Oakfairy

This week on Tabletop, Alan Tudyk, Jon Heder, and Felicia Day join me for a cooperative game that’s devilishly hard, Forbidden Desert!

A couple of notes for you all, before I get back to preparing for this afternoon’s bacchanal, starting with a comment on r/boardgames, with my reply:

> You move the tiles according to the card you flip, not the “storm”. Nothing too important. But they excavate (flip) tiles that they are not on. This one makes it easier.

I’m really unhappy and annoyed that this happened. I can’t remember every single rule for every game, and if we were playing at home, we’d have the rules next to the table to be sure (we also wouldn’t be playing 21 games in 10 days). I have a producer who is supposed to catch all of this stuff, and ensure that we don’t make mistakes like this, and I think he was stretched a little too thin this season, so if we do a fourth season, I’ll make sure that we hire someone *specifically* to keep an eye on the rules.

I’m annoyed and disappointed that we’ve aired two episodes this season, and we’ve made a rules error on each of them (not such a huge deal in Tokaido, but a huge deal in this one, because we unintentionally made the game much easier on ourselves.) I know there’s a big mistake coming up later this year in Stone Age, too.

Ultimately, the goal of Tabletop is to be entertaining, to introduce people to boardgames, and to get people excited about playing games. If we misunderstand a rule here and there, it’s not the end of the world, because that happens in real life when we play at home, but I do hold my show to a higher standard, for obvious reasons.

I don’t think this is going to get in the way of anyone’s enjoyment, except for the übergamers who nitpick and complain about every mistake or sub-optimal play we make, but I’m honestly not making this show for them, anyway.

That said, I regret making such a massive and fundamental mistake.

Also, you may notice that someone in our graphics department wrote Forbidden Dessert on the thumbnail, instead of Forbidden Desert. On the one hand, this is a simple and basic grammar error that should never have happened. On the other hand, it is pretty hilarious, will obviously be corrected, and gives us something to never let that department live down until the heat death of the universe.

For some of us, today is a holiday about being thankful. For others, it’s a day off from work or school and a chance to eat a lot of food. For the majority, it’s Thursday. Well, whatever today means to you, I hope it’s a good one.

[video]

[Brianna Kelly]

[video] [h/t: snoop-cal]

[skullnflames]

[video]

A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer who fired his gun at an unarmed suspect during a traffic stop Monday night will not be placed on leave, a JSO spokesperson said Tuesday.

Officer J.C. Garcia drew and fired his weapon under the mistaken belief that the driver was holding a gun. In fact, Brian Dennison, 29, was unarmed, and had his 6-year-old daughter in the car with him.

According to the police report, Garcia spotted a green Ford Focus driven by Dennison speeding through a parking lot near West University Boulevard and St. Augustine Road. Garcia began following the car, and said it blew through a stop sign as it turned onto DuPont Station Road, nearly hitting another car and heading the wrong way toward St. Augustine Road.

That’s when the officer switched on his lights and siren, following the car until it turned into Plantation Apartments in the 7000 block of South Old Kings Road and parked.

At a media briefing early Tuesday, Assistant Chief Chris Butler told reporters the officer initially believed the suspect was armed so he pulled out his own weapon and fired. At some point, Butler said, the officer realized he was not armed, and shifted his fire so as not to wound Dennison.

cybergata:

Maru:  ”Hana back off!  I am super Maru!”

mintmairi:

kohenari:

America. 2014.

To expand on that: cops are firing teargas flares into people’s yards (that burning car was likely ignited this way), into people’s faces, gassing people who were trying to render medical aid to a woman having a heart attack, boxing the people gathered in while telling them that they’ll be arrested if they don’t disperse, gassing the media…

Telling the people of Ferguson not to be violent while the cops are flat-out terrorizing that neighborhood… the dissonance is staggering and yet not at all surprising.

cuteosphere:

a revealing interview

If you’ve still got an NES but you find the controller a little small and fiddly, this could be the solution. Etsy seller Miller Woodshop has produced a fully-functioning giant controller in the form of a table:

This table was built to scale with the original NES controller. This fully functional controller’s buttons have been tuned up for easy play. No more soar hand after playing for 5 minutes like similar tables out on the market. Each button is sensitive to the touch, tweaked to feel like the real deal. The actual controller wire pulls out of the table to reach your system and easily pushes right back into its hole for easy storage. A heavy coat of clear polyurethane has been added to protect your table from scratches or rings from a glass.

