Spousal aggro: What to do when your better half wants you to stop playing video games

You stretch and dislodge your arm from a softly snoring blanket and make your way into the bathroom for your Saturday morning routine. The answering machine blinks at you in such a fashion that you are quite aware that the office called and wants you in for work, despite the overtime that you worked all week. You hear, in the background, your mother-in-law stirring in the guest room and the coarse smoker’s cough that kept you up all night ever since she came to visit your spouse. You aren’t incredibly stressed, but killing something would sure hit the spot better than the slightly vinegary bacon that you somehow forced down for breakfast. It is this state in which you sit, controller in hand, contemplating whether zombie flesh is considered human or a hybrid of such, and, if that is the case, if your character could in fact sustain themselves for days on it.

And then your spouse wakes up, plops themselves down on the couch next to you, and as they reach over to grab the remote and switch to morning news your mother-in-law sits on your other side and comments on how you spend too much time playing games and not enough time keeping the guest room clean. This elicits similar remarks from your spouse who takes the control from your hands and replaces it with an un-ironed, worn shirt and explains that they checked your messages and that Bob from accounting wants you in. The feeling of helplessness may pervade your life.

This situation, in fact, resembles many other situations that share the same basic grounds: you aren’t getting what you want because people don’t understand you. Let us try to explain why we need games in our lives then, and make associations to what the fairer sex might understand.

First of all, the conception of games as a waste of time is a very old and still unproven rhetoric. Your grandfather probably sat down next to your father and told him that if he played that mindless game of pong all his life he was going to end up a scoundrel. Better for him to be off learning how to smoke and drink at the same time. In fact, your grandfather could bench-press a whole cow and Uncle Arnie would attest to that. Why, back in the day Ah yes, the rhetoric. Really, what is gaming? Entertainment, and that’s a simple fact. The US census in 2004 found that adults spent on average 1669 hours watching TV in 2004, the equivalent of 70 full days. How much is spent on the movie industry every year? I don’t have exact numbers, but seeing as the Governator practically bought California with his earnings alone, I think it does fairly well. Sports? Professional athletes quickly follow movie stars in the richest people in the world. Theatre, opera, concerts I’m sure your spouse follows one of these. Video games are not a whole different category here; they’re just as much a waste of time as crocheting yet another rug (Take that, grandma).

So the best advice I can offer to those of your still under the sway of your significant other is this: grow some, explain to her the paragraph mentioned above, and sit down and play some games. A little disclaimer on this one though: video games are still a waste of time, if you’re giving up most of your time with your spouse for them, maybe you should pay some attention before you become bed buddies with the couch. Also, for aspiring Casanovas, video gaming is generally not the greatest date option!

Favorite beers – Part 2

One “tops” beer is tough to pick. Please do not ever force me to narrow my favorites to one.

While I am a discerning beer lover, if it is an ale (not a lager) and makes a nice head, I will ingest its bubbly goodness. That said, here are my preferred ales:

Pyramid Hefeweizen

www.pyramidbrew.com

Launched from the U.S.A.’s Great Northwest, this beer is one of the best from the microbrew boom. With its come-hither head, Pyramid Hefeweizen invites quaff upon quaff. You will usually see it served with a lemon wedge. Try it without – the way the Germans would drink a hefeweizen. This excellent beer is best enjoyed by itself, or with a nice grilled salmon fillet.

Schneider-Weisse Edel-Weisse

www.schneider-weisse.de

In a world awash in wheat beers, this one bests the rest. Brewed in hefeweizen’s birthplace – Bavaria – Edel-Weisse is the best tasting “helles” (pale) wheat beer. Pour the beer into a tall glass and hold it up to light, and what you will see is far from pale, lifeless. No other hefeweizen has as much “going on” as Edel-Weisse.

High & Mighty Beer of the Gods

www.highandmightybrewing.com

Brewed in Holyoke, Massachusetts, this beer has no peer. Words truly do it no justice, but I shall try. All I can say is I find it not unlike a hoppy pale ale, but with something special – a little, lovable “value added benefit”. You might take it in with a spicy dish, or on its own.

