November

Wow. It's been a bit over two months since my son arrived and around a month since he came home. The amount of work required to keep things together for a small one like that (never mind the NICU stuff beforehand - he was two months premature) is stunning. I am so grateful for my parents coming down to help out with baby and house care until we got our footing again. Now he's 7 lbs, 2 ounces and terribly cute. One thing that really caught me off guard was the amount of noise he makes - he spends a lot of time during the night just clucking away. While it's hard to sleep through apparently it's completely normal. Also, he's got an umbilical hernia - the muscles around the umbilical cord area haven't sealed off yet. Apparently they don't do anything about that either for the first 4 years (until school age) partly because most seal up in the first year and the alternative is surgery. Our pediatrician related a story where she saw one that was 6 cm long and the surgeons still didn't want to touch it since the child was so young.

Anyways, I'm just grateful that everything seems to be going well. Thanks to whoever is responsible for that!

Update

The little fella's doing well, much better than could be expected of a 31 week preemie (now 35 I think). He's out of the incubator and into a cot, and splitting his feeds between the NG tube and breastfeeding. The parents on the other hand are really starting to show the wear. Mom's holding up fairly well given that she has to pump every 3 hours (except the night where she has a slightly longer interval), and has to spend 9-12 hour shifts at the hospital NICU now to get the little guy used to breast feeding. She's broken down once or twice recently about wanting to get out of the NICU. Don't let anyone tell you this NICU stuff is easy (it's not)! The line between functioning and not functioning is very thin, and I hate to say that we're both pretty close to it.

I finally crashed yesterday. Got home from the hospital yesterday with the worst headache in recent memory and slept over 12 hours. For the most part it's gone but I can still feel it in the background, it won't take much to bring it back I fear.

Can't wait to bring him home, but only when he's ready.

Premature

Wow. Just wow. My son chose to arrive much sooner than expected (delivered at 31 weeks). The event was a much larger and more dangerous affair than I expected it to be and I'm still recovering from it. When I get some more time I will write more but for the time being, that's what's on my mind. Wow. What an emotional overhaul that is!

Penpals

Visually a stylish platformer, done for a ludum dare (time constrained) contest. The art's the winning element of everything that's laid out here as the game itself isn't very complex. The story goes like this: a bear has to gather acorns for his hedgehog buddy who's not doing well in a toxic world ruined by humans. Bear runs around in a fishbowl filled with oxygen, that gets refilled at the start of each level and at oxygen pumps. Kept me busy for a bit. About the only real criticism I have is that it's not very deep and some of the jumps are much tighter than they need to be for a game like this (not very forgiving). Not my choice, but then it's probably a conscious design choice by the designers. Regardless, it's worth your time to check it out. Go for the download version over the web one, the music's worth it (the web version doesn't have music). Designed with GameMaker Studio.

http://indiegames.com/2013/09/penpals.html

Slow Cooker Kalaua Pork

This is what I have cooking for dinner tonight, it's been going since last night and smells awesome.

Easiest pulled pork recipe I've ever tried, if it works out (and it smells like it will), it's going to be a staple!

http://allrecipes.com/video/1316/kalua-pig-in-a-slow-cooker/detail.aspx?e11=kalua&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&event8=1&prop24=SR_Showcase&e7=Home%20Page

Update: Came out pretty good indeed! Not as smokey as I had hoped for, but it is pulled pork of a sort and still tasty

Icarus Proudbottom Teaches Typing

I found this one an amusing take on learn to type programs - it keeps you going with a narrative, so there's a story of sorts there. Also, there's some funny bits and strange lines of text to type. It's off just enough to be interesting but not so much that you'll have trouble recommending it. Playable in both browser and download forms, and fairly easy to play through too - give it a go!

 

http://www.holywowstudios.com/

Beatrix: Battle Dentist

Kind of a cute concept but didn't keep me interested for very long. You run along the teeth to clean them and use your mouse/LMB to shoot a fluoride gun at yellow blocks and nasties running around. The name of the game (Battle Dentist) is pretty awesome - it's worth a try just for that.

Found on the Oddities blog (http://odditie-s.tumblr.com/post/58548453365/beatrix-battle-dentist)
Link to game:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49699282/beatrix/index.html

Molson Old Style Pilsner

I found this one while visiting my folks up north. Have not seen it around Toronto at all. Figured I would give it a shot since you never know with these things, maybe it would be a gem.  At first I thought I got a sense of saaz hops and was optimistic, however as I got further and further into it all I was able to taste was sweetness, like corn syrup was added (or some other adjunct). It is not something I would pick again under normal circumstances - not with much better pilsners being available (steam whistle, King brewery, even Creemore) for a similar price point. Disappointing.

