game. It's an intriguing concept, and very likable for some people who hold disdain for overly aggressive competition pitting players against each other (which I don't mind!). Basically each player plays a role as a scientist, researcher, medic, etc. on a team trying to find cures (and even eradicate) 4 different diseases all over the world, while at the same time trying to halt their spreading and preventing outbreaks.

Every game I have played has been intense and nail-biting. Last night we were sure we had the game won as we had cured three diseases, and on the next move my son was going to a research station to cure the last one and win the game. That is the only way to win, but one of the many ways to lose snuck up on us as a single infection caused multiple outbreaks on the last turn that put victory out of reach. Ugh!

Pandemic is great for family play as it builds communication and it requires everyone to work together. Moves cannot be made haphazardly without effecting everyone else. The game is unique in its approach, and I am geek enough to have watched this video of a speech by the designer to explain game design and some of the mathematical models behind it. Its 50 minutes and not for the faint of heart, but there is one part in it that really struck a chord with me as I identified with what he was saying and seemed to reveal part of me. At 21:30 of the video he quoted Raph Koster in his book A Theory of Fun who said: "Fun from games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun." When we solve a problem, the brain kicks off endorphins. In other words, Learning=Fun. I get that kind of kick in solving things, figuring things out. In fact, when there is no longer a need to solve, I can get bored quite quickly. Not only in games, but with projects and tasks. Add a challenge and I can't put it down.

We were recently moving rooms around over the holidays, and I found a complex puzzle, a "Triazzle", that I had completed over a decade ago. It depicted deep seas creatures on triangle pieces that could be put together in a variety of ways, but only one correctly. When I had solved it I wrote a code on the back of the pieces that told me how to put it together. But of course when we found it I could not remember how the code worked. I sat on the floor for an hour and struggled with it. When I couldn't figure the code, I just set about to solve the puzzle again. I mean, I couldn't just let it sit there! So I picked it apart in a soduku-like fashion and got it done. WooHoo! The endorphins kicked in and I was stoked. Games are my drug of choice.

Saturday night Update:
VICTORY!!! We couldn't just let the diseases take over. We played again and this is just before Caleb on the left cures the last disease in Europe.

Add more BSG, please

 BSG marathon today on SciFi channel put my DVR on overdrive. The original series ran from 1978-80, with a heavy Mormon influence from creator Glen Larsen that he seeped (sometimes poured) into the series. Battlestar Galactica was originally pitched under the title "Adam's Ark" and I remember watching the original series as a kid and following commander "Adama" lead the 12 lost tribes to find earth. The colonies originated on a planet called Kobol (hie to Kolob). Besides Adama, there is a commander Cain, and Lucifer is a Cylon (robot) aid to Baltar. Angelic beings visited the wandering space ship colonies, and at one point told them "As you are now, we once were; as we are now, you may become" (nod to Lorenzo Snow). In that same episode the angelic beings tell the pilot Apollo the body that he perceives is "a reflection of intelligence. My spirit, if you will" (D&C 93?). I recall the meeting of the quorum of the Twelve in the colonies, and in the series premier captain Apollo was married by Adama "not only for now, but for all eternities." Even the word "sealed" was used. The fighter pilot helmets had a heavy Egyptian look to it, a wink to the Book of Abraham.

The new series still has some of those references watered down (Adama, tribes, gods, council of the 12) but incorporates much more from Greco-Roman mythos and is much edgier and adult. There are even stronger religious themes with the resurrection ship that allows the new Cyclons to effectively become immortal. Strong story lines and character development make it a popular series that wraps up with its last 10 episodes starting tonight. Who do you think the final Cylon model is?

MY BIG BUMP

 My life is a collection of started projects. Hands tasting many pies, but not finishing the last piece. My 'to do' list of ideas and wishes grows longer without checking many off. My desk and office would be a perfect visual for this: a pile here, a stack there. . . A folder for this - now what should I label it? . . I'm not gonna throw this away, I might need it for a project. . . That reminds me of a new thing I want to do. . . And the piles stack higher, the want to do list grows longer, and the collection of things that is my life never seems to have everything in the right place. How do I organize my computer files? What about my photographs? Does each subject needs its own folder? The sum of my thoughts and my life is a dumping ground where the colors blend and it all mixes together.

I love reading, writing, media, thought, ideas, discovery, ponderings - a blog must be the place to go. Maybe not truly a web log, but a web dump - a bump. This seems to be a place where most mediums that contain a part of me - or at least an essence - can be found. Now this is a selfish venture, mind you. I consider most blogs to be quite narcissistic and self-indulgent. Waving a cyberspace banner: 'Look at me! Am I not interesting?' I do want to write and record though for me, so I can make sense of everything that swirls around. It might seem wierd but I will stay up late and read parts of my 250 page Master's Thesis, and wonder, 'I wrote that?' 'That's what I thought?' I can't even remember. This is my journal for my journey, to record so I don't forget. And my mind is slowly slipping at that . . .

Obviously I would want my family on board, and anyone else who would care. Comments and sharing is welcome. But don't feel secure in labeling anything, it would be too hard to stay on topic. And I would have no idea what pile of papers to put it in.