I got some good news today

while at my endocrinology appointment. In July, my HbA1c (the blood test that determines how your blood sugar has been running averaged over a three-month period) was 10.0, but the one I took today was only 7.6, much better and it means my estimated blood glucose came down quite a bit. She told me to keep doing what I'm doing. I also talked to her about changing my Novolog to Humalog because my insurance isn't going to cover the former next year.

Sorry I didn't write last night. I was out celebrating a friend's birthday. We were born the same year, so he caught up to me in age. We went to Alfalfa restaurant downtown. I had falafel, salad, and red beans and rice. Afterwards we went back to their house for birthday cake. Then I went home and went straight to bed, since my appointment was so early this morning (8 am). As it was, I was about 10 minutes late, because I live about as far away from them as you can in Lexington, and I'm not used to cross-town traffic that early in the day. But it all worked out.

Tonight the plan is to spend the evening inside at home. Lexington, along with several other central Kentucky towns, moved their trick-or-treating (which is almost unheard of here) because we're supposed to get some pretty ugly weather this evening.

Okay, I think I'm going to snuggle up with my copy of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Paranormal for a bit, maybe play some Plants vs. Zombies, and watch 'Big Bang Theory' later tonight. Oh, that reminds me:

Why I do not plan to download the new Plants vs. Zombies 2, even though I love the original:
1. It is huge. Over 160 MB of space. I have 16 GB on my phone, but that's a lot for one game.
2. Instead of being a game you just buy outright, it a 'freemium' product with 'in-app purchasing'. Basically, you can play to a point but if you really want to play it seriously, you have to pay for items that will help you win, so you pay more in the long run.
3. I can't. On the first day it was available for Android OS, I actually had a moment where I hit the button to download and it simply couldn't do it, even over wi-fi.

What can I aay, I just don't think it's worth it. Maybe if any of that changes, I'll reconsider, but not right now.

I am pathetic when it comes to chess

Now granted, I hope to get better using a little chess game on Windows 8 where you can play the computer. But, gee. I'm not great at sudoku, either, but I can at least do the easy ones without notes. I can see I need to do some brain exercising. :) I am, however, very good at crosswords, word finds, Scrabble, Mahjong (the type on the computer that involves matching; I've never played real Mahjong), Hearts, Rook, Spades, Gin, and Spider Solitaire. I'm a little iffy on Freecell, although YKWIA is a whiz at that. I was also taught a version of solitaire as a kid that was sadistic, in which you couldn't move anything at all once you placed it and you only got three times through the pile. I didn't realise until computers came around that the rules were different. Which is sad, as we actually had a copy of Hoyle's Games (I still have it) in the house. You would think after winning something like three games in five years I would have sat down and read it rather than accept something at face value.

I couldn't resist the name or description

For today's free Android application Amazon has Aporkalypse: Pigs of Doom, a strategy game. Here is the description from Amazon:

Some little piggies go to the market, while other little piggies stay home, but these pigs are all grown up and ready for war. Follow these four heroes of ham through fiery puzzles and save the pig world from certain doom. Use brains, brawn, and bacon to stop the Aporkalypse in Aporkalypse - Pigs of Doom on your Android device (not optimized for all tablets).

The Pig Problem

The world has a pig problem. According to an old prophecy, the four Pigs of Doom should proclaim the end of the world in a distant future--but something went terribly wrong and the gates of Heaven and Hell have already opened. Now it's up to the greedy Hunger Pig, the heavily armed War Pig, the controlling Pest Pig, and the ghostly Death Pig to stop this madness.

Know Your Pigs

• Hunger Pig: This guy's got a healthy appetite and can swallow objects and cough them up again elsewhere. This is a great skill for building bridges or activating tricky buttons.

• War Pig: This pig is heavily armed and is not to be messed with. He can shoot at enemies or through targets to clear the way.

• Pest Pig: Enemies should watch out for this nasty stink. When an opponent touches the plague cloud surround this pig, you gain control over the enemy and can move it around.

• Death Pig: This ghoul of a pig reveals the souls of the dead. After an enemy dies, Death Pig teleports to its location in ghost form.
Travel Through Dangerous Puzzles

Lead the pigs through a collapsing world full of puzzles and dangers. Combine their supernatural powers and find unforeseen riches. Don't cast pearls before swine, but collect coins for your piggy bank. Send angels and demons back to where they belong. Nobody can escape the wrath of the pigs.

Push the Piggy

Controlling your Piggy is simple. Just tap on a pig to select it and touch anywhere on the screen to move the pig towards your desired direction. You can also choose to use the on-screen D-Pad to maneuver around each environment. Push objects out of your way by simply running into them. Once you progress through this Aporkalypse, you'll be able to switch between multiple pigs. Tap on the switch icon to jump between the available pigs. Scroll freely across each level by tapping on the spyglass icon. This can help you plan out your swine strategy as you make your way across each level.

I played it through one level on my break at work. It looks like it'll be fun. But there's just something mind-bendingly hilarious about the Four Pigs of Doom as a take off of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. :)

Dear Gods, what stupidity (not to mention anti-Semitic and just plain wrong)

US high school ends 'Beat the Jew' game

Seven seniors at a Southern California high school were facing disciplinary action for participating in a game called "Beat the Jew" in which losers were subjected to "incineration" or "enslavement," a school administrator said Friday.

The game involved some students playing the role of Nazis who blindfolded and dropped off other students playing Jews who must find their way back to the campus, said Sherry Johnstone, assistant superintendent of personnel for Desert Sands Unified School District.

It was not immediately clear exactly if or how losing players were punished, she said.

Haven't done this in awhile...

Your result for The RPG Class Test...