It’s available to US buyers only for a mere $1,300.

[Via: Laughing Squid]

[Brittany Furlan]

bearhatalice:

yearbookoffice:

Corey and I come home from a hot date and, in a series of jump cuts, the keys are hastily thrown on the table, our shoes fly off, jeans get unzipped, pajama bottoms take their place, and then we’re on the couch, settling in to binge-watch Netflix. We have sex, sure, but cuddling is an event in and of itself, not an afterthought to share over a post-coital cigarette.

- Another Way To Breathe by Samantha Allen

Samantha Allen is one of my favorite writers, it is a complete honor to be able to publish her at The Yearbook Office.

ThinkGeek is selling this beautiful set of 10 glasses, each bases of the appearance of a body from our solar system. There are eight planet glasses with a 10oz capacity, a 16oz glass for the Sun, and a 4oz one for poor old Pluto.

Available for $49.99 from Think Geek.

Six astronauts from the US, Russia and Italy are now on board the International Space Station for the 42nd expedition of its type. And if that number rings a bell, you’re not alone, hence this celebratory poster from NASA:

‘The greatest remedy for anger is delay.’ ~Thomas Paine

By Leo Babauta

I once had a boss who had a favorite strategy for dealing with donations-seekers, demanding colleagues, and basically anyone who wanted anything from him he was reluctant to give.

Delay.

For example, lots of people would come to our office seeking handouts, and he didn’t believe handouts were helpful. So he would tell me, “Just delay.” And I would have to do it for him, asking people to come back tomorrow, or try next week, and so on. While my preference was just to tell them a straightforward “No”, I have to admit that the delay worked. Most people would just go away and not come back.

I’ve found this strategy works really well with habits you’re try to break. Delay.

An example: I tend to go back for seconds when I’m really hungry and especially if the food is really tasty. I found years ago that this didn’t do well for my waistline, so I wanted to find a way to break the seconds habit. The delay strategy worked brilliantly: I would just sit at the table and read for a few more minutes, instead of going back for the seconds I really wanted, and eventually the hunger would subside and I’d be perfectly sated. Delay.

Another example: I often have the urge to go check email or one of my favorite online sites. Now that I notice this urge, I can tell myself, “Sure, you can go check them … in a minute.” So I’d get back to writing my book, and delay. The urge went away. It came back later, but you can guess what I tried then. Delay.

And another: Sometimes I see something cool online that I really want to buy. My old habit is to quickly go to the site and place the order, and get it the next day. Instant gratification! Now I tell myself, “You can have it … tomorrow.” And then tomorrow comes and I might not want it so bad anymore. If I do, I just tell myself, “Sure thing, Leo, but just wait one more day.” Delay.

Yet another example: I would have the urge to go snack on something sweet or salty, and I used to rush to find the snack and shove it in my face, with no small amount of guilt sitting in my heart. Then I learned the power of delay, and instead I just keep myself busy for awhile. I do a workout, or go help one of my kids with something, or answer some emails that have been waiting for a reply. The snack urge goes away, because I delayed.

You can delay playing a video game or watching YouTube, by telling yourself that you can do it in an hour from now.

You can delay smoking by keeping yourself busy.

You can delay criticizing someone by delaying speaking, and instead focusing on your breath, and on listening.

What you don’t want to delay is the stuff that really matters: creating, helping people, making a difference, building something, being supportive, appreciating the little things in life.

For the things that matter, act as if your hair is on fire, and brook no delay.

plushstiel:

~

iguanamouth:

bears repeating

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[video]

melkior:

send hELP