Fun Quarantine Game Solution

Ok, only a few people had fun with it.  Most suggested that I am not wearing pants...as long as sweatpants count, I think I am good. 

So, what is wrong in this picture?

• Ok, the spilled beer is actually pretty accurate.  I have been known to spill beer on more than a few occasions.  
• The sweat stains, which no one seemed to have noticed, are probably more accurate than I would like to admit.  
• Bag of chips?  Guilty as my wife hit the Bulk Barn on her last shopping trip before the quarantine really hit, and she got me a bunch of junk food.
• The rest of the room is far shabbier than the way I live.  Sure, I am a slob, but cans on the floor, cracks in the walls?  No.  
• I never had a boy--I had a girl.  And she is now an adult in LA, so this is wrong.
• My wife is about as light-skinned as it can get with all of her Scottish/Irish/English blood.  
• My beard is the wrong color as some have noted, and, yeah, this Steve has way too much hair. 
• While I wear a lot of old shirts, none have patches.... yet.

Maybe I can figure out more fun games than this as we hunker down.

I hope you and yours are healthy!

Fun Quarantine Game

Ok, I am embracing my inner narcissist and have invited friends on FB and elsewhere to play a version of the game where you have two pictures and one is asked to identify what is different about the second picture.  Instead, I simply ask:
What is wrong with this picture?

Those who follow my blog on a regular basis might be able to play as well.  And, yes, snark is welcome.  Add your guesses to the comment section. 

My full list to be posted tomorrow.

Game of Thrones: Pool of Life, Way More Life Edition

So, that was a far happier ending than I would have expected, which means, yes, a three way tie.  Explanations and final rulings below:

Game of Thrones Pool of Life: Gratuitious Death Edition

Again, not that much damage to our player's characters despite the blood spilled everywhere.  Well, not so much spilled as flung. Spoilers beyond the break.

Game of Thrones Pool of Life: Bad Pet Ownership Edition

Damn, the makers of this show really hate dire wolves.  Spoilers beyond the break

Game of Thrones Pool of Life: Fans Served Daily

Ok, one last episode sans death and destruction, but lots of foreshadowing.  So, below, a quick revision of the guesses given the moves made today. 

Game of Thrones Pool of Life: Scene Setting Changes Little

As usual, the first episode sets the scenes and moves the chess pieces around. Not much more than that.  So, the only significant death was of a boy that we didn't really care about.  Should have realized he was dead boy walking when he was featured so much early--Chekov's casualty.

So, what did this episode mean for our game?  See my previous post today for the players and their choices.

Pre-Game of Thrones Pool of Life

Just as we anticipate tonight's premiere of the last season of Game of Thrones, GRRMartin hits us with this:

I am so excited for more of your favorite characters to die.

— George RR Martin (@GRRM) April 14, 2019

Lovely. 

Last time, I reported the draft:

Today, I want to report the tiebreakers

Interesting choices.  The second tie breaker only kicks in if either Dany sits on the throne at the end or if No one does.  If the former, then then the key tie break is number of dragons.  If there are no dragons left, then the next tiebreaker comes into play with Arya's bloodthirstiness playing a huge role.  If three dragons are left, then Art wins via Price is Right Rules--closest without going over.

If no one sits on the throne, then only the second tie breaker matters as Wendy can only then win if all dragons are dead with Caitlin winning in any other circumstance.

What to do if Jon and Dany sit on the throne at the end?   Hmm, I guess we would have a three way tie between Elliot, Art, and Sara with Elliot and Sara potentially having to go to the third tiebreaker if one dragon is left alive at the end.

Lots of good guesses here.  I look forward to belatedly watching tonight's episode (thanks to ultimate).  Enjoy the carnage!

Game of Thrones Pool of Life, the Draft

How did the Game of Thrones Pool of Life draft go?  Well, let's see what people chose and we can make fun of them.  I will, as I have in past games, suggest who has the best odds to win.

1. Rob is likely to last longer than his namesake, as he drafted Sam, Tyrion and Yara.
2. Sara couldn't attend but chose Gilly, Brienne of Tarth and Bran.  
3. Wendy chose Sansa, Lyanna Mormont (who was on many lists) and Bronn.
4. Brandon was also absent, but had a strong list that went deeper than most: Varys, Podrick, ArchMaester Ebrose
5. Art picked Dany, Missandei, and Drogon.  He wins big or loses big since Dany and Drogon, well, fly together.
6. Caitlin joined us late and chose Arya, Gendry, and Greyworm
7. Elliot, the Patriots apparently of this league with the last draftpick, chose Jon, Cersei, and Sam's kid.