Maudite

www.unibroue.com

Montreal’s Unibroue brewery makes a range of excellent – “Belgian-esque” – ales. Of them, the dark wheat Maudite is my favorite. A little heavy to be consumed in mass quantities, this ale “goes down well” with a range of hearty dishes, or as dessert.

Jenlain Blonde

(no company webpage found)

In late-2006, I found Jenlain Blonde – rather, it found me! Normally, I do not choose beers called “blonde”, but at my local beer bar (The Dirty Truth Beer Hall, Northampton, MA) one night, that changed. I asked the bartender what draft of the establishment’s forty she would select for me. She recommended Jenlain Blonde. I acquiesced and was soon quite glad. Originating in France, Jenlain Blonde “reads” like a pale Belgian ale. I found it sweet, but not syrupy – with a lasting, white head. If Jenlain Blonde finds you, buy it! Drink it (responsibly, of course) – unaccompanied, or with a light meal.

For more on these fine ales, visit the breweries’ webpages.

Cheers!

Downloadable Game Review: Fitness Frenzy by Game Agents

Fitness Frenzy by Game Agents is one of those simple games that are easy to play, easy to learn but deceptively hard to master. Although the game play itself is simple enough to understand, things can get aggravatingly hard as you play on. You play as Vicky, a new addition to the world of sports who decides to bring health and fitness into the world by investing in a gym. Each day, Vicky goes to work to complete a series of goals in order to earn money, tips and an increase in rank which all work together to get Vicky one step further to a larger gym and of course increased profits. Your gym is visited by a number of characters each seeking a different level of fitness. Some may want to bulk up or work on their arm strength while others would prefer to slim down all of which require the use of different equipment. You must create the perfect schedule for these clients who trust you to compose a workout plan specifically for their needs. Along the way, you will need to show some customers how to use the equipment and provide some support and a push to those who are struggling. It all sounds so simple until you have a number of impatient customers all waiting to use the same piece of equipment!

At first you must deal with all aspects of the gym including cleaning but as you progress and earn more money you can employ some helpers who will take some of the work off your hands. It’s possible to upgrade your equipment and you can even buy special items such as a water dispenser enabling you to serve drinks to your customers. Dividing your time correctly is important because customers lose enthusiasm in your gym if you are slow to react to them or if you organise an inappropriate training session for them. The goal is to impress them, make them happy, keep things running smoothly and earn lots and lots of cash! Although there is something slightly familiar about Fitness Frenzy, the idea behind it is quite original and if the perky music doesn’t keep you upbeat, nothing will. The game itself is fun to play but playing it for an extended period of time would probably become quite tedious. A nice break from work perhaps but I’m not sure if it is worth a purchase. It is an enjoyable game as a short term option so if pushed I would award it a 4/5 rating. I doubt it would attract the attention of the public at large (although a small proportion of the population would more than likely find it addictive) so a fairer rating would probably be 3/5.

4 Easy Steps to Wine Tasting

Legend has it that Cleopatra once promised Marc Anthony she would “drink the value of a province” in one cup of wine, after which she drank an expensive pearl with a cup of wine. Marilyn Monroe is rumored to have bathed in a bathtub of champagne. The lure of wine is cross-cultural and going strong. Enjoying wine, once surrounded by pomp and circumstance, is now something that many of us do on a daily basis to enjoy food, friends, and family. There is no reason each experience shouldn’t be as exceptional as taking a bath in Champagne. Knowing a few simple tips about tasting wine can enhance your wine experience by leaps and bounds and easily transition you from a wine lover to a wine expert.

STEP 1 – LOOKING

Fill the glass about one-third full, never more than half-full. Pick it up by the stem. This may feel awkward at first, but there are good reasons: Holding the glass by its bowl hides the liquid from view; fingerprints blur its color; the heat of your hand alters the wine’s temperature. Wine experts can usually tell right away how much a person knows about wine by looking at the way they hold their glass.

Focus on the hue, intensity and clarity of the wine color. The true color, or hue, of the wine is best judged by tilting the glass and looking at the wine through the rim, to see the variation from the deepest part of the liquid to its edges. Intensity can best be gauged looking straight down through the wine from above. Clarity-whether the wine is brilliant, or cloudy with particles-is most evident when light is shining sideways through the glass.

