![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Emergency Bike Ride
Last night, after dinner, I got the word that we had a machine down at the Skotos Machine Room. And, unfortunately, Chris was away in Burlingame for a convention.
Our current suspicion is that the problem was caused by heat, as it got up to 90 degrees yesterday, possibly a couple higher in the hills where the machine room is located, and it's been our experience that in the past the AC, even supplemented, has had a bit of a problem keeping up with the real hot days. So, besides the fact that the machine room is a pain in the ass to get to for me, I was a bit reluctant to go up there because I wasn't sure any solution would be permanent.
Finally, after yahoo told me it was just 3.5 miles from my house I decided to give it a shot. I borrowed Kimberly's bike, made sure that light, reflective strips, and helmet were all still in good order, and at 9.30 or 10.00 in the evening set out.
I haven't biked in a while. Besides that I've gotten a bit out of shape in the last year since I've had on and off health problems. The ride was thus a real challenge, especially since the machine room is a bit up in the hills and thus the grade is ever increasing through the trip. Fortunately, Kimberly's bike is pretty kick-butt--very light and possessing good gears--but I still did walk some of the steepest grades. I was very tired when I got up to the machine room.
My time up there was a bit stressful. I managed to set off the alarm before I cancelled it, thanks to a non-intuitive user interface, and I managed to bounce a couple of other machines thanks to some non-obvious labelling, but I finally did get the game machine (and the others) back up. About 30 or 45 minutes after I completed my ascent I set out for a return trip.
The trip back was largely downhill, but unfortunately they've got the whole downhill side of the artery road leading to the machine room ripped to hell. I fortunately knew this, as I'd seen it when I was up there a couple of weeks ago for a gaming day. So, I was watching for it and already slowing down when I got to the part of the road that is loose rocks on dirt.
It's a good thing I knew too, because as it was I almost went down with loose rocks suddenly under my tires. If I'd hit it full speed I would have wiped out pretty spectacularly. Yeah, Berkeley, making out streets safer.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. The major streets of Berkeley are really empty at 11pm on a Holiday weekend, and thus it was a pretty pleasant ride (though it was still 70 out at the time).
Looking this morning, that machine is still up, which I guess means the reboot was worthwhile. Unfortunately one of the others that I accidently bounced is having a bit of problems. Sigh.
Hot Weather Gaming
This weekend, Berkeley was melting. We got up to 90 degrees or so both Saturday and Sunday, after a couple of almost as hot days earlier in the week. Bleh.
As a result, I spent as much of my time as I could in the more pleasant rooms of the house: the dining room and the living room. Probably as a result, Kimberly and I played a lot of games over the weekend. (I also told her I wanted to "get back on that horse" after our gaming mishap on Friday.) So we played: Lost Cities (twice, influenced by the neat new online version); Carcassonne: The Castle; Ticket to Ride (on the U.S. map); Space Station Assault (a review copy that I wanted to try again before I reviewed; fine though not super exciting); San Juan (for the first time in a while between the two of us); Ticket to Ride (on the Lyon map); Union Pacific (a first for Kimberly, but only OK for 2-player play); Corsari (for the first time in a while, still only an OK Rummy variant); and Carcassonne: The Castle (again). Whew.
I note that I've now recorded exactly 400 games since I started keeping track last October, with top contenders being: Ticket to Ride (40! plays, definitely revitalized by the Lyon map); Carcassonne (19 plays, largely sidelined now because 2-player play overly emphasizes very aggressive play, which Kimberly doesn't like); Lost Cities (18 plays, mostly less recently); San Juan (also 18 plays); Carcassonne: The Castle (16 plays, a much better 2-player design for Carcassonne); and Memoir '44 (16 plays). That's almost all 2-player play with Kimberly, as I get to play multiplayer games less, and thus they're not likely to rack up those sorts of numbers (though 4 or 5 of the Ticket to Ride plays were multiplayer, ditto 3 or 4 of the San Juans and probably a couple of the Cacassonnes).
Hand Improving
My left hand has been doing better yesterday and today, which is good because that bike ride would have been a challenge otherwise. It's rarely tingly any more, I just sometimes get an ache like I actually strained it or something, which is much more comforting. I can also bear some weight in it.
My current theory is that I've been leaning against a narrow windowsill that's right to the left of my computer, and managed to compact a nerve that way. I noticed myself doing it a couple of times Saturday, after my doctor said to watch for that sort of thing. I'm avoiding it now, though I've been thinking for a while it's time to move my desk and otherwise move my office around. We'll see if I can come up with something, as the office is a strange-shaped narrow space ...
