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Naan Bread – it is Amazing

Sep 132011

My daughter brought this cook book home from school last year. One of the recipes in this book was Naan bread. This bread is so cool. It is fast and easy to make. It is easy to pack in lunches. It is versatile (I will come back to that) and it tastes good.

When I first saw the recipe I was intrigued because you broil the bread. Then I was like we can do this on the fire sweet.

The bread is unique, kind of a cross between fry bread and a pita. More towards fry bread since the dough rises at different rates.

Here is the recipe Makes four individual loaves

3 tablespoons of lukewarm milk

2 teaspoons fresh yeast

1 and 2/3 cup white bread flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 egg beaten

3 tablespoons of plain yogurt

2 tablespoons melted butter

cumin seeds

oil for greasing pans

Using your finger mix the milk and the fresh yeast together. Set it aside until it get a little bubbly (about 10 minutes)
Sift the flour and salt together.
Using a wooden spoon gradually stir the yeast mixture, egg, and yogurt together. Once blended,gradually stir the flour into the mix. Stir until you have a soft dough.
Knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface or until it is a smooth elastic dough. If you have hot hands you will need to flour your hands.
Lightly grease a bowl with oil. Put the dough in the bowl cover and let rise until it has doubled in size.
Punch down the dough. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Knead the seeds into each quarter (optional).
Using a rolling pin, roll each quarter into a tear drop shape. Stretch the dough if needed.
Preheat the baking tray/pan under the broiler.
Brush the butter on both sides of the naans. Place on the tray and broil both sides 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.

This bread is great for the kids lunches – which I already mentioned. It is quick (prep and cook time for a double was 20 minutes). It is versatile. Here are some of the ways this bread can be used

for dips and salsa
it is great for salad sandwiches
my kids idea was tacos – haven’t tried it yet
roll the dough thinner add pastrami and cheese, fold it over and you have a makeshift calizone
You can make cheap desserts with it. Just add some pie filling and fold the dough over
You can turn it into a sweet bread just by adding some honey

Innistrad Mechanic Review

Gaming News, Magic The Gathering Comments Off

Sep 132011

So the next Magic the Gathering expansion is on the horizon. It will bring with it 5 mechanics. Some of these mechanics are making a return, like Flashback and Fight (which is a new keyword). While others are just knew. But before you go any further I suggest you read Wizards of The Coast article on Innitsrad mechanics here. Because this article is going to talk about rules in significant detail.

Transform

Of the the mechanics being introduced in Innistrad this has to be the most complicated one.

It will have a tournament legal proxy.
There is no Magic back on the card.
The face up side is marked with a sun.
The transformations are triggers.
Both faces are the same card. That means counters, tokens etc stay on the card if it transforms.
Transforming is different from flipping.
Always enters the battlefield face up.
Copy effects only copy the current “face” of the card.

What does all of that mean for a player and for the judge?

Judge Perspective

While double faced cards are going to bring to the game a potential for new levels of card quality it is going to be a messy mechanic at first. I suspect that early on players are going to miss the transform triggers left and right. I can just see it know some random player draft 10 double faced cards and put 7 in his deck. Can you imagine having 4 of them in play at the same time? You might have different faces face up. In other words the players might have four different triggers to remember on top of normal game play. The good news is that this is most likely to happen at the casual level of play for some time – practice. In the end I think it will force both players and judges to improve their game.

Player Perspective

As a player I am looking forward to the card quality that thes might bring us. And I do believe there will be enough good double faced cards that a handful of them will see play. Otherwise, WotC is waisting their time with this mechanic.

Morbid

Judge Perspective

There is not a thing that is so unique about this mechanic that we have anything to worry about.

Player Perspective

The trigger is going to be easy enough to pull off that you will definitely see it played. I kind of like Skirsdag High Priest. I used this spoiler for information. I kind of like putting 5/5 flying demons in play.

Why Every Gamer Should Eat Healthy

Gaming News, Magic The Gathering, Miniatures, The RL Comments Off

Sep 102011

I judge a lot of Magic the Gathering tournaments, and I mean a lot. As a result I get to observe people. One of the things I notice is players and judges ignore their bodies, especially when it comes to hydration. It is important for you and for the players around you that you take care of yourself. Yeah right, why should I care. Well, there are only a handful of reasons, but they can be summed up like this; good health makes for a better game. It is really that simple. Dehydration can have some serious effects on your game, and your body. While not eating foods that supply nourishment can effect you body in many ways (anything from headaches to poor digestion). the rest of this article will talk about recognizing the symptoms of things like dehydration and lack of nourishment.

