Tomorrow is a bank holiday, isn't it?
After ascerning that it definitely was easter tomorrow, and very nearly but not quite getting my program to compile in every configeration, mum and dad picked me up from work.
Ambiguity had been kept *mostly* as decent as it had been made the last parent-visit :) and I'd done the last of the washing-up and a bit of vaccuuming the night before, so it was acceptable. I made dinner mainly from frozen components, which was quite nice though, and I think it impressed mum that I'd settled in enough that I could produce dinner for everyone without any faff. It also reminded me of two beliefs: (1) that food looks more professional if it comes in half a dozen different portions on the plate instead of a big mix and (2) any room looks tidier if you empty and clean any table and put it in the middle
Like Mornington Crescent would be, if it wasn't Mornington Crescent
Then Dad and I went to the Golden Hind and played pool. He won, but I *am* getting slowly better :) And while we were waiting for the table, and discussing money-putting-down etiquette[2]. And while we were waiting we played beggar-my-neighbour[3] and had much fun pretending it to be a game with skill, saying things like "Aha! Little did you know I was saving a jack in reserve" and "Oh no! I didn't see that coming at all!"
In fact, it was quite like mornington crescent. Which reminds me of *last* saturday, which I completely failed to spod, when we played 'London' at Owen's belated housewarming, which really is best described as "Like mornington crescent, but not" because it is a game which REALLY IS about moving dice-thrown numbers along underground tracks, trying to get to six designated stations. There was also a mao-like game, except that the new rules were predetermined of the form of 'play n cards per round' and the like.
[1] Sorry for the blasphemous joke. I couldn't resist.
[2] I described my observations as "Anyone can put the price of a game on the edge of the table and they play in that order. Whether they play a person of their choice or the previous winner is implementation defined. How many games you can by at once is undefined."[4] Does that sound accurate?
[3] Half the pack each. Always play from the top of your pile. Play alternately. But when a J,Q,K or A appears the other player plays 1,2,3 or 4 cards and you collect the whole discard pile, unless one of those cards is itself a J,Q,K or A in which case it the first player has to play 1,2..etc.
[4] Except I didn't say it in those words because I was talking to dad who isn't a C programmer. But I translated it for geekblogging :)
After ascerning that it definitely was easter tomorrow, and very nearly but not quite getting my program to compile in every configeration, mum and dad picked me up from work.
Ambiguity had been kept *mostly* as decent as it had been made the last parent-visit :) and I'd done the last of the washing-up and a bit of vaccuuming the night before, so it was acceptable. I made dinner mainly from frozen components, which was quite nice though, and I think it impressed mum that I'd settled in enough that I could produce dinner for everyone without any faff. It also reminded me of two beliefs: (1) that food looks more professional if it comes in half a dozen different portions on the plate instead of a big mix and (2) any room looks tidier if you empty and clean any table and put it in the middle
Like Mornington Crescent would be, if it wasn't Mornington Crescent
Then Dad and I went to the Golden Hind and played pool. He won, but I *am* getting slowly better :) And while we were waiting for the table, and discussing money-putting-down etiquette[2]. And while we were waiting we played beggar-my-neighbour[3] and had much fun pretending it to be a game with skill, saying things like "Aha! Little did you know I was saving a jack in reserve" and "Oh no! I didn't see that coming at all!"
In fact, it was quite like mornington crescent. Which reminds me of *last* saturday, which I completely failed to spod, when we played 'London' at Owen's belated housewarming, which really is best described as "Like mornington crescent, but not" because it is a game which REALLY IS about moving dice-thrown numbers along underground tracks, trying to get to six designated stations. There was also a mao-like game, except that the new rules were predetermined of the form of 'play n cards per round' and the like.
[1] Sorry for the blasphemous joke. I couldn't resist.
[2] I described my observations as "Anyone can put the price of a game on the edge of the table and they play in that order. Whether they play a person of their choice or the previous winner is implementation defined. How many games you can by at once is undefined."[4] Does that sound accurate?
[3] Half the pack each. Always play from the top of your pile. Play alternately. But when a J,Q,K or A appears the other player plays 1,2,3 or 4 cards and you collect the whole discard pile, unless one of those cards is itself a J,Q,K or A in which case it the first player has to play 1,2..etc.
[4] Except I didn't say it in those words because I was talking to dad who isn't a C programmer. But I translated it for geekblogging :)