SteveandAmySly.com http://forums.tannerworld.com The thoughts and adventures of Steve and Amy Tanner en Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:55:38 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.steveandamysly.com/http://steveandamysly.tannerworld.com/images/feedimage_steveandamysly1.gifVisit SteveandAmySly.com steveandamyslyhttp://feedburner.google.comThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use. <![CDATA[Steve's New Specs]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/Za4XqyRoYbQ/showthread.php Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:35:18 GMT So, I've bought new eyeglasses.


New Glasses

Back in January, I posted some photos of frames I was looking at. Folks voted. I didn't pick any of those.

It takes me a long time to decide on such things. So a couple weekends ago, when my sister was in town visiting, I asked her to join me in the hunt for my new pair of glasses. It's easier having a sibling telling you look like an idiot instead of your spouse!


Old Glasses

And given that I hadn't gotten new glasses since 2002, my prescription was way out of whack. (Due to heredity, my eyes are too dry to wear contacts safely... oh LASIK, where are you?)

In any case, given my non-committal nature, it's nice to know that there's a 30 day return policy on these things... but so far, I like actually being able to see clearly (and avoiding those embarrassing incidents where the lenses on my old glasses fell out for no apparent reason -- yeah, it was time to move on!) ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24298 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24298 <![CDATA[Winners announced in BevReview.com's Starbucks "What's Your Story?" Contest]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/GOogGk75ayU/showthread.php Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:55:04 GMT Wow, everyone has quite the story to tell!We recently had over 120 entries in our Starbucks "What's Your Story?" Contest, with folks sharing some pretty crazy stories about coworkers in their workplace. If you haven't done so already, give them a read. Some stuff that will just make you laugh in there!Winners get [...]

Read full update at BevReview.com ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24289 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24289 Review: Zola Acai Daily Wellness Shot http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/JcFdkr1N_N0/showthread.php Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:14:57 GMT Zola Acai Daily Wellness Shot is VERY purple... and has a potable taste, which, for a health supplement is all that is really needed in that realm. While the look of the drink may seem negative, the taste isn't bad! You will have to decide if the cost and health benefits are worthwhile for your individual needs.

Read full update at BevReview.com ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24214 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24214 <![CDATA[Thoughts on "Ticket to Ride: Mystery Train Expansion"]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/bLX6Q34UaAo/showthread.php Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:02:19 GMT As Amy & I mentioned back in August, we recently purchased Ticket to Ride, a boardgame for 2-5 players that involves building collections of train routes on maps. (Not familiar to Ticket to Ride? Learn more via the official website!)


Mystery Train expansion was introduced in 2004

The game won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres, which is somewhat like the Academy Award-equivalent for boardgames. That same year, the first expansion for the game, Mystery Train, was released.

The expansion was originally available for free at game trade shows and via magazine inserts. The maker of Ticket to Ride, Days of Wonder, also sold it for a short time via their website. Eventually the expansion went out-of-print, but is currently available as a PDF download. I printed my set on some card stock and it has worked out well.


10-card expansion originally available in a wrapped pack
(Source: BoardGameGeek.com)

But what exactly was this first expansion to Ticket to Ride? Simply put, it was an additional set of 10 cards that you added to the stack of Destination Tickets from the original game.

The purpose of the Mystery Train expansion was to solve a problem that had developed in the original version of Ticket to Ride, namely that players were afraid to draw extra Destination Tickets during the game (which in turn would give them more points, but also possessed a risk if a route could not be finished at game's end).


Expansion instructions printed on cards

Mystery Train sought to encourage additional Destination Ticket selection by a sheer act of bribery! Basically, it tried to present the situation that drawing more Tickets was good because you are probably going to get something positive out of doing so. There was less risk involved, thus this opened the door to lessen the worry regarding this aspect of the game.

While playing your turn during Ticket to Ride, you can do one of three things: (1) Claim a route on the gameboard via placement of your little plastic trains, (2) Drawing additional Train Cards to enable you to claim more routes, or (3) Draw additional Destination Tickets, which if completed by the end of the game, provide you with a point bonus. When you draw Destination Tickets during gameplay, you are allowed to pick up 3 new Tickets, with the requirement that you only keep 1 (or up to all 3 if you want).