Dog of Dracula 2

Just finished Dog of Dracula 2. It's worth it, just like the first one. Not much of a game really, more reading and a few choices to make - but it is entertaining reading and the art/music aesthetics are pretty choice. It's more difficult to design things this way than it looks especially for a whole game. Regardless of whether it is going to be considered as a game or as an interactive book I would still recommend going through it. It's bizarre, it's funny, it'll only take a couple hours and if a 3rd one comes out I'll play that as soon as I can


http://www.freeindiegam.es/2013/06/dog-of-dracula-2-cyber-monogatari-team-batsu/

Happy Canada Day!

Heads Up: Dog of Dracula 2

I liked the first one so much, that when I saw this I figured I'd share the news even before I had the chance to try it out!

http://www.freeindiegam.es/2013/06/dog-of-dracula-2-cyber-monogatari-team-batsu/

Indie Alehouse - The Belgian Barnyard IPA

This one's nice... I know not everyone's into the bite that rye can give a beer but it can be quite nice if it's blended properly with the right hops so it is a bit more rounded. Also if the rye is added in moderation so that it's not all you taste - I've had one or two rye beers where that's all you get and it wasn't all that pleasant an experience. There are many ingredients that one can add to beer where it can be beneficial to add in smaller quantities (certain types of dark crystal, chocolate malt, buckwheat, molasses, brown sugar, biscuit malt, caramber malt,...) but if you add too much in relation to your base malt backbone it can totally wreak havoc with the resulting beer and overwhelm everything. Rye is like that I feel.

This particular beer, to my palette, is just a bit much with the rye, but is still very agreeable. The flavours of the malts including the rye are well balanced with the hops, the bitterness is pleasant and there is a noticable aroma of something like rye bread.

I prefer the Cameron's RPA to this as it feels just a smidge more refined, but would not turn the Belgian Barnyard down if it was on offer. Now back to my growler... I've got a porch to occupy and a beer to drink

http://indiealehouse.com/

Will You Ever Return - In Da Hood

FYI there are some very NSFW moments in this one, including a very excited Satan.

I haven't been able to complete the other Will You Ever Return games... mostly a lack of patience. When this was posted on the IndieGames.com site with a comment saying that this was his most accessible one yet and that it was a bit shorter I jumped on it. My first try was frustrating as I had trouble crossing the road and got stuck. Later on I found that you could only cross the road at crosswalks, and then after that the game opened itself up. It's sarcastic, trashy, a bit melancholy and also self aware in its dialog. I laughed out loud a number of times but then my humor goes down this road. Also you have to be able to handle the way things look. We're talking sloppy pixel sprites here, I think it suits the game very well but it's not everyone's cup of tea so... Anyways, I felt this one was worth playing so I'm posting it.

Just don't play it if you're easily offended.

http://gamejolt.com/games/rpg/will-you-ever-return-in-da-hood/14788/

ccatch

Really neat and simple concept. Objects fall from the sky in arcs and you try to catch the ones that match the color of the paddle ... the retro graphics and sounds match well. The pace quickly escalates if you play it well. Feels simple yet elegant. I like it, it's definitely worth your giving it a try in my opinion!

http://gamejolt.com/games/arcade/ccatch/14126/

Candy Box!

I really don't know what to say about it other than it's a bit strange like Frog Fractions, and has consumed far more of my time than I ever expected it to when I first started. It's called Candy Box. It starts off simply, and really you should just start it and walk away for about half an hour, it'll make more sense to you when you return. From there it expands into a somewhat bizarre world where candy is currency, you can farm lollipops and go on quests. I don't know where it goes from where I'm at but they could put just about anything there and it would make about as much sense as anything else in it. I love it when things catch me off guard like this, as I really wasn't expecting much - if you are of an open mind I recommend you to do the same.

http://candies.aniwey.net/

Life marches forward!

The past couple weeks I've been spending most of my days off painting the house. Reason being is that this has to get done so all of our furniture can go to their final destinations, we can get out of boxes etc. It gets more complicated if you do that after you are done painting... so that's why it's this order. Anyways, painting is tiring work and there isn't as much time to do it as one would think... Why the rush? My wife is pregnant and this sure isn't getting done when the baby shows up. There'll be plenty more things to do then! Also, due to said pregnancy she's not doing so much since she's dealing with a significant amount of pregnancy related nausea. Food and movements of certain sorts aren't nearly as easy as they used to be. Exciting stuff - lots of work!

