Dupont - Moinette Brune

Just started trying this one, continuing to explore the Dupont offerings at the LCBO as part of their seasonal offerings. This is quite good. It's a strong brown ale but doesn't taste like a brown ale. Tastes of chocolate, dark roasted malt and smokiness aren't really present at all - it reminds me more of a dubbel or a brown abbey style beer where what is noticable is more along the lines of fruitiness. The fruitiness is noticable in the scent as well, it smells like that style of beer as well. A bit floral, a bit caramelly. It's nice, I'd definitely have it again. Not sure that I'd stock up on it, but if it was available at the LCBO on a regular basis I'd pick it up occasionally.

http://www.brasserie-dupont.com/dupont/en/6966-moinette-brune.html

Tree Brewing - Captivator Doppelbock

The first thing that caught me when I opened it was what a wonderful aroma there was. As a homebrewer, if I knew what it was that gave it that awesome smell I would use it every time.

It's a great dopplebock. A bit sweet, tastes like dark fruits, biscuits and bread. The maltiness is just right. Pours dark red-brown. Not nearly as boozy as I expected it to be given the percentage (8%).  I think I'm going to go back to the local LCBO to clean them out. I recommend that you at least give it a shot while it's in stock.

www.treebeer.com

Eyes - the horror game

This is an interesting take on the whole sneak/hide/scare type of game.You aren't capable of much in Eyes, save for walking and running around a house going in and out of rooms, picking up bags of money and a few other trinkets that let you get at more money. It may sound simple enough except for one thing: There's a creepy grey ghost like figure roaming the hallways that will catch you if you aren't careful. To be honest I wouldn't like some strange fella in my house taking my stuff anyways, and the game does introduce itself as a break and enter type of deal. When the ghost gets close to your location, you hear things rattling and voices moaning. If you're in a room when that happens and you stay still and quiet it'll likely pass without much of an event. If you're out in the hallway or running around like an idiot, you'll see the grey misty figure, a bright red warning telling you to run will show up although even if you run you're probably screwed by this point.

There's also these eyes on the walls that you can pick up that'll let you see through the ghost's eyes. This will let you know more or less where the creature is in the house, although if you're not familiar with all the floors this won't do you a whole lot of good.

I could have done without the selectable items sparkling, although it does make the game more accessible for first timers and it does save a lot of time on useless clicking. I would have also liked a bit more of a hunt and chase type of thing with the ghost, where you have to spend more effort trying to find good places to hide and the ghost chases you rather than just ducking into a room when you hear rattling. As it is, it feels like when the ghost gets you it's all over very quickly. The chasing part of it, the "I'm going to get you" aspect, if it was there a bit more somehow I think it would add a lot to the game.

It really is done quite well, especially for a free game (Windows). I bought the iOS version just to support development though I find it far choppier and the controls much less precise and slippery on my iPod touch 3G. Development is ongoing so I'm sure it'll be addressed at some point. It's also available for Mac, Linux and Android.

http://eyesthehorrorgame.com/

Update: Just updated to the 2.0 windows version - holy cow, they've replaced the ghost with a scary flying severed head! More effective for the shock horror they're going for than before, that's for sure! Doesn't really change the game much but it looks scarier

Stuff going on

Apologies for the delay between posts, but there is a lot going on over here both at home and work. I've been focusing on making both of those happen and it is starting to look very good. Updates as they come!

In the meantime, I've found a couple games that have occupied my interest much in the same vein as "I'm Scared". One's called Eyes, another's called Slender - the eight pages (probably the inspiration for many of these, but I haven't gotten to it until recently). Also, another one that seems interesting that I'll likely get to tonight called I See You. Hopefully it will pay off!

Dog of Dracula

Really, this little game is pretty amazing for what it does. It's a short and simple adventure game where you try to find the dog of dracula some sauce - which then unrolls into larger conspiracies. It's not going to change the world, but what it is, is delightfully bizarre. Play it for more than a few minutes and give it a shot.

http://www.freeindiegam.es/2013/01/dog-of-dracula-team-batsu/

Junction Craft Brewing - Conductor's Craft Ale

I am overdue to say something about this lovely ale. It's on tap at our local, Boo Radley's along with a number of other establishments in town. A very hop forward American Pale Ale (meaning it is definitely hoppy), combining 5 malt types and 5 hop types (unless I'm mistaken on reading their chalkboard the other night) resulting in a beer that has both a well rounded maltiness and hoppiness to it. The hoppiness is in that range that you could definitely say "Yes this tastes hoppy and I like it" but not "This thing is so hoppy I'm being blown out of the water". I like it and my wife likes it, which is rare for a beer of this type, usually when the hops are at the level that I like she's hands off. It's my go-to beer lately when I'm out and I recommend that if you have the chance to try it that you do so.

The Junction Brewery isn't that far from the Junction area of Toronto either, just up on Keele and a little bit east from there (90 Cawthra Avenue Unit #101). It's worth visiting as they have a number of other beers on offer there as well, each with their own merits. Perhaps in later posts.

http://www.junctioncraftbrewing.com/jcb/

technicians, location differences

Right now I'm working at two pharmacies. I had spent a lot of time at one prior to being licensed as an intern/student and have a good relationship with pretty much everyone there. People there generally know what needs to be done and how to do it with minimal direction. That's partly why it was such a surprise when after licensing I got assigned to a new store and the technicians there weren't like that. There could be a huge line building up on one side or the other of the pharmacy and people would be just standing around discussing someone's trip. That is not how things are supposed to be.

I have found that they needed more hands on direction. Maybe after a while it won't be needed, but for now I need to keep my eyes open and make sure that things that need doing are being done. I've found so far that taking charge of the situation has helped a lot, hopefully I'll be able to ease off a bit later on just so I'm not on peoples' cases so much.