Mystery Train tried to "sweeten the pot" by providing you bonus elements that made it worth the risk of drawing new Destination Tickets. The 10-card expansion consisted of 2 types of cards, new Character Cards and some regular Destination Tickets. As an incentive to show you that something good might be coming, the backs of the Mystery Train cards were colored purple vs. the standard light tan color.


Original tan backs vs. Mystery Train purple backs

Thus, after they were shuffled in with the rest of the Destination Tickets, you could clearly see if one of the "good" cards was coming up for draw soon. For example, if a purple card was near the top of the deck, you may choose to take the risk and select more Destination Tickets on your turn, hoping to get something good.


Character Cards

The Character Cards changed the rules of Ticket to Ride greatly by introducing cards that could give you special "powers" if you used them, either during the game or had them in your possession at the end. 4 Characters were introduced with the following attributes:


Station Agent
Reveal this card at the end of the game. If you have visited the most cities during the game, add 10 bonus points to your score. If you are tied for the most cities, you (and only you) still get the bonus points. A city is deemed visited if a train of your color sits on one of the tracks adjacent to it.

Inspector
Reveal this card at the end of the game. You may double the value of any one of your Destination Tickets worth 10 points or less.

Engineer (2 cards in the expansion)
Play this card in lieu of your regular turn, when deciding to draw new Destination Tickets. Instead of picking the top three, pick any one Destination Ticket of your choice from the pile of remaining tickets.

Tycoon
Reveal this card at the end of the game. If you have a West Coast City (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco or Los Angeles) connected to an East Coast City (Boston, New York, Washington, Charleston or Miami), add 10 bonus points to your score.

Blank
One blank card to personalize



As you can see, some of these cards could be rather helpful if you came upon them during the game. Thus, knowing that they existed, when you saw a purple card in the Destination Tickets deck, you'd probably want to pick it up. Plus, there were many good ideas for the "Blank" Character Card. Here are some interesting options that I've gleamed from a few discussion forum posts around the 'net:
  • Hobo - At game's end you may "ride on" (count) any one opponent's two-city route in order to assist in completing ONE of your Destination Tickets
  • Controller of the Railway - Allows you to use a double route in a 2- or 3-player game OR double the score for any connection of 3 or less in a 4- or 5-player game
  • Switch Track - Player playing this card may select any city-to-city connection and declare it a different color. However, to do this they must put down the proper number of new color train cards in front of him/her and if the new colored track is not claimed before his/her next turn, he/she plays the cards, places trains and scores the points
  • Early Arrival - Collect 10 points if you trigger the game's final turn
  • Investment Banker - Collect 10 points if you have the most unused Train Cards at the end of the game
  • Junkyard - Collect 10 points if you have the most trains left at the end of the game
  • Granger - Collect 15 points if none of your routes connect to Los Angeles or New York
  • Politician - Collect 5 points if one of your routes connects to Washington D.C.
  • Accountant - Collect 5 points if you have no plastic trains left at the end of the game

Destination Cards

However, there has to be some chance of luck involved, thus the rest of the Mystery Train expansion included some regular Tickets to dilute the effect. The new destinations included:


Vancouver – Portland
2 points

Boston – Washington
4 points

Winnipeg – Omaha
6 points

Montreal – Chicago
7 points



Taken as a whole, you can see how this addition to the game would help encourage selection of Destination Tickets. Say, for example, it's your turn, there's a purple-backed card near the top of the Destination Tickets pile, and knowing that there are cards in that pile that could help you with your point count, you take the risk and pick up 3 cards, one of which is a Mystery Train ticket.

At the very worst, you end up picking up more destinations rather than a Character Card. However, with point values just ranging from 2-7 points, even if you can't complete these routes, they are probably not going to have a huge negative impact on your score. On the flip side, if you are advantageous enough to get a Character Card with your draw, well, then you're in good shape (I hope!)

Anyway, that was the general logic behind this 10-card expansion when it was released in 2004. If you had been playing Ticket to Ride for a while, it added some new life and strategy to the game, long before additional versions had been released.

Looking back, this expansion had some positives and negatives. On the plus side, some of the features that it introduced were incorporated into later versions of the franchise. For example, the inclusion of a batch of short routes counteracted one of the criticisms of the original game, namely that the only way to win was by building horizontal long routes across the map. When Ticket to Ride: Europe was introduced a year later, it reflected this by separating the Destination Ticket deck into both short and long routes.

