New blog

I've decided to just host my blog on my own server over at www.cognitivesandbox.com. This site will no longer be updated.

A new game

Step 1. Go to any store that has product dioramas.
Step 2. Place yourself in the scene.
Step 3. Enjoy.

You know those days where you just think to yourself "life is good"? Yeah, this was one of those.

Playing with fire

One evening a went to a random dinner with people I didn't know from the internet. It felt mildly awkward, but I had a decent time. I got a ride back from a new friend who told me about a group of hula hoopers and poi spinners who meet up each week, so I went and checked that out and had a great time. I've been going back to that circusy group since and it's always a blast. Last night was an exception, but of the awesome kind.

While we usually meet up on Saturdays, there was an impromptu gathering down on the beach this evening. Fire spinning at dusk is something everyone should see at least once, if not try. Much fun.

So while it's taking time to build up a social network here in Vancouver, it's happening slowly. I like that very much.

Richard Mayhew and Vancouver Below

So someone new in my life introduced me to geocaching. My curiosity was piqued, so I went out and connected myself to another set of satellites orbiting the earth, this time it was the brotherhood of GPS. I found a set of co-ordinates and set out on foot.

I couldn't quite establish a signal with the mothership, so I went down to the waterfront where there's a nice open sky and a gorgeous view. *Blink blink blink*, my little orange pod went and before I knew it I had a 3-dimensional fix on my terrestrial location. Okay, a little off course, but it's all good.

I turn around and head back in to the city core where my signal remains strong. Funny that I couldn't connect while in the core, but it's fine once I return. No matter. I wander around in what seems to be a large block-radius circle. "This doesn't seem right," I think to myself. Then it dawns on me: all these these tall buildings do a wonderful job of reflecting sound, light and apparently whatever signals the satellites are sending.

So I walk around the circle until it zeroes in on where I should be. I walk up and down the side of the building. Hedges. Hrm. *Blink blink blink*, my device says. "Yes, I know you think it's in the hedges, but I'm not about to go jumping in them", I reply. "That lady waiting for the bus is already staring at me."

I wander up a flight of stairs on the side of the building to look down and I catch a glimpse of my prize. There's another geocacher hidden behind the hedge against the wall going through whatever trinkets were stored there. Not wanting to disturb, I walk away satisfied with myself for having found one of the forgotten places where precious treasures are stored away for the curious.

I think I'll do this again.

DungeonQuest

At long last, I got hold of an old board game I played a couple times back in university. It's been out of print since the mid-80's, so getting a hold of it wasn't exactly easy. Nevertheless, it sits before me now ready to be played. The beauty of this game is summarized in this excerpt from the game manual.

Your task is to enter the dungeons beneath Dragonfire Castle, find your way to the Treasure Chamber in the middle, and escape with more treasure than your opponents in order to win. You must escape before the sun goes down; for after dark, the inhabitants of the adjacent village seal you inside ensuring your demise. Even in daylight, the dungeons are dangerous, with dead ends, monsters, traps and last - but certainly not least - the Dragon which guards the treasures.

After long experience and extensive playtesting, we know that your character has about a 15% chance of survival.

Competitive gameplay and near-certain death? It's like they made the game just for me.

Ad blocking

I hate push-marketing. Hate. I try not to throw the word around to much, but it certainly applies here. In that vein, I would like to present you with a convenient way of severely reducing the number of ads you see on the intertubes.

Our good friends over at Camino maintain an ad blocking CSS file that takes care of 95% of ads you'd otherwise see. The awesome of this is that it's free, up to date and works on any browser. If you don't know how to use it, the BBC has a quick guide to style sheets.

For those of you that are interested, there's also an RSS feed that'll notify you when new versions are released.