Last night, after dinner, I got the word that we had a machine down at the Skotos Machine Room. And, unfortunately, Chris was away in Burlingame for a convention.
Our current suspicion is that the problem was caused by heat, as it got up to 90 degrees yesterday, possibly a couple higher in the hills where the machine room is located, and it's been our experience that in the past the AC, even supplemented, has had a bit of a problem keeping up with the real hot days. So, besides the fact that the machine room is a pain in the ass to get to for me, I was a bit reluctant to go up there because I wasn't sure any solution would be permanent.
Finally, after yahoo told me it was just 3.5 miles from my house I decided to give it a shot. I borrowed Kimberly's bike, made sure that light, reflective strips, and helmet were all still in good order, and at 9.30 or 10.00 in the evening set out.
I haven't biked in a while. Besides that I've gotten a bit out of shape in the last year since I've had on and off health problems. The ride was thus a real challenge, especially since the machine room is a bit up in the hills and thus the grade is ever increasing through the trip. Fortunately, Kimberly's bike is pretty kick-butt--very light and possessing good gears--but I still did walk some of the steepest grades. I was very tired when I got up to the machine room.
My time up there was a bit stressful. I managed to set off the alarm before I cancelled it, thanks to a non-intuitive user interface, and I managed to bounce a couple of other machines thanks to some non-obvious labelling, but I finally did get the game machine (and the others) back up. About 30 or 45 minutes after I completed my ascent I set out for a return trip.
The trip back was largely downhill, but unfortunately they've got the whole downhill side of the artery road leading to the machine room ripped to hell. I fortunately knew this, as I'd seen it when I was up there a couple of weeks ago for a gaming day. So, I was watching for it and already slowing down when I got to the part of the road that is loose rocks on dirt.
It's a good thing I knew too, because as it was I almost went down with loose rocks suddenly under my tires. If I'd hit it full speed I would have wiped out pretty spectacularly. Yeah, Berkeley, making out streets safer.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. The major streets of Berkeley are really empty at 11pm on a Holiday weekend, and thus it was a pretty pleasant ride (though it was still 70 out at the time).
Looking this morning, that machine is still up, which I guess means the reboot was worthwhile. Unfortunately one of the others that I accidently bounced is having a bit of problems. Sigh.
Hot Weather Gaming
This weekend, Berkeley was melting. We got up to 90 degrees or so both Saturday and Sunday, after a couple of almost as hot days earlier in the week. Bleh.
As a result, I spent as much of my time as I could in the more pleasant rooms of the house: the dining room and the living room. Probably as a result, Kimberly and I played a lot of games over the weekend. (I also told her I wanted to "get back on that horse" after our gaming mishap on Friday.) So we played: Lost Cities (twice, influenced by the neat new online version); Carcassonne: The Castle; Ticket to Ride (on the U.S. map); Space Station Assault (a review copy that I wanted to try again before I reviewed; fine though not super exciting); San Juan (for the first time in a while between the two of us); Ticket to Ride (on the Lyon map); Union Pacific (a first for Kimberly, but only OK for 2-player play); Corsari (for the first time in a while, still only an OK Rummy variant); and Carcassonne: The Castle (again). Whew.
I note that I've now recorded exactly 400 games since I started keeping track last October, with top contenders being: Ticket to Ride (40! plays, definitely revitalized by the Lyon map); Carcassonne (19 plays, largely sidelined now because 2-player play overly emphasizes very aggressive play, which Kimberly doesn't like); Lost Cities (18 plays, mostly less recently); San Juan (also 18 plays); Carcassonne: The Castle (16 plays, a much better 2-player design for Carcassonne); and Memoir '44 (16 plays). That's almost all 2-player play with Kimberly, as I get to play multiplayer games less, and thus they're not likely to rack up those sorts of numbers (though 4 or 5 of the Ticket to Ride plays were multiplayer, ditto 3 or 4 of the San Juans and probably a couple of the Cacassonnes).
Hand Improving
My left hand has been doing better yesterday and today, which is good because that bike ride would have been a challenge otherwise. It's rarely tingly any more, I just sometimes get an ache like I actually strained it or something, which is much more comforting. I can also bear some weight in it.
My current theory is that I've been leaning against a narrow windowsill that's right to the left of my computer, and managed to compact a nerve that way. I noticed myself doing it a couple of times Saturday, after my doctor said to watch for that sort of thing. I'm avoiding it now, though I've been thinking for a while it's time to move my desk and otherwise move my office around. We'll see if I can come up with something, as the office is a strange-shaped narrow space ...