The 4 new Mystery Train Destination Tickets also reappeared later in the Ticket to Ride: USA 1910 expansion, along with a version of the Station Agent card, granting points to the player that had visited the most cities.

However, some attributes just didn't take, namely the concept of Character Cards. Some of their attributes were adapted by different game mechanics in later versions, but the idea of a card you pulled and held to accomplish a "power" was dropped. One of the largest outcries against the Mystery Train expansion (at least according to the feedback on BoardGameGeek.com, which seems to be the Internet hub on the topic) was the hatred of the Engineer cards, which were often deemed too powerful. I can attest this from personal experience, as Amy has won quite a few games thanks to the ole Engineer. If you modify the card slightly via house rule (such as capping the number of cards that can be pulled from the Draw pile vs. looking at the entire pile), it becomes more balanced.

Interestingly, nowadays you can only use the original Mystery Train set of 10 cards with the inaugural version of the game, namely with the small playing cards. All versions of Ticket to Ride that were released after the original USA map version featured enlarged train cards more akin to the dimensions of a standard playing card deck. Mystery Train was never reissued in a larger size, thus it's only compatible with the original version of the game.

Still, if you are looking to add a little more spice to your Ticket to Ride playing, consider using the Mystery Train expansion to change things up a bit. What do you have to lose, it's a free download after all! If you give it a try, share your experiences here and let us know how it worked for you. ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24180 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24180 Reviews: Jones Soda Halloween Collection (2009) http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/Gl4wAI_zdP8/showthread.php Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:44:21 GMT Over the past couple years -- see 2005, 2006, 2007, & 2008 -- Jones Soda has deployed a variety of limited edition soft drink flavors around Halloween, some in bottles and others in cans. 2009 is no exception, except that Jones Soda went with a bunch of reruns this year, showcasing 3 bottled drinks and 4 familiar cans.

Read full update at BevReview.com ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24087 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24087 Get a CLUE at the Tanners 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/1JGzt_g58BQ/showthread.php Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:48:45 GMT On Saturday, October 10 we held our 4th "Clue Night", welcoming 16 friends to join us in playing multiple versions of the boardgame Clue, while enjoying some good food, conversation, and laughter watching the 1985 film of the same name.


Yes, we have many versions of "Clue"!

We first held a "beta test" of this idea shortly after we got married, and continued it in 2006 and 2007, taking a break last year -- why, we're not really sure. I think we sort of forgot, to be honest!


I built a "Tower of Clue" for this event

Amy & I own 40+ derivatives of Clue/Cluedo (the latter being the original UK name), including themed versions, puzzles, spinoffs, associated products, and media adaptations.


Amy, Jason, & Steve gear up for Harry Potter Clue

The challenge for us, however, is that Clue requires 3 or more players... which we often don't have (it's one reason we play Ticket to Ride quite a bit these days). Yes, we've modified some rules to enable 2-person play, but it's just not the same as going head-to-head with friends. Thus why we look forward to "Clue Night"!


Of course we watched the 1985 cult film!

We setup our condo to feature 4 complete tables for playing Clue, with some game versions using the basic rule, while others showcased more advanced play. I also wired various televisions together like I often do for our annual Festive Film Friday open house events to show the Clue film in multiple locations at the same time. Always a good seat!


Amy made spice cake from scratch
(Photo by Sarah Horvath)

Given how the weather was chilly, Amy cooked up 3 homemade soups to share with our guests... and wow, was the eating good! Combined with various desserts and beverage options (yes, of course we had beverage options), it was a hearty feast.


Catherine really dressed the part!

Guests were also able to take home some "detective" party favors... because everyone loves cheap plastic stuff from China, right? One of the attendees, our friend Catherine, actually dressed the part of Mrs. Peacock and really fit the role. Nice job!


Collector's Edition played by Branden, Megan, Scott, Nick, & Amy


Sarah is confused, while Brad just takes notes

The versions of choice during this "Clue Night" included the Restoration Hardware-exclusive "Collector's Edition", which comes with a high-end gameboard recessed in wood, with a glass top covering a three-dimensional playing surface. It was a gift a few years ago from my boss and it's probably the prize of my collection. Very cool!