STEP 2 – SWIRLING

Next comes the swirling. This too can feel unnatural, even dangerous if your glass it too full and your carpet or clothing is new. But besides stirring up the full range of colors, it lets the wine breathe a little and releases some of the aroma for examination. The easiest way to swirl is to rest the base of the glass on a table, hold the stem between thumb and forefinger, and gently rotate the wrist. Right-handers will find a counter-clockwise motion easiest, left-handers the reverse.

Move the glass until the wine is dancing, climbing nearly to the rim. Then stop. As the liquid settles back into the bottom of the glass, a transparent film will appear on the inside of the bowl, known as the wine’s “tears” or “legs.” You will often hear people pondering about the legs or showing them off, “Hey look at the legs on this wine!”, but in truth they’re simply an indication of the amount of alcohol in the wine: the more alcohol, the more tears or legs.

STEP 3 – SMELLING

When you stop swirling, and the legs are falling, it’s time to take the next step: smelling. Swirling the wine vaporizes it, and the thin sheet of liquid on the sides of the glass evaporates rapidly; the result is an intensification of the aromas. I’m sure you’ve seen wine snobs do this and you have laughed at them, but stick your nose right into the bowl and inhale.

There’s no consensus about the proper sniffing technique. Some advocate two or three quick inhalations; others prefer one deep, sharp sniff. I’ve seen tasters close one nostril, sniff, then close the other and sniff again. It really doesn’t matter how you do it as long as you get a good sniff in. With practice, and keen attention, you’ll learn how to maximize your perception of aromas, and then how to decipher them.

The world of smell is vast and bewildering. First of all, our olfactory equipment is incredibly sensitive; we can distinguish aromas in quantities so small that laboratory equipment can scarcely measure them. Second, our analytic capacity is extraordinary; estimates of the number of different smells humans can identify range up to 10,000!

As with color, wine’s aromas offer insights into character, origin and history. Because our actual sense of taste is limited to four simple categories (the well-known sweet, sour, bitter and salt), aroma is the most revealing aspect of our examination. But don’t simply sniff for clues. Revel in the sensation. Scientists say smells have direct access to the brain, connecting immediately to memory and emotion. Like a lover’s perfume, or the scent of cookies from childhood, wine’s aromas can evoke a specific place and time with uncanny power.

STEP 4 – TASTING

With the aromas still reverberating through your senses, put the glass to your lips and take some liquid in. How much? You need to have enough volume to work it all around your tasting apparatus, but not so much that you’re forced to swallow right away.

Because you don’t want to swallow, not just yet. It takes time and effort to force the wine to divulge its secrets. I keep a pleasant wine in my mouth for 10 to 15 seconds, sometimes more.

Roll the wine all around your mouth, bringing it into contact with every part, because each decodes a different aspect of the liquid. Wine provokes sensations, too: The astringency of tannins is most perceptible on the inner cheeks; the heat of the alcohol burns in the back of the throat.

First, as you hold the wine in your mouth, purse your lips and inhale gently through them. This creates a bubbling noise children find immensely amusing. It also accelerates vaporization, intensifying the aromas. Second, chew the wine vigorously, sloshing it around in your mouth, to draw every last nuance of flavor from the wine.

Don’t forget the finish. After you swallow, exhale gently and slowly through both your nose and mouth. The retro-nasal passage, which connects the throat and the nose, is another avenue for aromas, which can linger long after the wine is finally swallowed. You’ll find that the better the wine, the more complex, profound and long-lasting these residual aromas can be. With great wines, sensitive tasters and minimal distractions, the finish can last a minute or more. It’s a moment of meditation and communion that no other beverage can create.

Online video game reviews: Caribbean Hideaway – Part 1

Caribbean Hideaway

You seek to carve out your own Caribbean island hideaway. Arr, you must fight to gather gold and fame to build your pirate’s empire. A hundred booty-laden sea adventures await you.

The short tutorial shows you everything you need to sail forward into the story, with each new level bringing different objectives for you to conquer.

This game is similar to any standard-issue, match-three, arcade game, but thereafter, the similarity morphs into something unique.