Dehydration happens when you don’t consume enough liquid (water is the best). Symptoms of dehydration are

head rushes
fatigue
loss of appetite
headaches
nausea

While I realize at a tournament there are a lot of other factors that can come into play dehydration is always a first in my mind because it is easy to ignore. So here are some rules of thumb to prevent dehydration. if your game is a light game that does not involve a lot of standing or though consume a cup of water for every hour. If it is more intense consume closer to twenty ounces of water every hour. That might sound like too much, but it’s not. When you game you actually do burn a lot of energy thinking.

Eating improperly can cause all kinds of problems for you. In fact, there are so many I won’t even attempt to cover them. We should all know the common symptoms of not eating right (headaches, fatigue, light headed,). Instead I will share what I have had great success with at events of this nature.

Protein shakes
nuts
protein bars
granola bars
trail mix
mixed fruit
Have even taken various canned goods

You might say that is a bit much, but the one thing I have learned as a judge is you just never know what is in store for you. I have worked events where where the closest food was a twenty minute walk, and if you are understaffed it just doesn’t work. It is about the same for you as a player. It is better to be prepared. I also go heavy on the grains to combat the potential irratablity from various digestive problems, besides they are a good snack.

If you are wondering why this article is here. This is why. Not too long ago I worked an event where a player did not eat foo. His reasoning was it was too far away to get to it. He was also alone, and had no one to go get the food for him. As a result of not eating, he got a headache. He made this publicly known, and that he believed it was from a lack of food. The player eventually blacked out from fatigue and ended up not finishing the event. I realize that the example above is extreme, but who wants to play with a headache or worse. It really doesn’t take much effort to plan for this, and in the end you will be happier.

Magic the Gathering Mini Master this Weekend

Gaming News, Magic The Gathering Comments Off

Sep 082011

I just learned that Wizards of the Coast is sponsoring Magic the Gathering Mini Masters events at select stores (Magic Celebration) this Saturday September 10th. Here are the locations. What is cool about, I mean what makes it different from other mini masters? It is free, while supplies last. That is right free Wizards of the Coast is giving back to their customers.

So what is a mini master AKA pack wars? It is one of the most inexpensive limited formats you can play. Each player receives one pack (M12 on Saturday) and three of each basic land then they get shuffled together. That is right you play blind, you don’t look at your cards. Each event is three or four rounds. Each round you win earns you another free M12 booster to enhance your deck with. On top of that WotC is supplying retailers with T-shirts and a code card for Duels of the Planeswalker 2012. I am not sure how the code is going to be distributed, but it is for the platform of the player’s choice.

I will be at Freedom Games in North Canton Ohio on Saturday playing. If you want to duel me come on down.

The Origins of Game

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Sep 082011

A short time ago I was involved in a conversation about the “mentality” of gamers. The basic perception that these people had about gamers is that they are “freaks” . To be more precise they kind of thought gamers were a bunch of depressed anti-social people who could not follow the norms of society. This is so far from the truth. I mean the perception they had makes us outcasts, which is really the opposite of what we are as a whole. You might be wondering why this is important. With any luck I will cover that in the next few paragraphs.

Let us start with the meaning of the word game, more precisely its origins. According to Dictionary .com we have this little bit of history

“game

O.E. gamen “joy, fun, amusement,” common Gmc. (cf. O.Fris. game, O.N. gaman, O.H.G. gaman “joy, glee”), regarded as identical with Goth. gaman “participation, communion,” from P.Gmc. *ga- collective prefix + *mann “person,” giving a sense of “people together.” Meaning “contest played according to rules”

is first attested c.1300. Sense of “wild animals caught for sport” is late 13c.; hence fair game (1825), also gamey “having the flavor of game” (1863). Adjective sense of “brave, spirited” is 1725, from the noun, especially in game-cock “bird for fighting.” Game plan is 1941, from U.S. football; game show first attested 1961″

So the very nature of the word game tells us we are social beings. In some cases our group might be smaller, or we might even be a part of more than one group. In fact it is hard for us to be a gamer with out being social. It doesn’t matter what game you play they are you’re community, or if you are like me your communities. I also found it it interesting that that before the meaning of game became a “contest according to the rules” it meant “people together”.

Wizards of the Coast anounces Planeswalker Points

Gaming News, Magic The Gathering Comments Off

Sep 062011

Wow! Wizards of the Coast has done it again. They have changed everything. For those of you who have not read the article on Planeswalker points yet, you can view it here. If you are too lazy here is a brief (really brief) overview.

Points will have different categories lifetime, competitive, FNM, and professional.
Each has its own function based off variables like number of players.
Wins and losses earn you points
Points give you invites based on your play.

