I took the day off to work in my yard and get it ready for winter, but ended up having to work for four hours anyway. Oh well. I tried. Didn't get all my grass plants chopped down, so I guess I have something fun to do this weekend. Yay.

I was going to go get groceries (one of the more depressing activities, given the prices) and the first thing I wanted to buy was seedless strawberry preserves for my biscuits. So I grab my laptop and head to Safeway's website, search for it, find I have two options, and have to decide between them. I can get Smucker's on sale at a higher price, which I know I'll like... or I can buy into the unknown with Safeway's store brand and save $1.50...

   
I decide to save myself the $1.50 and go to add it to my cart. But, as you can see, I have to log in to do that. So I log myself in... search for seedless strawberry preserves again... and this pops up...

What the actual fuck is this?

So I open up a new browser and use a proxy to start over. I go to Safeway and... same exact thing. It's a completely different price once I log in.

Which begs the question: How many times have I already been logged in or didn't check a price before logging in only to have Safeway charge me more because they know I already shop there?

This is a crock of shit, and has me wondering if it's grounds for a class action lawsuit when stores charge different groups of people different prices for the same thing. It should be illegal.

And here I thought dynamic pricing digital tags were going to be the problem. Turns out that we're already there.

As an escape from the horrors of this world, I've been turning to board games as a distraction. I figured talking about what I've been playing might be a nice escape for Blogography as well. So this means I'll have Caturday on Saturday, Bullet Sunday on Sunday, and Game Week Wednesday on Wednesday. One less thing to think about each week, I guess.

I have been a Solitaire fan since forever. I played it with cards as a kid after my mom taught it to me... and then played on the computer when it became the de-facto digital game no matter what platform you were on. I have played many, many versions on computers over the years (anybody remember Kitty Spangles Solitaire?) and always come back to it when I need a quick distraction.

Until... Puzzle Dungeon!

This is a fun solitaire game that came out around 2020, I think. You're essentially battling your way through a dungeon, and I loved it. Eventually I got an extended print-and-play version and was hooked. But then I ended up losing all of it and Puzzle Dungeon was forgotten.

Until... my board game renaissance!

I looked for Puzzle Dungeon but couldn't find it for sale anywhere. But then the creator, Brian Garber, put up a pre-order for the game on his Etsy shop and I never clicked the BUY button on anything so fast.

And the game arrived last week! I've been playing it quite a lot (on the beautiful play mat you can buy for the game)...

From Brian's Etsy page...

What is Puzzle Dungeon? Puzzle Dungeon is a solo card game where you use one hero to battle 20 monsters. Each hero lists the types of monsters they're hunting. The goal of the game is to collect those monsters before running out of weapons.
   
Game Play: Each game is played using one hero, twenty unique monsters, and a thirty-two card arsenal deck. You'll deal and draw cards from the arsenal deck and try to match their suits to the monsters your hero is hunting. When you match with a monster, you discard the cards used and gain that monster's loot. If you can defeat all of the monsters your hero is hunting before you run out of cards, you win. You can play over 550 times using a different hero without any repeats. No other card game offers this much replayability.

And now... a warning...

This game will kick your ass... at first. It takes a while to get a handle on how the decks work and what the best approach is to deal with the monsters you're facing. But once you get a feel for that? It can still be quite a challenge, but it's an addictive one because you know what you're doing and can look ahead to how it works. Having not played it in years, I'm currently losing more than I'm winning but still having a blast.

I love Puzzle Dungeon. And pre-ordered both the Pets and Intro Deck which release next month.

If you end up buying the game, don't forget to pick up a play mat... it's pretty great, and a steal at just $25!

Dramatic lighting effect wasn't planned... it just turned out that way while I was organizing the box!

   
POSITIVES: Fun to play. Beautiful to look at. Quality parts. Massive variety for replayability.
NEGATIVES: The excellent storage box doesn't have room to sleeve the cards. Hopefully we eventually get a "big box" which allows for this.
   
Puzzle Dungeon (Art of Brian Garber Games)
★★★★★★★★★★
BLOGOGRAPHY GAME WEEK WEDNESDAY SCORE: 10 out of 10.

In my many trips to Japan, I have developed a deep affection for the Japanese people and their culture. In many ways, returning to the Land of the Rising Sun always felt like a strange kind of homecoming. As if I lived there in another life or something.

On my third trip, I think, I finally attended a sumo match, which was quite an adventure. I knew in advance I would be going, so I was sure to read up on the subject before flying across the Pacific so I could best appreciate it.

As you can imagine, there's a lot more to it than just large, powerful men slamming into each other.

Which is why I was nervous when I saw the latest Jason Kelce video had him as a 力士 ("rikishi" - sumo wrestler). I love the Kelce Brothers, but even the nicest people can heap incredible dishonor on other cultures... both intentionally and unintentionally. Turns out I didn't need to worry at all, as he very much tried his best to be respectful and he accounted himself well...

It's amazing that he always seems willing to put himself out there like this and try new things. Even when they might be potentially embarrassing.

UPDATE: Jason talks about his experience in the latest New Heights video...