Get three tiles in a row and they disappear with the tile structure reshifting to fill the void. But, you get to choose where you want to place your tile and knowing that the tile you replace will be your next tile to use, the game keeps you thinking one step ahead.

Collect resources, chests, pirates, special tiles and so on.

You usually have a colored block of tiles and a special objective tile to complete. One really nice touch: there’s plenty of time to get the job done, so, you can plan ahead and find clever solutions. No behaving like a mindless automation in this game. The extra time allows you to clear a lot of money tiles, so that you can buy buildings and their upgrades. These buildings are a farm, treasure vault, jail, watchtower, garden, jeweler, smith, lodge, dock, mine and rum maker (drink up me hearties, yo ho, does go a long way for morale). These buildings increase the power up capabilities of your empire, such as clearing tiles better, attracting more pirates and building a reputation. For example, to improve your tile clearing capabilities, you can build a smith, for access to power-up attacks that remove a single tile, or, you can build a lodge to hold more pirates, with a power-up that randomly attacks various tiles on the board. Both are very useful, especially when the tile board assumes a strange shape.

One refreshingly funny game oddity is that you must create enough buildings to keep your pirates busy, or else they’ll steal your last doubloon. Hey, they’re pirates, it’s what they do.

The graphics are colorfully cartoonish, but well done. The game will operate on many modestly equipped computers.

The upbeat tropical jingle of metal drums accents most of the gameplay, and after you collect your booty, an old fashioned piano plays, reminiscent of Disney’s undead Pirates of the Caribbean medleys. When you’re matching tiles, they each make a unique sound, and there’s also the background sound of seagulls, waves rolling, and other sea sounds. There’s also the inevitable Yuh-har-har, done in a Sponge Bob Squarepant’s pirate voice at the end of each level.

This is a clever twist on the match-three arcade game genre. It also combines strategic role playing with the always enjoyable tile swapping. I give this game a 3 out of 5, but if you like unique tile matching games, the score would be higher for you. I might buy this game for my relatives.

Beer reviews: Petrus Triple

The Bavik Brewery was founded in 1894 by the De Brabandere family in Bavikhove and is now the largest brewer in the West Flanders region of Belgium. They brew a range of beers under the Petrus label including, Oud Bruin, Speciale and the subject of this review, Petrus Triple.

This ale is a Triple, a strong style which is brewed using three times the usual amount of malt. This creates more starches which in turn creates more sugars and ultimately, a beer that is higher in alcohol content. Triples are usually pale in colour as well.

Petrus Triple is bottle conditioned, meaning it undergoes a secondary fermentation and is classed as a living beer.

It pours to a lovely, slightly hazy, deep golden colour with masses of rising bubbles forming a huge, foamy white head that soon settles to a more respectable half inch or so, lacing the glass nicely. The aroma is yeasty at first, but this soon gives way to a spicy, acidic, citrussy smell with a hint of peach, or apricot. There are hints of coriander and orange-blossom with a nice, sweet malt feel.

It’s quite light bodied for a trippel but the mouthfeel is firm and smooth. I can immediately taste the clean malt flavour and this leads to a hint of syrupy, sweet lemon. There’s quite a strong floral presence from the Saaz hops but it’s held in check nicely and is balanced perfectly. There are some biscuity, grainy flavours before the finish turns somewhat dry and spicy. It has a very pleasant, alcohol aftertaste with plenty of malt flavour.

At 7.5% ABV, quite low for a triple, this is a very nice beer and one of Bavik’s better brews. It could be more complex aroma-wise, and the spice flavour is a little heavy-handed for me, but these are very minor quibbles. I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly great beer to have with a meal, but if you did, it would probably go best with a dessert. Overall it’s a very nice, easy-drinking, sipping beer.

Online video game reviews: Democracy 2

The genius of Democracy 2 is in it’s simplicity. Any game attempting to simulate government has to face two major hurdles. First, it must represent an entire nation’s attitude, motives, and actions in a clear and convincing manner. Then it must provide the player with the means to affect government in an engaging way. Democracy 2 has hit the ball out of the park on every pitch. The colored faction bars in the center of the main screen are a simple but elegant solution to displaying the attitude of your nation’s citizens. At a glance you can instantly see how your people feel about you, and with a simple mouseover, you can discover why. Factions act just like you would expect them. Patriots will rage at stricter handgun laws, religious fanatics will foam at the mouth for taking creationism out of the schools, war hawks will balk at decreased defense spending.