Getting a game at the bottom of the pile was very Jenga-like
(Photo by Sarah Horvath)


Alex & Adriana enjoy Scooby Doo Clue

I also pulled out the Disney Twilight Zone Tower of Terror version, which has a unique theme and quality components. However, an old favorite was preferred by many players... Scooby Doo Clue.


Steve explains the complexities of Clue Reinvention
(Photo by Sarah Horvath)


Steve, Becky, & Catherine try to figure out the game

Two advanced versions of Clue were also played, including the new flagship from Hasbro, Clue: Discover the Secrets (also known as Clue Reinvention). In May, I wrote an extensive review about this version, which has its pros and cons. It's currently sold as "the" version of Clue at mainstream stores, even though much of the gameplay has changed dramatically from the classic Clue we all grew up with.


The very-monochromatic Harry Potter Clue board


Steve won "Clue Reinvention" Game #1
(Plum with the Trophy in the Kitchen)

Taking things a step crazier, we also had Harry Potter Clue, which is based on the new Reinvention system and has quite a bit of rule changes itself, including secret passages that are always changing, the ability to be killed by the "Black Mark", and casting spells. It's an odd version that takes a while to play.


Branden won "Collector's Edition Clue"
(Mr. Green with the Wrench in the Dining Room)


Steve won "Harry Potter Clue"
(Peter Pettigrew with Impedimenta in the Potions Classroom)

Unfortunately, it seems Hasbro is taking the Monopoly route with Clue these days, using the new Reinvention system to pimp out the game to a bunch of licensees, such as The Office, 24, Seinfeld, and a crazy Secrets & Spies edition.


Amy won "Clue Reinvention" Game #2
(Plum with the Dumbbell in the Living Room)


Scott won "Scooby Doo Clue"
(Velma as Mrs. Peacock with Redbeard's Sword in the Library)

Feedback from our guests seem to favor the old reliable rules of playing the game, though Amy & I played with some big Harry Potter fans who really enjoyed that theme which used different structure. Your mileage may vary, however.

Thanks to everyone who came out and shared in the fun of playing one of our favorite boardgames. We hope you all had a great time!

DiscussView more "Clue Night 2009" photos on Facebook
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Previous Clue-related posts: ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24015 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=24015 <![CDATA[Audio: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/MdW613cWRDM/showthread.php Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:26:03 GMT Continuing a yearly Halloween tradition on SteveandAmySly.com and the TannerWorld Junction discussion forums...

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuted on October 27, 1966, as the third Peanuts television special (the first obviously being the Christmas one). It is here that most of the world who wasn't reading the comic strips was introduced to Linus Van Pelt's fascination with "the Great Pumpkin".


"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" LP from 1978

Charles Schulz thought it would be funny to see what happens if a child confused Halloween with Christmas... and the rest was history. This year, the show is celebrating its 43st anniversary.

While most are familiar with the TV version of this story, many might not know that an audio-only adaptation of the show was created on record in 1978. This shortened-for-LP version contains all the same voice talent and sound effects, but scripted as an exclusive listening experience. The original record has long been out-of-print and surprisingly has never been released on CD.

(If you listen carefully, you can hear the audio voice talent edits done to make the for-TV audio work as an audio-only experience... and note that these edits aren't done with the same voices.)

As a special Halloween treat, you can download this audio story here from SteveandAmySly.com in MP3 format... but just during Halloween season only! Once November 1 comes around, it's gone! Enjoy :)

Download
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Part 1) [Link Expired]
(MP3, 9:38, 13.4MB)

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Part 2) [Link Expired]
(MP3, 9:15, 12.9MB)
]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23989 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23989 Amy the Juror: Part 4 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/YfiyL03Ucu4/showthread.php Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:54:44 GMT Check out Part 1 (http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23643), Part 2 (http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23671), and Part 3 (http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?p=73440) of my jury duty story first! After being told at 9:30 p.m. that we were going to be sequestered... Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of my jury duty story first!

After being told at 9:30 p.m. that we were going to be sequestered in a hotel overnight, we were brought back into the courtroom. The judge, attorneys, and defendant were all present. The judge told us that we would be staying at a Best Western hotel in Evanston (gee, thanks for telling the defendant and his relatives where we'll be!!) and that we would be brought back the next morning at 9:30 a.m.


