Board games and coffee
Board Games and Coffee, Hold the Internet
Castanie and Peynet moved to Toronto from France four years ago. The idea for the cafe came to them when they were browsing a game shop in Chicago. For the last two years, they have scoured the Internet, Value Village and toy stores to create a collection of 1,500 games, including obscure classics like Fireball Island, and other delights like Mall Madness and Settlers of Catan. For $5, customers have unlimited access to the collection and Castanie’s expertise. A liquor licence is in the works.
Read the full article in the Toronto Star
Joy-filled recent discovery: Counting Stars by Andrew Peterson.
Source: store.rabbitroom.com
coffee making robot. wow!
Total Annihilation for $5.99
I just discovered GOG.com (Good Old Games) and promptly made my first purchase: the Total Annihilation Commander Pack.
Total Annihilation is one of my favourite video games ever — no surprise, since Ron Gilbert and Chris Taylor were involved.
Just a sec. I’m reading about TA on Wikipedia…
…and now I’m off to the Xbox Live Arcade to see if there’s a demo for DeathSpank, which will (I hope) be good clean fun, just like Ron Gilbert’s classic earlier work, Monkey Island.
Anyway. Here’s a video of Total Annihilation basic gameplay from YouTube. Remember, this was released in 1997.
Great Wolf Lodge - we’re going!
Kids like fun hotels. Kids like water parks. Great Wolf Lodge offers the best of both and more. We’ve been talking about going there with our kids for a while, and we’re finally taking the plunge (no pun intended). Watch this space for a full report from the Majestic Bear Suite, coming soon.
Cheeseburger cupcakes
My wife and daughter made cheeseburger cupcakes on the weekend. We got the idea from the set of photos here and followed the How To instructions here.
My photo isn’t great, but they tasted delicious.
Starro the Conqueror
Just in time for DC Comics’ 75th anniversary: it’s a Starro the Conqueror action figure, complete with tiny Justice League characters. Mattel has this plus Justice League Unlimited and more fun toys at Comic-Con in San Diego.
The Monster at the End of this eBook
The Monster at the End of This Book, narrated by loveable furry old Grover, is now available online:
See also this version and this from the artist, Michael Smollin.
Scavenger Hunt Cards
Your kids are bored. You’re tired of hearing, “Are we there yet?” Something has to be done. Time for a car game!
Give each player a handful of Scavenger Hunt Cards and their attention will turn to the windows. The deck of 54 cards features common roadside sights, sounds and smells. The back seat bickering will soon give way to fun‚ or blissful silence. Either way, you can focus on the road.
We’re finally going tonight. Can’t wait.
This flash mob organized by ImproVancouver came together and danced to draw attention to the Five for 5 campaign.
Source: youtube.com
Water warfare
Water fights are a summer tradition in my family, thanks to my brother Peter. As the weather gets warmer we break out the hoses, sprinklers, squirt guns and water balloons, and we begin to dream about the epic (and soggy) battles ahead. This year, I’m thinking about the Little Tykes Beach Ball sprinkler, and the Super Soaker Arctic Blast, which has a chamber for ice cubes, so you can shock your opponent with blasts of really cold water.
For those who are serious about their water play, iSoaker.com is a serious resource. This website is to water warfare what Google is to searches. The iSoaker Armory features photos and statistics about every squirt gun you can imagine (and many more). There are also repair guides, complete with photos of the insides of many squirt gun models, so you can figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it.
iSoaker.com also offers a unique list of water games, complete with rules and regulations for play. If you want to do more than just run around this year, you should visit and bookmark this site.
iPad on a budget
No plugs. No charging. Not an actual iPad.
PixelPads are 100% paper — pads of graph paper with fat paperboard backs shaped like Apple’s “magical” and “revolutionary” new device. Originally designed as a tool to help iPad software developers, PixelPads have become popular with regular folks who want to pretend they own and use a shiny new iPad.
The price is right: the Starter pack ($24) comes with 1 PixelPad, one refill, 1 Sharpie Marker, 1 Pilot VBall Pen, and 1 1 Bic Matic Pencil. The Ultimate pack ($99) comes with 4 PixelPads, 8 refills, 4 of each pen plus a 12 pack of Crayola Markers.
Wow. This (via gurvien) is fun to watch: a skilled operator with a super-powered remote control helicopter.
Source: youtube.com
LCD postcards
Another geeky gift: LCD message cards from upon a fold give you the chance to write your own messages in the style of a liquid crystal display.
Source: uponafold.com.au