So, quite a mix with some folks panicking as their turn came around and others with an eye to the long game.

Let's take a closer look and here's my guesses:

• Rob is likely to get 3 points--everyone thinks that Sam has to live to chronicle the wars.  Will Theon rescue Yara is the big question.  I think he will die trying, but so will she.  The Iron Islands are a tough miserable place, but that could be a big three point swing for Rob.  Tyrion?  Will Jon/Dany need him after the wars?  The thing is--he is the most fun to write for, which keeps characters alive (I just heard that in a podcast, I think, about Madmen).  So, Rob, with his favorable draft position used his sharp consulting skills and is a co-favorite to win.
• Sara is in pretty good chap with Gilly being mostly out of harm's way.  Brienne is likely to die in battle since she is going to be at the front.  However, she is a hell of a fighter, so Sara, too, has a good chance. Bran?  Ah, that is a puzzler.  He could die because, well, he sucks in a fight and three-eyed ravens do die.  But he is superpowerful and it seems that despite how much the showrunners do not like him, compared to how GRRMartin feels about him, he could play a key role.  Right now, I think Sara is a favorite to get 6 points.
• Wendy went for the kid fighter, but as my wife would put it, GRRMartin is a bad man and so are these showrunners.  We have seen great leadership skills from Lyanna but fighting?  Nope, she is no Arya.  She might be more like Dobby  Sansa?  She is quite a survivor, so I would not bet against her.  She will also be less exposed as she is not a fighter, and Brienne and Arya will both defender her.  Bronn, however, is dead meat.  Sure, he is, as Caitlin put it, a cockroach.  But he has sided with Cersei and that will not end well.  My guess is that Wendy has one player left at the end (who then dies in the X-Men movie this summer and then lives and then dies because that is what Phoenixes do).
• Brandon went with some interesting choices.  Varys is a survivor and is not a fighter, so he will not be in harm's way very much, although the conversation he had with the Red Witch is suggestive--that death is nigh for him.  Podrick is going to die, as his greatest skill is in the brother and not on the battlefield.  Ebrose?  He might be a one-pointer as we are unlikely to see much of him now that Sam is no longer at the Citadel.  So, Brandon is in good position to finish second or third.
• Caitlin faced a diminished draft pool, but made some clever choices.  Ayra is very skilled and his armed with a Valyrian weapon.  That combo is promising, but, then again, do we want a sociopath to survive?  Hmmm.  Not sure.  Gendry is strong and needs to get his hammer back.  But he has to die since he is a rival claimant to the throne.  Sorry.  Greyworm is going to die--the questions are only where and by whom.  Since he is not really that interesting of a character (he does not speak many funny lines), I expect him to die fighting the dead.  So, Caitlin would be lucky to end up with three points.
• Finally, Elliot, who made a great choice and an awful one and then a good one.  Jon has a very good chance to survive, since as my wife reminds me, this is a Song of Ice and Fire and either Jon is the Ice to Dany's Fire, or he is Ice and Fire since his parents were Starks and Tarygareans.  He commands a Dire Wolf and is liked by dragons.  The big question no one raised is the status of Ghost.  Damn.  Anyhow, great last choice in the first round.  However, Elliot then made the worst choice--there is no way Cersei is going to live.  She is fated by prophecy to die and most likely by Jamie's hand.  Who will then die.  And then Sam's kid.  There is a good chance that Sam's kid survives to tell the tale to the next generation.  So, Elliot, despite a poor draft position and an incredibly poor second round pick, is in good shape to finish near the top.  
• Oops, I omitted Art, probably because he is going to win?  Either TeamDany wins all the way with Dany, Missy and Drogon surviving and ruling or all die.  There is no in between.  This is like picking a top QB and his wide receivers--they all do well or all do poorly.  Again, a song of Ice and Fire with Queen Fire sticking around to the end?  Hmmm.

Given that there is a good chance that two or more players will end up with two of their characters each left alive, we have a good chance at a tie.  So, between tonight and the start of the first episode, each player must submit to me via email or DM or raven or whatever their answers to the three tiebreakers:

Tie breaker #1: who sits on the Iron Throne at the end?
Tie breaker #2: how many dragons are alive at the end?  And, yes, undead dragons count as alive if they are not really, really dead. 
Tie breaker #3: how many people does Arya assassinate in the final season (not including battle scenes because, damn, that would be hard)?  Oh, and Price is Right Rules: closest without going over!