Mystic Theurge

15% Combativeness, 17% Sneakiness, 85% Intellect, 58% Spirituality

Brilliant and spiritual! You are a Mystic Theurge!


Score! You have a prestige class. A prestige class can only be taken after you've fulfilled certain requirements. This may mean that you're an exceptionally talented person, but it probably doesn't.


The Mystic Theurge is a combination of a cleric and a mage. They can cast both arcane and divine spells, and are good at both, making them pretty terrifying on the battlefield. They have more raw spellpower than just about any other class.


You're both intelligent and faithful, but not violent or deceitful. I guess that makes you a pretty good person.

Take The RPG Class Test at OkCupid

This is so neat!

It's a fun game for kids or big kids alike, and it's from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, home of my friend Tracy. In fact, the first one I built had a Tracy look-alike. But here's mine:

You can send your orbiter or rover to the Moon, Mars (polar), Mars (equator), or the moon Titan. Have fun with different instruments, hairstyles, you name it. And of course I made my rover purple. :)

Try it yourself at: http://jpl.nasa.gov/education/BuildMissionGame.cfm

A fun game

Despite having memory issues at times, I'm pretty good at the 'Memory Game', where you uncover pictures and match them. Well, I happen to have studied Greek, so I was happy when someone made a free Greek Alphabet Memory Game. Maybe if I play these sorts of things enough, my memory will improve.

My brain has been taken by Yahtzee

I have a little computer program, you see, and I just keep rolling the dice. But now I'm going to stop and blog, and then go to bed. (When we did play games as a family when I was young, it was usually Yahtzee or Kismet, both dice games...I'm pretty good--the computer loses more than I do).

Anyway, autumn weather has definitely come to us. According to my Firefox add-on it's 50 degrees but the wind is at 16 mph, so it's pretty brisk outside. It's also wet and leaves are coming down everywhere; my car is decorated with them.

I went to Dr Rooney, the podiatrist, today. I have to stay in the boot for another four weeks, but the good news is it is healing. The fractures are in the 4th and 5th metatarsals; I've heard bad things about the 5th not healing but she said that's usually the case when the bone is actually broken to the point of not being united. Mine is more of a crack near the joint, so it should heal fine. Yay. I do not want surgery. It does feel somewhat better. So, it's more of the Franken-boot for now.

The time of no money is ending as I get paid tomorrow at the hospital (actually it should go through sometime tonight) and I should get paid at the gas station for the first time in awhile, too.

The new cubicles were more tolerable once everything was together. I spent the whole day putting stuff on and in my desk. My computer may be losing its power supply soon--it keeps going to an amber light and it's sleeping although on, but not waking up when I touch the mouse or keyboard. I've got a desk that goes 6 feet in two directions, which I think will be adequate, 3 file folder drawers, two others, and two overhead bins. I got all but the files taken care of today. Tomorrow I have to do that and move some other stuff out so that the nursing students won't be crowded. I also have to move a copier and two computer carrels about 6 inches so I won't be crowded. From there it's working on moving one or possibly two journal shelving units that are about 3' x 12' each. Not looking forward to that.

I haven't listened to the radioplays lately because of all the commotion. When they were building the cubicles, there didn't seem to be a point, since there was banging and power screwdriving involved. Today I don't think I sat in my chair long enough. Also, I'm getting a new (used) chair that's bigger and more comfortable, one of the old ones from one of the other departments that was replaced by those that came with the cubicles.

Well, I guess that's enough of an update for now. Good night. Oh, and in honour of impending Halloween, here's a Very Twisted Great Pumpkin...I'm assuming it's from Robot Chicken, I think I've seen it on there, but it wasn't identified as such.

I am addicted

Which is why two hours of sleep time just trickled away as I recited piano tunes, spoke to talking plants, juggled weights, and tried to assemble a signpost in the dark.

What I'm talking about it the Dream Chronicles, a puzzle game with an interesting story, too. You play Faye, who has awoken from the sleep spell cast upon her town by the Fairy Queen of Sleep, who has spirited away her husband to have a child of her own. Along the way you collect dream jewels to increase power, but the focus is mostly on solving the various puzzles to get from place to place. First you must find the various pieces, then arrange them according to logic, or do some task such as arranging books (that was easy for me), playing back tunes heard on the piano (hard for me), or figuring out which toy, vegetable, or book combination will open a gate. The graphics and music are very nice. You can play online at the link above. I got my version free through Real Arcade's GamePass (well, since it's $10 a month, I actually got it for that, but it's still half-price). I think that will be the last game I get through GamePass; I need to buckle down on all expenses, and I've been able to rebuild my collection except for Inspector Parker, which is no longer offered through Real Arcade.

PS I love the organic nature of the architecture in this game. I would love to have these houses and gardens. Okay, enough. I've managed to win past the piano and am now scrabbling in the dark. Better to leave that to another day. Time for bed. Good night.

I think I did pretty well

considering I've played Call of Cthulhu, Vampire the Masquerade, Hârn, Trinity, Shadowrun, and Brave New World, only one of which is mentioned in this quiz. Most of my knowledge came from shelving the gamemaster's books, because he has almost all of the ones mentioned. Note that I did not include Dungeons & Dragons. I've never actually played that one, believe it or not.

Your Score: d10 Solid Gamer

You have a 67%RPG Geek Factor!

You are a solid gamer. You play or know at least one system fairly well. However, gaming is not and most likely never will be your life as you keep your habit under control. You rate a d10.

Link: The RPG Geek Factor Test written by Rerednaweht on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

I just spent the last hour playing

Real Arcade's version of Risk. I always wanted to play as a child but had trouble getting enough people together to make it fun. This last game I lost in 13 turns, but I outlasted three other computerised generals, so I'm getting better.

But for now, it's been a long, hot day, and I'm going to go to bed.

Good night.