Fun Stuff

Waffleizer

/ Shane / Leave a comment

I just want to point out a great new website, waffleizer.com, which answers the important question, “Will it waffle?”

Basically it is just step-by-step instructions with beautiful pictures on how to make different recipes using a waffle iron. My favorite are the Smoreffles.

If you have to have a mission in life, I think exploring the possibilities of the waffle iron are a great one. I know we have one that we’ve used maybe twice (and not because I don’t like waffles, I assure you!). We just don’t think about it much. All of that untapped potential, just sitting there. And people like waffle fries, why not waffle smores? Or waffle cheeseburgers? Or waffle anything else?

So Waffleizer, I salute you.

New Board Games

/ Shane / 7 Comments

For Christmas and my birthday, I received a few new board games, some of which I asked for, and some of which I had never heard of. By and large, these games were amazing, and have really brought on a renaissance of game playing in our house. So, in no particular order (other than the order I received them in):

Ticket to Ride (Europe)

This is probably the most universally liked of the new games. Basically, you draw destination cards, and you must build trains linking those destinations (although obviously it’s a little more complicated than that). Although you play with several people, you’re not competing directly with them per say, although sometimes people build on a route you’d like to build on. It makes you think, but just enough; it’s not nearly as thinking-intensive as, say, Acquire. This also works really well as a 2 person game, which is something Sara and I are always looking for. I don’t think anybody who has played this one doesn’t like it. The downside is that games can be long, especially with a lot of people.

Palazzo

In this game, each player tries to build the biggest, most beautiful Italian palace. What makes this game interesting is that the bricks for the buildings are usually auctioned off to the highest bidder. So you are directly competing with the other players, free market style. This game has been pretty popular as well. I personally prefer Ticket to Ride, but I think at least 2 people prefer Palazzo. The other nice thing is that games are always pretty short. Sometimes you just have time for a quick game, and if so, this one’s for you.

Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot

Okay, I loved this game, but some people have expressed a strong dislike for it (although, I should point out that those people did not actually play the game). Basically, the point of the game is to try to keep your bunnies alive, while killing all of your opponents bunnies with things like flame throwers, black holes, and flying razor spatulas. I once killed two bunnies by having a clumsy bunny of mine open a pack of razor sharp melba toast, sending them flying. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to purchase your magic carrots. This game is hilarious and silly and a lot of fun, though maybe confusing on the surface. This game is also better with more people playing. I’ll be looking for people to play this with.

The Settlers of Catan

This is the only game I haven’t had a chance to play yet, but it is the game I am most excited about. Unfortunately you cannot play it with only 2 players. I found some various rules online that can allow you to play with only 2, but we figured we shouldn’t do that for the first time we play. So I’m still waiting. I have, however, read through the rules, so I think I have an understanding of things. Basically you build towns in strategic areas to collect resources to build more things. That probably doesn’t make sense, but suffice it to say, it is a strategy game that I think will require a lot of thinking. I wanted to hold off on this blog post until I could play this one, but it doesn’t look like it is happening any time soon.

One side story, my mom saw this box and mistakenly thought it said, “Settlers of Satan”, which I think sounds like a WAAAAY more awesome game that I should totally make. The box cover could look almost the same, with a few subtle modifications (that scythe could look a little more grim-reaper-y, maybe give the guy with the ax some glowing red eyes…). So anyway, look for the Settlers of Satan, coming soon to a gaming store near you!

Avatar

/ Shane / 4 Comments

Go see this movie.

Sure, the plot is pretty predictable. I know you’ve seen it before. But believe me, it is well worth the price of admission. I look at this movie more like an amusement park ride than a movie, where you pay your money, enjoy the ride, and then go back to the real world.

Sara and I don’t see many movies these days. This is only the 3rd movie we’ve seen in the theater since Evie was born. I really wanted to see this one in it’s full 3D glory, rather than waiting for it on DVD. The movie is truly breathtaking.

I haven’t been to many 3D movies. At the beginning of this one, I was rolling my eyes a little bit. I thought, “Oh boy, the traditional putting-a-golf-ball-toward-the-audience shot. How cliché.” But pretty soon those fell by the wayside as the movie really got cranked up. The 3D became a lot more subtle as the movie went on, to where you weren’t really noticing it. This is when it was at its best, when I wanted to swat aside a mosquito that was buzzing by my face. At one point I even flinched away from something that was falling, and then looked around sheepishly to see if anybody noticed.

Of course the Internet is crawling with people hating this movie. Ignore those people. I can’t imagine anybody with an open mind not enjoying this movie (meaning, people who aren’t looking to find problems with it, or going into it hating it because it is popular). Very cool.

Bacon in 2020

/ Shane / Leave a comment

Now tell me, where do they come up from this stuff? From a list entitled, “Here Today, Horrible Tomorrow: Which Fads Won’t Survive The Next 10 Years?”

Bacon: You know how everyone makes fun of old recipes from the 50s and 60s, pointing out the nastiness of gelatin salads and such? Or how everyone rolls their eyes when the fat free fad of the 90s is brought up? That will be the 2020 reaction to bacon: “Ugh, remember when everyone put bacon on everything?” Believe it.

WRONG!

Unless there is some sort of taste calamity in the next 10 years, wherein the taste buds of all of the citizens of the world are destroyed, this is a ridiculous statement. Bacon can’t go out of style. That’s like saying breathing will go out of style, or watching Fresh Prince reruns. Bacon tastes good, always has tasted good, always will taste good. FACT.

Speaking of bacon, over vacation I got to try some real bacon and pork sausage, straight from the hog. My uncle raised some pigs and my mom bought some of the pork. We’re talking some authentic stuff here, I met those pigs before I ate them.

It was awesome. The sausage was hands down the best sausage I have ever had. I don’t know how it was seasoned, etc. and I know that has a lot to do with it, but all I can tell you is that it was amazing. The bacon was very good, but very unexpected. It doesn’t taste like bacon that you buy from the store. The up-front taste was much milder, but the flavor was back-loaded. I thought it was really good, but I could see some people not liking it quite as much.

So, in summary, to claim bacon is going out of style is ludicrous, but you might as well use it as an excuse to eat bacon as if it were going out of style.

Some Christmas Cheer

/ Shane / Leave a comment

I have long appreciated the missions of Improve Everywhere (who runs the Urban Prankster network, see link over there –>) However, I feel like their earlier, smaller stuff was better. Just a few people showing up, causing a scene, and then melting away. Lately however, their missions have grown along with their popularity, such as the annual No Pants Subway Ride which boasts 2,500 people and 22 cities.

That’s why I really appreciated their latest mission, the Guerrilla Handbell Strikeforce. Basically a handbell choir just showed up to help out a local Salvation Army bell ringer, and then disappeared when the song was finished, without ever saying a word to the guy. I think his reaction is the best. He’s obviously confused, but he just rolls with it and doesn’t ask any questions.

So anyway, enjoy!