So, that's where things stand.  Enjoy the week of suspense and get ready for a thrilling set of Sunday nights.  I will be posting late each Sunday night/Monday morning since my ultimate frisbee league does not end until May 5th, and then I will be in Germany for two weeks of research.

Enjoy the ride!

GoT Draft: That Which Is Dead Can Never Die

Greetings from Winterfell!  The Game of Thrones Pool of Life begins!  I have randomized the players (thanks to a handy deck of cards), so the draft order is as follows:

1. Rob, a friend from high school, and self-employed business consultant.  Yes, he is a smart one who may outthink the others or maybe himself
2. Sara, a political scientist with either the first or second most obnoxious laugh in the business.  She has keen quantitative analysis skills, but it is not clear how they will help here.  
3. Wendy, a high school friend who is now a lawyer in Florida.  She is used to all kinds of craziness, so she will be well-suited for this competition.
4. Brandon, an expert on cyber-warfare which is, of course, useless here, but he did spend much time in Scotland, so he knows much about drinking and swordplay.
5. Art, another high school friend, is a doctor, so he will be ready to heal thyself.
6. Caitlin, a twitter friend who ran twitterfightclub (yes, you are allowed to and encouraged to talk about it), so she has more game than the rest of you combined.
7. Elliot, a frisbee teammate and now engineer for a start up.  He runs pretty good for a guy with a bad hip, and he was willing to leave a secure government job so he has got spunk.  

Tis a snake draft: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7.

To be held April 8th at 8pm eastern time here at the blog via the comments section (update--it will be done on my fb page and then I will report results and snark on my blog).  Folks can tweet me or message me their choices along the way if they can't access the comments or don't want to do so.  If they can't attend, they can send me their list of preferred draft picks--they should come up with 21 names in the order they want to draft them.

All players will send to me privately (email or messenger or DM) their choices for the tiebreakers:
Tie breaker #1: who sits on the Iron Throne at the end?
Tie breaker #2: how many dragons are alive at the end?  And, yes, undead dragons count as alive if they are not really, really dead. 
Tie breaker #3: how many people does Arya assassinate in the final season (not including battle scenes because, damn, that would be hard)?  Oh, and Price is Right Rules: closest without going over!

That's it for now.  After the draft, I will post the list of the draft picks and the tiebreaker answers.  Oh, and mock those who choose poorly.

See you next week in this space!

Game of Thrones Pool of Life

I am organizing a deadpool/living pool for the last season of Game of Thrones (we have done this before with Lost and Breaking Bad).  It is open to my facebook friends and folks who I know via twitter--no strangers, sorry (I don't worship that particular god).  I have seven people signed up, so there are three spots left.

I will announce the order of the draft on April 1st, and the draft will be conducted via comments on my blog (again, I will set up a blog post for the event) on April 8th at 8pm EDT.  For those who cannot attend electronically, they can send me a list of thirty characters they prefer to draft in they order they would draft them.  The draft will be snake-ish--the person who drafts first will also draft twentieth and twenty-first.  


Ok, each player will have ultimately choose three characters (I am pretty sure we can find thirty characters to consider in this universe--let IMDB be your friend).  Three points for each character that is obviously alive, one point for characters that are probably alive or are in comas.  Characters that become undead are dead except for those who are dead already (the Night King, for example).  Undead characters that are slain are then considered dead-dead.  If the show ends in a flashforward where everyone or nearly everyone is dead (imagine Harry Potter epilogue taking place 70 years later), then we will refer to the last scene prior to the flashforward.  And just for fun, whoever picks the first character to die of all those drafted to loses one point!

Tie-breakers will be submitted to me via email or message or DM the night of the draft and then I will reveal them after the draft.
Tie breaker #1: who sits on the Iron Throne at the end?
Tie breaker #2: how many dragons are alive at the end?  And, yes, undead dragons count as alive if they are not really, really dead. 
Tie breaker #3: how many people does Arya assassinate in the final season (not including battle scenes because, damn, that would be hard)?  Oh, and Price is Right Rules: closest without going over!

The Prize?  As usual, the winner gets a free post here, unedited by me.  Also, I will explore Think-Geek and come up with a suitable GoT doohickey/souvenir.  I will announce what that prize is when I announce the draft order on April Fools' Day!

If you want to join the fun, either comment below or email/tweet/fb me. 

And if you have questions, let me know.

21st Century Silliness

They call the new mini-segways many things including hoverboards (which they are not), but I have to say that they do have at least one cool use:

Mad Men Ends In Life, Not Death

As usual, see you after the break

Mad Men Game Goes Down to The Wire

Quickly to the break given the spoiler-ific episode:

Mad Men Game: Antepenty Time

On Wisconsin!?