Affecting policy couldn’t be easier. Just click a policy icon and you can drop the drinking age to sixteen or legalize gambling, prostitution or drugs. Congratulations, you’ve just turned your country into party central, decreased organized crime, and made a whole bunch of angry vigilante mobs. You’ll probably get reelected, but only if there isn’t a fundamentalist revolt first. The policy you want isn’t on the main screen? No worries, chances are it’s available via the new policy screen. Put in place an import tariff and a carbon tax and you can do away with those pesky tobacco and income taxes. The menus are attractive and easy to navigate. The turn-based gameplay also ensures that you have to plenty of time to make the right decisions for your burgeoning empire… I mean nation.

Now, having tried my hand at a few political simulators before, I have to say I was a little skeptical when first clicking the Democracy 2 icon. Most political sims are windowed nightmares only accessible to the most hardcore politics and economics geeks. Spreadsheets and graphs of all flavors abound. Democracy 2 has none of these drawbacks. Graphs are available, but only if you choose to view them.

Now, you won’t get any eye-popping Halo 3-esque 3d graphics here. But were you really expecting them from a politics sim? What you will get is sharp, attractive images worked into a clean and user-friendly interface. An interface that, by the way, reminded me more of Sims 2 than the spreadsheet I was conditioned to expect from past Pavlovian experience. Now, the lack of a larger number of sound effects may be a draw back. One way to fix this may have been having the advisors speak, or a running narration of how certain elements of your game are going. As it is however, the sound effects that are there are quality. When I first heard the sound of a disgruntled public I think I shivered, picturing pitchforks and torches. Over all Democracy 2 gets 4/5 from this dictator. Now, to get the full version…

Alcohol: Good or Bad?

Alcohol: Good or Bad?
Alcohol is made from the sugar of grains, fruits, and others foods by fermentation.
Moderate (up to two servings for women and up to three servings for men) daily alcohol consumption protects against heart disease and stroke by increases the production of good cholesterol (HDL). Red wine, as an added benefit, decreases the production of bad cholesterol (LDL).
One serving contains 10 grams of alcohol. The sizes are:
- 5 oz or 1 glass of 12% wine (white & red)
- 12 oz or 1 glass of 5% beer

- 1.5 oz of spirituous or a shot of 40% alcohol (whisky, vodka, rum, & gin)
Alcohol can however damage your health if you drink up to five servings per day. Regular heavy consumption is harmful and may cause:
- alcoholism
- high blood pressure
- stroke
- breast, bladder, throat and stomach cancer
- disorders of central nervous system
- cirrhosis of the liver
- vitamin and mineral deficiency diseases
- asocial relations
- death
Each gram of alcohol provides 7 calories. When drank in moderation, alcohol is used as an energy source; however, if your total calories intake for the day is too high, you will stock alcohol as fat. Pregnant women should avoid alcohol.
ACTION STEP 21
Write down the days you’ve drank alcohol last week. For each day, note how many servings you’ve had (the size of a serving is described above) and check if the daily total is above 2 (for women) or 3 (for men). If so, your drinking is harmful to your health and fat loss.
ACTION STEP 21 REVISITED
If you drink too much, next time you’re about to pop up that 4th beer, think: “What’s more important to me, this beer or losing fat?”. Trade your regular beer for a light beer or plain water. Another trick is to order glasses instead of pints.

De Oliveira E, Silva ER, Foster D, McGee HM, Seidman CE, Smith JD, Breslow JL, Brinton EA. Alcohol consumption raises HDL cholesterol levels by increasing the transport rate of apolipoproteins A-I and A-II. Circulation (2000) 102:2347-2352.

How popular card games have stood the test of time

Popular card games seem to have withstood the ultimate test,and we all know that the ultimate test is the test of time.Why is it that in this high-tech society,where we have a vast multitude of games to choose from(like the X-box,and War of the Worlds),do people still play with a silly old deck of cards?