The next two hours were spent working on logistics and waiting for things to happen. There were two jurors who needed medication. One was able to arrange (through our bailiff) for his wife to drop off his meds at the courthouse. The other juror did not have anyone who could bring him his medication so he had to write down his personal information so that Walgreens could be contacted and a one-time dose could be filled. In addition, several bailiffs had to be secured to accompany us and another one to transport us via bus to the hotel. We were all rather exhausted and were getting anxious to leave but we had to sit around until everything had been arranged. Personally, I was feeling rather awful with the cold that I had been fighting and was really hoping I'd be able to sleep that night as I had only slept 3 hours the previous night.

Finally, at 11:30 p.m., we were escorted out of the building and we got on a small Cook County Sherriff bus. There were 3 bailiffs that came with us, including Annie. Each of them carried small overnight bags but they were quick to state that they didn't pack the bags and had no idea what was in them. They all admitted that they had never had to stay overnight in a hotel with a sequestered jury. One bailiff had worked at the courthouse for 14 years! By this time, people were getting a little "loopy" and one juror started making up a song…."the jurors on the bus…." It was crazy and felt rather surreal. But, the craziness continued.

Our bus driver began driving around downtown Wilmette and eventually came to a dead end street. Great!! We were now lost! How hard is it to get from Skokie to downtown Evanston?! Leave it to MapQuest to give wrong directions. Luckily, one of the jurors lived in Evanston and he quickly went up to the front of the bus to give accurate directions.

At 11:45 p.m., we finally pulled up in front of the hotel. There was a pub across the street with lively conversation going on outside. You had to wonder what in the world people were thinking when 12 people piled out of a Cook County Sherriff bus and walked into the hotel!

We checked in with the front desk and were told that we would all have to pair up in hotel rooms except for the forewoman who was required to have her own room. Since there were 7 women and one was the forewoman, I was bummed to learn that I would have to share a room. I was secretly hoping to lobby for a room of my own since I had been coughing each night with my sickness and I did not want to keep anyone else awake.

Soon, we were all going up the elevator to the fourth floor. We each found our rooms and used the keys to enter the rooms. However, as soon as the door opened, the bailiff asked for our room keys. We were not allowed to leave the room for the rest of the night! We soon found that the clock radios and phones had been removed from the rooms and the cables had been disconnected from the TVs. We really had no access to the outside world! We were told that the sheriffs would knock on our doors at 7 a.m. to wake us up. We learned that the sheriffs took turns keeping watch all night long in the hallway to make sure that none of us left our rooms.

None of us had prepared for staying in a hotel so we didn't have a change of clothes or even a toothbrush. We all slept in our clothes, showered in the morning, and put our same clothes back on. Luckily, I had a travel case in my purse for my contacts and I even had a small travel-size deodorant and body spray in my bag so I felt a bit more prepared than most. In the morning, the sheriffs delivered toothbrushes and toothpaste to us so at least we could brush our teeth!

We ate the hotel breakfast and then proceeded to sit around for an hour while the sheriffs tried desperately to find someone to come get us and take us back to the courthouse. I have no idea why this wasn't arranged the night before. It was a bit comical watching the sheriffs making calls on their cell phones to find us all a ride.

Finally, a bus came for us and we headed back to the courthouse. We were 30 minutes late and then sat and waited another 15 to 20 minutes for the evidence and our notebooks to be brought back into the deliberation room. So, at around 10:30 a.m., we were finally back to deliberating. Some jurors had fresh ideas for how to wade through the evidence which was helpful. We realized that the key to determining between first and second degree murder hinged on whose testimony we believed. There were two forensic pathologists who gave testimony as to the final cause of death of the victim. It wasn't long before we all became comfortable with what we all believed to be true about the cause of death. Before we knew it, we had all come to a unanimous decision that the defendant was guilty of first degree murder.


Lunchtime came and we still had one more decision to make. So, we asked for lunch to be ordered and we moved on to exploring whether we believed that the murder was extremely heinous. This is where things got tricky. No definitions or legal explanations were provided to us about this. We were also unclear about whether we had to come to a unanimous decision about whether it was heinous or not. It didn't take long to realize that this determination was very subjective. Many jurors believed that ANY murder is heinous and so they wanted to add this on to the verdict. Others believed that while murder is awful, we were being asked to decide if it was extraordinarily heinous than other murders that are committed. People became emotional in trying to prove their points. This is the only time that we actually took an anonymous vote by writing it on a piece of paper. The results showed that we were split down the middle!

