It's been a busy week. Last weekend was MPCon and I had a blast. In typical fashion I overcaffeinated, wrecked my voice, and laid waste to my sleep schedule (such as it is). It was glorious. Some highlights include (in no particular order):
- Getting Randy, Scott, Lucy, and Trevor out finally to see what the fuss was all about (and I think all had some fun out there)
- Neverending Robo Rally with Jimmy, Mr. Beefy, Bossk and Scott. My favorite moment from that game is either the look on Bossk's face after flipping his first card, getting moved, then saying “Wait, that's left!?!” or everyone begging Scott to just go ahead and win to end the game. Several times during this three hour marathon, however, I had laughed until I was crying.
- Neverending Risk:Godswarm with Jimmy, Scott, and Trevor. Jimmy's voice will forever haunt me saying “This board, over here, this is MY board. You kids fight over hell.” The game was nowhere near as fun as the company…seriously, who looks at Risk and says “needs more rules.”
- League of Legends with Joe, Nick (one of the many), and Scott. Seriously, I'd played the similar Heroes of Newerth before, but I'm really having a lot of fun with LoL at the moment. I'm sure I'll be bored in a day or two, but for now, much fun!
- Proving that a real vuvuzela is nowhere near as annoying as the vuvuzela app on the Android plus the PA system. Your vuvuzela might be loud, sir, but ours has a volume knob, and is only at like, 4.
Immediately following teardown on Sunday, I frantically tried to get things ready for Tuesday's trip to NY for a visit with my family and whitewater rafting down the Indian and Hudson rivers.
I (and the whole family) had a great time on the trip. We hit the town of Indian Lake the day before and spent the night, so we got a chance to swim for a bit, try out the local food (dinner at Marty's Chili Nights, a Mexican restaurant. I can review by quoting a local gentleman who stated “there are no Mexicans in Indian Lake”—breakfast at this cute little shop called the Misty Mountain Bakery with a welcome message in Tolkein's elvish on the door and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle Earth on the shelf; oh, and some wifi by which I was able to check out any urgent emails really quickly). In the morning, we met up at the North River location of the Adirondack River Outfitters, got geared up, loaded up the bus, and took off.
I knew it was going to be a great time when, as the bus started into motion, a gentleman named “Critter” began our orientation.
“Have any of you done this before?” he asked, then after the chorus of “No”s, he continued, “This is a bus ride…”
The class 1 through 3 rapids were a perfect introduction for the kids (and frankly, for my out-of-shape self) and all of the guides were fun, entertaining, and clearly focused on making sure we had a safe and enjoyable time. BoM (Big Ol' Mike), Gary, Lindsey(?), and our guide Critter were all amazing. Photos will be coming soon, but for now, here's a rough map of our route: Click for a Google map
Now I have to get ready for the AASFA picnic (so, if you're around Ann Arbor way, you should come see us there) and then, it's time to gear up for the Maker Faire at month's end and ConStruct in August. Relaxing summer isn't relaxing all that much, but it sure is more fun than last summer. |