Perhaps it is because one simple deck of cards holds endless possibilities.There are so many different games that can be played with a deck.Maybe it’s because we can place bets in a game of cards.Maybe it’s the delightful noise the cards make while we shuffle them.Or, maybe it’s because it brings us closer to our friends and family ,when we are able to sit around a circle and play a familiar game.We can eat and drink while we play.Laugh and cut up.

Cards come in different colors and sizes that we can choose from.There are different kinds of cards for different kinds of card games.Some cards have pictures on them.Anything from race cars to naked ladies can be purchased.there are different styles of cards for different games. the cards for poker,and the cards for playing bride are different.

Some people can read your future in a deck of cards.another great thing that we love about cards is they have accessories with them.Everything from chips to elegant glass cases.They are very versatile.

Cards are something most people own a deck of .They are very affordable,costing only a dollar or two.The professional card players throw the deck away after using it several times.Mine are all dog eared and flexible,but they play just the same.

Correctional facilities have cards on their store commissary sheets for the inmates to order.Some facilities have taken them off their store sheets,because as much as cards bring some people closer,they seem to invoke anger and hostility in others.Death has been a result of many a documented game of cards.

Poker,Blackjack,Gin Rummy,Go Fish,Bridge,the list is endless of the games that can be played with a simple deck of cards!The hated 52 card pick-up is not a favorite of mine.Anyway I guess cards are a lot like roaches.you probably have one in your house somewhere, and they are not going away any time soon.They are tough.And when the electricity goes out, we can still light a candle,sit around with our friends and family,and play a good old fashioned game of cards.

How to prepare for your first Ladies Night Poker Game – Part 1

You have seen all of the Poker shows on t.v., your husband or boyfriend plays poker every week and now you want to Host a Ladies Poker Night. A trend that is becoming more and more popular throughout the U.S. There are certain things that you need to Host a Poker Game, and I will go through them with you now.

Because their may be many different skill levels at your 1st Home Game, it is a good idea to let everyone know what the rules are, what hands beat what, and some basic betting strategy. The easiest thing to do is to hang up the poster titled: All In- A Quick Guide To Poker Poster. This is large enough that everyone will be able to see it from their spot at the table, and will help to move the game along,

You will definitely need a set of quality poker chips. The best ones are made from clay, and the 2 top choices would be the Nexgen or Paulson Chips. The Paulson chips are used in casinos nation-wide. The most common type of chips are the composite material chips and these usually will say 11.5 gr. chip. Along with the chips, you should get some sort of carrying case…either aluminum, wood, or acrylic, and get some chip trays.

The next thing that you will need will be some cards. It is not a great idea to play poker with the cards that you get at a dollar store, or to use paper cards. The reason for this is that they will rip, tear, get bent out of shape, and if a drink spills on them, they are ruined. That is why you need to get cards made from PVC. The 2 top brands are Copag, and Kem. While the price is higher than the paper cards, you will be able to use the same decks week after week instead of replacing them thus making them the much better value.

You will need a place to play. A great starting point would be to use a table layout that will just sit on your table and look like a poker table. The next step up, and a great choice are the folding tables. Some of these will come with padded arm rests and cup holders. The obvious benefit of the folding table is that you have an authentic look and feel while you are playing but it will fold up for easy storage or for transport to next weeks Host Home. Finally if you want your Home Game to look and feel like an authentic casino experience then you Need to get the Full Size Casino Quality Poker Table.

There are some other things that you will need like a Dealer Kit. This will include a Dealer Button, Small and Big Blind Buttons as well as the missed blind button and the kill button. It also includes some chip spacers just like in the casino. You may also want to have a Tournament Timer to keep track of time between increasing blinds. Some people use a card cover/spinner to protect your cards. You need to let other players know that you are in the hand, and they should not take your cards. Some people use a coin, or a pre-fab cover/spinner while others use a bobblehead or something that is important to them(pic.of a kid)You can search for each of these items individually, or head over to www.ExecutiveGamingMonthly.com . Executive Gaming Monthly(EGM) is the first Casino Game of the Month Gift Club, and has 6 different complete Poker Packages in 3 different price points.

EGM’s packages include everything that you need to Host Your Own Game all in one place. We hand pick the highest quality products for each of the packages, so all you need to do is provide the most important thing-FOOD.

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