What I’m Watching

  • Chris D’Elia: Man on Fire – New standup special on Netflix that started slow but had some very funny moments. The guy is just fun to watch.

What I’m Reading

What I’m Listening To

What I’m Contemplating

  • Library Millionaire – You probably have access to many more resources through your local libraries than you think. And if you live in a metro area, you might even be able to join multiple library systems.
  • 11 books on science Bill Gates thinks everyone should read – Case in point, I think my library has 3 or 4 of these available for me to download as eBooks.
  • Finland tests a new form of welfare – This is becoming more of a thing, and I’m not sure how I feel about the basic guaranteed income idea. As automation increases I wonder if this will be an answer.
  • HSA – The Ultimate Retirement Account – I hadn’t though about using HSAs in this way, and now that we qualify Julie and I are taking advantage of this vehicle for tax-free savings.
  • Five Reasons To Wear The Same Thing Every Day – I’m not there yet but have simplified my wardrobe significantly. I’m thinking about gradually migrating towards a small collection of quality items that I like wearing to eliminate this form of decision fatigue.

What I’m Playing

Many visitors at the lake over the past two weeks so plenty of gaming going on.

  • No Thanks! is my go-to bar game with more than 4 people. Easy to teach non-gamers.
  • 7 Wonders Duel – still enjoying this 2 player game.
  • Pax Renaissance is the heaviest game I will play this summer and I continue to enjoy it. Takes the right kind of player to enjoy it, but the game goes more quickly than you might think given the complexity.
  • Cards Against Humanity is one of a few party games played in the last 10 days.
  • Say Anything – ditto
  • Dixit – ditto
  • Codenames – ditto
  • Jump Drive is a streamlined Race for the Galaxy that I like playing. Also been playing the new iOS Race for the Galaxy (vs. AI only so far) and like it.
  • Villages of Valeria – Played this 4 or 5 times and I cannot figure it out. I get beat by even new players.
  • Red7 is a game where I may need to reconsider my rating of 7 as it has hidden depth. I’ve played 3 or 4 times in the past week.
  • Don’t Mess with Cthulhu – I’ve played a DIY version of the Time Bomb game and it is the hit of the week here. Werewolf has not been played, but this one has had 4 or 5 plays.
  • Ninety-Nine – Excellent 3-player trick taking game you can play with a standard deck.
  • BANG! The Dice Game – We had some kids here and they enjoy this game so we played it twice. Not my favorite but better and shorter than the original BANG!
  • Century: Spice Road is a new game for me that my nephew brought out and it is quite fun. Similar to Splendor.

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