Dodgeball

Dodgeball experienced a resurgence in popularity with the release of Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story. It encourages us to relive the days of our youth. Its success continues because it is easy to understand, requires little investment in equipment, and is fantastic fun for all ages. So pick up a small or large dodgeball set, grab some friends, and have some fun!

Note: I did not take most of these pictures because I was actually playing in the tournament. Nevertheless I helped when I could, especially for the group shots. So thank my wife for the pictures.

Your Word

We should trust people! If only they made it easy.

# trusting_others.py
#
# How our words affect our interaction with others. You're only as good as your word!
#
# Psuedocode:
# 
# Maintain list of trust that others have, which is unknown to you
# Interact with people each day
# Alter trust with your words

# Trust quotient is a quantifier for one person's trust for another 
TRUST_REWARD = 1
TRUST_PENALTY = 15

    
# Dictionary containing name and trust quotient values that other people have for you
trust = {}
    
for day in days:
    for person in interactions(day):
        if person not in trust:
            # Other people's trust depends on some variables 
            trust[person] = default_trust(person.upbringing, person.genes)
    
        if speak() == 'TRUTH':
            trust[person] += TRUST_REWARD;
        elif speak() == 'FALSEHOOD':
            trust[person] -= TRUST_PENALTY

San Diego

This was a trip to San Diego, CA that included the zoo, Hash House A Go Go, and a little beach time.

Crom, The One Who Loves/Hates His Girlfriend

So we know that Crom has a girlfriend.  It seems like he likes her a lot.  He talks to her on a very frequent basis as far as I can tell.  I rather wish that I did not observe so much about him!

From what I can recall, he talks to her at least twice a day.  Every.  Single.  Day.  The weird thing is that I get the impression that they also see each other quite often (I would guess 4 times a week).  Is that the weirdest thing?  No not by a long shot.  There are plenty of people out there who cannot get enough of seeing and talking to each other.  And I am sure that there are plenty of middle-aged men with girlfriends out there as well.

No, the weirdest thing is the fact that when he talks to her it is sugar, honey, lovey, and dovey for a little while.  You know what I mean.  He has his boyfriend voice (ugh, I feel gross just typing that) and talks softly and gently while saying nice things.  However, for whatever reason this almost always turns on a dime, and he seems to get very irritated/impatient with her.  He will start to tell her the things that she needs to do (e.g., get out of bed and get ready for work) or he will quickly bail out on the conversation (e.g., I really need to get back to work).

I know that no couple is perfect because nobody is perfect.  So it is not that strange that they could have this conversation every so often.  However it does seem strange to me that it seems to happen every time that they talk.  And remember, they talk a couple of times a day everyday!  I have no idea what it is about these people!  I have so many questions.  Why does he do it?  Why does she put up with it?  Why are they still together after all of this time??

Perhaps he is starting to feel guilty about using work time for personal reasons.  Perhaps he just gets tired of talking on the phone.  (Now mind  you he usually just stays out here in the cubicles while he is talking so everyone can hear his conversation.)

Whatever the reason, I guess that we’ll just have to chalk it up to another mystery of Crom.  I doubt that I could ever understand.

Xi'an

Continuing with the trip to Asia, here are some pictures from the historical city of Xi’an. It is one of the oldest cities, and it was heavily used as the capital of China for several dynasties. Nowadays, though? It’s not as prominent. Nevertheless it had its moments.