So, the question I have is this “Is this a good change?” I am going to say yes. The concept behind the program is to encourage better players to play instead of sitting on their rating. By doing this players will be playing against better players. Who want to play better players. The concept is the better players will kind of mentor the rookies. In the end it will sell more Magic the Gathering and increase the pool of players. Especially if Wizards of the Coast continues supporting events like Grand Prix’s.

I am looking forward to the new systemIt has a better balance than the current rating system because it really has something for everyone.

Tabletop Quality a Miniatures Painting Guide.

Gaming News, Miniatures Comments Off

Sep 052011

Have you ever heard the phrase table top quality? Did you wonder what it means? Well, if you know or think you know what table top quality means read on and I will share with you my findings. We will attempt to do this by not siding with any one view (I will still pick on stereotypes though), but instead by defining it based off reading articles, and forum posts from Dakka Dakka, Bolter and Chainsword, Cmon, and game manufacturer’s websites.

When I first decided to write this article I thought I had a good understanding of the phrase. I was wrong. I discovered that a part of the “painting” community is loud enough that that they are heard. Not only are these people loud they are rude. You will find comments like”table top quality is just another way of saying ” , and “tabletop quality is just an excuse for you not wanting to play me”. So if you are a new player or painter who plays you are forewarned that you will be up against this kind of mentality. I suggest you steer clear of these people as best you can while you are learning to paint.

Back From Magic the Gathering Grand Prix Pittsburgh 2011

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Aug 302011

Well, I am back from Grand Prix Pittsburgh. It was a great event. I am glad that I was a part of the staff serving 1400 plus players in the main event. But let’s back up. I arrived in Pittsburgh Friday morning and left Sunday evening. Here is a brief overview of some of the experience.

On Friday I herded players to the correct location for registration.

Saturday was a different story. I was on the paper team for the main event. The most interesting ruling I had was well I didn’t have any of the cool ones. That does not mean that the event did not need judges, it just means the players have a good understanding of standard. My favorite ruling of the weekend has to be: A player with 0 cards in hand casts preordain. Instead of scrying 2, he makes puts both cards in hand and plays one of them, a land. The other remains in hand as he passes the turn. Ouch! Drawing Extra Cards, nope the card is easily identifiable. It was downgraded to a GRV and the card was returned to the top of the library.

Sunday, is never as busy as day 2. I worked side events. I floated around the floor as much as possible. I was fortunate enough to HJ 4 of the events. I think that is a fair amount considering we had divide the events up amongst about 20 judges. The Limited PTQ had an amazing 379 players. That is awesome

Special thanks to Mike Guptil, The Head Judges (Erik, and Kevin)all of the team leads, Wizards of the Coast, and all of the players.

Magic the Gathering Grand Prix Pittsburgh 2011

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Aug 242011

Well, I really wish I had a lot more time to hype this Magic the Gathering event up – I don’t. Here is the run down. I am Leaving early Friday (Augus26th 2011) morning, after sending the children off to school, to judge at the Grand Prix in Pittsburgh (standard). Between now and then I have to maintain my Dad’s Kitchen image for the kids, study more, shop for food (I always take some healthy foods just in case), and pack. They are a very fun, and educating experience. If you are a judge, Grand Prix’s are an awesome avenue for learning. There are so many players and judges there that you will something new at every event, and most likely each day. Since you are broken down into teams it is an excellent time to set a goal for yourself, like learning layering. OOPS! I’m rambling. This event is going to be extremely busy. There will be about 50 judges to handle about 1500 players. That is going to be a lot of work. I am looking forward to it though.

The artists attending are RK Post and Christopher Moeller. I always look forward to getting some cards signed and buying at least one print.

Well enough about the Grand Prix for now. I will Try and have a GP report up by Tuesday August 30th.

Gen Con 2011

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Aug 172011

Every year thousands of gamers (geeks) descend on Indianapolis to take part in Gen Con. The best four days in the game industry. Here is gamers don crazy costumes, play games, buy, sell, trade, learn trade secrets, and more importantly just have fun.

If you are a gamer, of any merit, and you have never experienced Gen Con it is something you should plan on. There is something for everyone, even for non gaming significant others. Gamers can play almost any game of choice whether it is in print or out of print. While guests of honor and teachers host seminars and panels for more serious individuals who wish to break in the gaming industry.

This year I focused on the Writers symposium. I managed to sneak in a few questions with Matt Forbeck, Anton Strout (guest’s of honor), and many other authors on the symposium. We managed to meander through the Exhibit hall every time we had a chance. I have had the opportunity to demo or watch a few games (Dust Tactics, Mercs, Relic Knights, KoW).

The Writer’s Symposium

Matt Forbeck

Anton Strout

The Exhibit Hall

Games I Demoed/observed

Dust tactics

Mercs

Relic Knights

KoW

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