All this work also leaves me wondering when I'm going to get my garden in gear. We've got a backyard now, and I've been jonesing to get that growing tomatoes and veggies ASAP. The rule of thumb I've been working with (from more experienced gardeners than I) is that if you start planting sprouts before May 24 in Toronto you run the risk of frost. That being said, it's over 20 outside - what are the odds that frost will happen again? I think it's minimal.

Things are getting better on the job front now too. I've been between two pharmacies since being licensed - the one I interned with and the one that I've been placed with since becoming a pharmacist. I've recently switched back to the one I interned with because I feel it's a better situation for me with better long term employment prospects. Also, the one I'm leaving was very draining for various reasons... partly due to having to have my "spidey sense" on 10/10 for whole shifts all the time due to sloppiness on other peoples' parts. There's more to it but I'll leave it there... regardless, I'll be glad to be getting back to more familiar digs.

So life marches forwards for me in more ways than one! Ok, on to the second coat for the second floor hallway...

Lake of Bays - Spring Maple Belgian Blonde Ale

I started having some respect for the Lake of Bays with their red (Spark House Red).... if you've never had that one, it's a regular of mine at Boo Radleys on Dupont in Toronto. Very nice, malty and interesting beer for doing whatever needs doing while drinking beer.

But this isn't about that lovely brew, this is about the Spring Maple Belgian Blonde Ale. This was a bit of a revelation for me as most of the maple beers that I've had have had a tang of sorts to it, where it just didn't taste right... or it would taste like they've added maple syrup to the beer afterwards and it would just be too sweet... like drinking one of those wine coolers where it's got a syrupy flavour. Whatever. This beer focuses on it being a good Belgian blonde first and foremost. Tasty stuff indeed! If you're looking for it you can get some vanilla and caramel out of it too, but nothing that overwhelms. It's a nicely made brew that combines all that creates it into a well blended whole. I'm buying 6 more tomorrow, I want this to be on call whenever I need it.

http://lakeofbaysbrewing.ca/our-beer/spring-maple-belgian-blonde-ale/

Alexander Keiths Hop Series - Hallertau, Cascade

Full disclosure: I knew going into this that I wasn't the target audience for these beers. I also was a bit confused about who the target audience for these products were. Craft beer people will go for more adventurous offerings from smaller brewers, and  I doubt this will be enough to convert anyone firmly in the "yellow beer in brown bottles" crowd.

There's enough hops in each so that you can tell some of the differences between them, the Hallertau is more spicy (grassy, herbal) and a bit milder bitterness wise. You can get a some citrus and pine out of the Cascade if you're looking for it. Neither of which are particularly hard on the flavour or bitterness profile which is fine if you're looking to get a beer out of the fridge for my mom or dad. A bit different and might make them a bit more aware of what's in their drink given the label but other than that... I think they'd drink it if I poured it for them but I doubt they'd pick it out themselves.

Personally I'm looking for a bit more out of my beer, I appreciate the effort but think it was a bit of a miss. Keiths' biggest mistake in my opinion was in not going harder on the hops and really making the different flavours of the hops pop. As it was, it was sort of meh.

http://keiths.ca/

Dupont - Monk's Stout

The first one of these Dupont beers that I've been disappointed by. Every single one of the other ones that I've tried so far has been fantastic. This is just ok. To me, it tastes like like molasses and dry chocolate along with a some smoke and roasted malt flavours... but something just doesn't taste right.Off somehow, like the bottle went, or it was meant to be a bit tart in the first place. Perhaps this bottle didn't hold up as well as the rest did, or maybe it's really meant to taste this way. Either way it's not quite what I was hoping for.

http://www.brasserie-dupont.com/dupont/

Brasserie des Rocs - Grand Cru

7 types of malt, 3 types of hops, 9%. This is a tasty beer, and another winner. I'm glad the LCBO has no shortage of this sweetie for the time being, since I'll definitely be picking more up. Pours a nice dark red with plenty of malt, caramel and dried fruit to the palate. The scent matches too, I'd say it smells quite a bit like an abbey beer - perhaps that's the point (Abbay. It's a very nice and complex strong Belgian beer... hmm.... now I'm getting a wee bit of chocolate taste in it. Maybe even a bit of molasses, although if that's the case it's way in the back. Why don't we have these in more often LCBO?
http://www.abbaye-des-rocs.com/

It's happening

Ok, one of the things that I alluded to in a previous posting is actually happening now. I'm going to go sort out some of the details today - hopefully this will make things MUCH more stable.