After lunch, we decided to write out a question since we were so split on this issue. Maybe because we were all so exhausted or because we were overwhelmed with legalese but we just didn't know what to do next. We didn't know if we had to somehow try to keep deliberating about this and try to get a unanimous decision or if we could just stop deliberating and not add the heinous acts clause to the verdict of first degree murder. So, we wrote out our note and waited for the reply.

A few minutes later, the note came back and said, "Stop deliberating. You have your verdict". So we officially filled out all of the paperwork and signed our names to the legal documents. 15 minutes later, we were back in the courtroom. Our forewoman was worried about having to read the verdict out loud in the courtroom (the way they show on TV) but she just gave the verdict forms to our bailiff, Annie, who gave them to the judge. The judge read the verdicts very matter-of-factly. I really did not want to make eye contact with the defendant so I have no idea if he showed any reaction. The audience remained silent so it was difficult to know if anyone was surprised or relieved.


The judge then called out each of our names one by one and asked if this was our verdict. Again, nerve-wracking that our names were shared with the defendant and his family. After polling each one of us, the judge thanked us for our service and we were escorted out of the courtroom. A few minutes later, our cell phones were returned, the evidence and our notepads were collected, and the judge and state's attorneys came to the deliberation room to talk to us. The judge issued each of us a certificate and asked us if we had any questions.

It was at this point that we learned more details about the defendant and his prior criminal history which we were not allowed to know during the trial. We were told that he would be sentenced on October 23rd and we were given a phone number to call on the afternoon of the 23rd if we wanted to hear what his sentence will be. The State's Attorney quickly allayed our fears about our names being given to the defendant and his family. She shared that his family had stopped coming years ago and that we had nothing to worry about. Again, we were thanked for our service, we collected our belongings, and said goodbye.

It was odd to walk out of the building with the jurors, walk into the parking garage, and go our separate ways knowing that we would never see one another again. After being together for 5 days, including an overnight in a hotel, we all began to know each other rather well. But, we did our duty and it was time to go on with our lives. We didn't exchange contact information (except for one of the alternates who I promised to text when we were done deliberating so that she would know what the outcome was). That was it.


This was an experience that I will never forget. I have no doubts or questions in my mind that we made the right choice. A man's life was taken. The defendant had numerous opportunities to spare this man's life but he chose not to. Now, he will be held accountable for the choices he has made. End of story. Hope you have enjoyed reading about my experience and that each one of you is given the opportunity to serve on a jury someday.

Amy the Juror Story Navigation
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]]> AmySly http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23959 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23959 <![CDATA[BevReview.com's Starbucks Contest: You Win, We Win!]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/tkAov8GROEM/showthread.php Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:26:12 GMT Check out Starbucks' new website at EnergyPlusCoffee.com -- then enter our contest to win free Starbucks stuff... and learn how you can help BevReview.com in a blog-vs-blog competition. You want us to win, right?

Read full update at BevReview.com ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23921 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23921 Monster Energy vs. BevReview.com http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/0FatU5B6zXs/showthread.php Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:23:29 GMT Some lawyers representing Monster Energy apparently don't like our review, and they were kind enough to send us some e-mail to let us know. Read about all the legal fuss and the joy of being a beverage reviewer!

Read full update at BevReview.com ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23877 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23877 Clue in Toy Story 2 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steveandamysly/~3/eQLs7fVt6AY/showthread.php Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:35:33 GMT Last night Amy & I caught the 3D double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2. It's been a while since we've seen those films and I think Pixar did a nice job in the 3D conversion.


One thing that caught my eye -- and I had completely forgot about -- was the inclusion of our favorite boardgame in Toy Story 2. During the scene after Woody is taken by Al, the toys pull together an "investigation" to figure out who stole their cowboy friend.


Click to enlarge

Fittingly, the mystery is framed by Hamm standing on a 1963 version of the boardgame Clue. Sweet!

Previous Clue-related posts: ]]> Tannerman http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23853 http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=23853