The Makers of Civilization IV care about their customers

Civilization, the classic computer game encompassing all of history, is back. The fourth release came out this week and I picked it up yesterday.

I am quoting directly from the manual here:

The Clock Options Screen lets you turn on and off a clock to time how long you've been playing, as well as set an alarm to let you know when you should stop playing and go to work. Or eat.

Of course, they had the fabulous ad campaign at civanon.org which appears to be down (overwhelmed or ended, I'm not sure.) I'm happy to announce that the game seems no less addictive and I made good use of my extra hour this weekend. In particular, many of the more tedious actions have been removed, automated or at least present you with more choices so that it's not A, B, repeat.

So if I vanish for a while...yeah, you know where I am. I just have to get my civilization to research Gunpowder...

The Amazing Race 8--"We're Getting Out of the Country, Girls"

I can get the titles now from my digitial cable, but unfortunately they spoiled their destination for me. It is indeed out of the U.S.; I'm not sure it's exciting. And I'm pretty damn sure someone will make me ashamed to be an American.

No Pain, No Gain

Gain: Thanks to a concerted effort at laundry today, I have reacquired visual on my bedroom floor. (This is not to say it's all done--the hampers are full--but it's all where it needs to be.)

Pain: I pulled my lower back at some point doing it.

Worse Pain: I'm still sore from touch football yesterday, and the back was the only thing that wasn't hurting.

Of course it was touch football about two hundred feet from the Washington Monument, so that was pretty cool. Sadly, we won't be going back there--when this group used to play there before they renovated the grounds, it was pretty flat; now it's not. There are some flatter spaces in West Potomac Park, so that's where we'll be from now on.

I'm still impressed so much recreation--football, sunbathing, jogging, Frisbee, etc.--takes place right in the midst of the corridors of power. It's a neat symbol of the openness of our society and our government. Well, at least in the idealized case of our government, as opposed to the current incarnation thereof.

Hmm...I thought this was going to be a "whether I have anything to say or not" post, but I guess it came around to a point. Fancy that.

The Amazing Race 8--"Think Like an Office Chair"

OK, I'll try...

"Holy crap, this guy has a fat ass."

I couldn't agree more

Amazon.com decided to remind me that I've bought Elvis movies for my mother for holidays past.

So they sent me an email.

Subject line: Amazon.com recommends Girls! Girls! Girls!

Slow TV Technology Adopter

I'm surprised how slow I've been to start utilizing the features of my cable box completely. I still don't usually start watching something halfway through so I can zip through the commercials, although obviously I do that if I tape it. (You can get a hockey game down to 90 minutes that way, so that may be the way to go. I might consider also taping the last 1/2 of 1/3 of west coast Red Wings starts, and finishing it over breakfast.) Only recently have I started pausing live TV to answer the phone or run to the kitchen, and replaying goals and close calls and such in slow-motion. Just now it occurred to me I could use the picture-in-picture to follow both the ALDS and Monday Night Football.

Seriously, I feel I should be quicker on the uptake with all this...

The Amazing Race 8--"I Don't Kiss, I Make Out!"

Heh heh...hope for me and the Hope chicks yet.

This week's US Heritage lesson will include NASA. And probably regurgitation.

Yes, someone got paid to design this

In honor of hockey restarting, let me present the goofiest major professional sport logo ever:



Trust the Gorton's Fisherman!

Let me also add that NHL Center Ice is awesome, and I intend to never leave my couch again.

The Amazing Race 8--"How Do We Know We're Not Going to Get Shot?"

Gettysburg, Manassas, or Antietam?

Smart money's on Gettysburg. Antietam was the bloodiest, and might fit the stretcher theme best. Manassas is the only one I've been to.

They've got to be coming to DC in this very special Americana race, so I'll let you know if I can do any lame location scouting once we've seen it.

Oh, and you're not going to get shot because it's a freaking game show, you lamer. Whoever provided the episode quote will be excused from my pathetic wrath if they are under 12.

The end of the Nationals season

Well, we had quite a good time at the ballpark on Sunday. They didn't put on a great showing, but there were a lot of Phillies fans (?phans?) who came down to watch their team and to scoreboard watch, seeing if the Astros would lose and force a playoff. So naturally we chanted "Let's go Astros!" a lot.

The cheerleader in front of me--this is the hummus guy I blogged about before, and whose approval I have apparently won--managed to get chants going with all of his friends for each fielder, in succession, until they acknowledged our section. That was pretty dorky cool, actually. And they even got on Mr. Church ("Who's your rab-bi?") and he promptly hit a homer. Which even I had to cheer.

The team took the field--after letting Philly finish their post-game self-congratulations--to further rousing standing ovations. It was quite the feel-good close to a feel-good season, despite it ending with a sweep at home.

So the Nationals hit what I thought was their absolute upside, at .500. It's a little disappointing that they do it by going 50-31 and then 31-50, but I can't complain. It was a heck of a summer. I'll definitely get tickets again next year, maybe in a pool. We'll see.

Time for the baseball playoffs--starting tomorrow at 1, in Stevis's annual week of seriously reduced production--and hockey season.