Mad Men Game: If Corporations are People

If corporations are people (as the US Supreme Court seems to think these days a la Citizens United):

Mad Men Dead Pool Belated but No One is

I just watched the recent episode of Mad Men thanks to my trip to Brussels.  It was a delightful one since any Sally episode is a delightful one.  Spoilers dwell below:

Mad Men Dead Pool Game: Limited Progress

This week's episode did not have any direct implications for the game, but let me speculate below the break:

Men Mad Dead Pool: It Begins

So, those who laughed, and said there will not be that much death in the last seven episodes, where are you now?  Oh, laughing at our contestants who completely whiffed as Rachel Menken/Katz was not on any one's draft board.  Yes, that blast from the past was missed by all of the contestants. 

Lots of death imagery, including Don's obsession with a waitress named Di, so expect more to fall before we are done.  Will anyone die by moustache?  Seems likely given Roger's and Ted's. 

Some potential problems for our contestants as many drafted candidates were not seen at all:

• Wendy: no Duck, Fred, Greg, or Gail.  However, Greg's death would take place off-screen. 
• Noah: None of his characters were seen at all with Jim and Lou likely exiled forever and Bob Benson?  Noah went old, but he also put his money on the irrelevant.
• Rob: Pete is, of course, around, but the others not so much.  Henry and Harry are certain to show up, but Ginsberg and Sterling's daughter?
• Chip: Only Sal is unlikely to be seen at some point.  Hmmm. 

The only thing for certain is that Vegas was very clever at setting the over/under of Don's romantic partners at three.  Only the sharps bet the over.

Six episodes to go.

Mad Men Dead Pool Draft

Will dropped out, so I decided to five deep in the draft for the Mad Men Game with the following results:

Players	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5
Wendy	Roger Sterling	Duck Phillips	Fred Rumsen	Greg Harris	Gail Holloway
Noah	Jim Cutler	Lou Avery	Jim Hobart	Mona Sterling	Bob Benson
Rob	Henry Francis	Michael Ginsberg	Pete Campbell	Harry Crane	Margaret Sterling*
Chip	Don Draper	Ted Chaough	Bobby Draper	Megan Draper	Sal Romano

* Rob picked Sterling's daughter, not his wife, but got the name wrong so I have corrected above and below.

Wendy's first choice is a good one--as all but Rob had Roger in their top three.  Her love of dogs might explain Duck as her choice in the second round.  The pick who slipped further than expected was her fourth round pick--anytime you can bet on a rapist who is currently in an unpopular war to die, you have to do it.  He would have been my second pick, but I have often been wrong on these things.  Matt Weiner is not aiming to service the fan demands or else Greggie would have bit it by now.

Everyone but Noah got their first pick, but Noah can take some solace in getting this next four choices and lucking out (in my view) with a terrific fifth pick.  Bob Benson is the sleeper in this game, and I already have money in Vegas on him biting it as the odds were 23-1.   Except for that last pick, Noah's strategy seemed to be betting on the old guys to bite it.  Jim Hobart was a sneaky pick, as a side character who runs McCann Erickson, he could die at any time....


Rob made an excellent choice with his first pick, as what can happen in Betty's storyline besides becoming a widow?  Hmmm.  Rob did seem to focus his choices then on the dysfunctional folks--Ginsberg is already certifiable, Pete is also a rapist, and Harry shows has poor judgment except in his rare Cassandra moments.  Margaret Sterling is a sneaky good choice since she is prone to joining cults.  Vegas has set the odds on her appearing at all in the next seven episodes at 7 to 1.  His next pick would have been Glen Bishop, and I think that would have been a better choice given Matthew Weiner's willingness to engage in nepotism.

Finally, Chip really does not like the Draper family: Don, Bobby and Megan?  Don is a sound bet.  The time frame is too late for Megan to fall victim a la Sharon Tate to the Manson folks, but LA is a dangerous  place.  Ted?  He might crash his plane.  Sal?  Unlikely to be seen again.

I still am in need of a tiebreaker.  Hmmm.  Ok, in what year will the show's last moments take place?

How does Vegas view the odds here?  Wendy is the favorite at 3-1 due to the combo of Roger, the dogkiller and Joan's ex.  Noah is almost a co-favorite at 7-2 as his line up of old plus Benson seems most promising.  Rob's odds are 12-1 since he may get lucky with one character, but more than that?  Unlikely.  And Chip actually is not that far behind--one good car crash and he can take the entire game.

I will try to post updates along the way, but I will be out of the country on April 19th.  Good luck to all!