So good. Jason's video is worth your valuable time to watch.

Lifelong piece of shit Vivek Ramaswamy released a horrific attack ad against his opponent, Amy Acton, which had Acton's piece of shit mother, Donna Arthur, telling people not to vote for her and calling her a liar.

Except...

Donna Arthur lost custody of Amy Acton at age 12 after Acton's stepfather was charged with raping her. The step-father was arrested, indicted, then fled and became a fugitive. Arthur stayed married to him until his death, despite him sexually assaulting her daughter.

And then Laura Loomer decided to chime in...

This is disgusting. But I'd expect nothing less from that ratchet cunt. What a horrifically vile fucking asshole.

Laura Loomer is vying to be the next press secretary and, given her predictable defense of pedophiles, she'd be welcomed with open arms by the administration. The only thing that keeps my rage in check is that she will one day be burning in hell with the rest.

And one of "the rest" is this serial abuser who doesn't give a fuck about anybody...

Painfully on-brand for him.

Though somebody pointed out how Donna Arthur and Trump are practically twins, and now I will never be able to un-see it. Cake on some orange makeup and it's as if they were separated at birth...

There literally is no bottom with these assholes. Just when you think they couldn't possibly stoop any lower, they prove you wrong. An ad which doesn't attack Acton's policies or positions, but instead has her mother attack her as a "liar" FOR BEING A SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AT THE HAND OF A HUSBAND SHE STAYED WITH?!??

Seriously. Fuck this shit. I hope anybody defending this, including the entire Vivek Ramaswamy campaign, goes down in flames.

   
• Fried Pies! I saw somebody post about Burger King having Fried Apple Pie so I made a point to stop and get one (along with an Impossible Whopper, of course). AMAZING! Run, don’t walk, to your local BK to have one!

   
• As You Wish! I'm sure I've seen this at some point in the distant past, because I remember bits and pieces... but it's really nice to see it anew...

   
• It’s Sliced Cheese on Bread... and It’s Rocking Copenhagen’s World. The Danish capital is obsessed with this stripped-down snack, and the city’s top bakeries won’t stop until they’ve perfected it. I really need to get back to Copenhagen one of these days!

   
• Oh Mary! I LOLd at this one...

Yeah. YEAH!

   
• Lies, Lies, and More Lies! Posted without comment...

Except to say... every word of this.

   
• Refreshing! This is actually "doing your own research"...

I don't understand why anybody would take anything in today's world at face value. Rooting out facts has never been easier.

   
• Because... BWAH HA HA HAAAAAA! HA HA HAAAA HAAAAAAA! =gasp= HA HAAAAA HA HAAAAA HA HA HA HAH HAAAAAAA! I haven't seen somebody get their ass handed to them this bad in a minute...

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is everything I want in a politician.

   
And now I'm headed back home. See you on the flip-side.

I am away from home today, remotely checking in on the cats throughout the day.

Thursday night when I wheeled my suitcase out to the car, Jake and Jenny knew exactly what was happening, and their behavior changed accordingly.

Jake decided He wasn't leaving my side... laying on my legs, my lap, and even my feet. The only thing that got him to leave was when the dinner alarm sounded...

Yesterday morning, they were waiting for me when I woke up. Jenny was next to me, Jake down by my feet. At least he was until I woke up. Then he wanted belly scratches, which irritated Jenny because he flopped down on her space to do it...

Because I like returning home from a trip to a clean bed, I stripped the bedding off and threw it in the wash. Then I tried to put out fresh bedding, but I couldn't even get the sheets on before the cats were all over the bed again. Eventually I gave up and sat in bed to deal with my morning emails and work. Jake once again decided to invade Jenny's personal space, but she was asleep and didn't mind...

So I guess it all worked out in the end.

Until I went to leave...

Last month when I decided to talk about my renewed board game obsession to distract myself from getting depressed over another 9/11 anniversary, I showed where some of my games were stored in my home. What I didn't show was above where my Marvel United collection is stored.

There I was unboxing some books and games I had in my garage. There were two old atlases I liked, but one of them had a bunch of ratty post-it notes sticking out. I went to remove them... and found out they were bookmarks of places my mom wanted to visit (and some of the places we had been)...

Apparently she started a wishlist after I started taking her on trips. So of course there's no way I could remove them. They mean more than the book. So now they're sticking out, just as she left them...

How cool is that?

Corsica (Ajaccio) is a place we stopped on a cruise I took her on back in 2010.

No idea why that place got a bookmark when all the other places on that map spread were not. Could be she put it there before the trip so she remembered to research it or something. I'll never know.

But I will always know that we explored the place together and it was a fantastic trip that she enjoyed a lot. And that's all that really matters.

I used to travel a lot. And I mean a lot a lot. I was traveling a third of the year. Sometimes for work. Sometimes for vacation. Much of the time for the charity I volunteered with. Now-a-days, I don't travel much at all. A few times a year. And while I miss seeing new places and meeting new people and all that, I don't really miss the travel part of travel. It was a difficult thing... being away from friends and family, living out of suitcases, and spending so much time trapped on planes and stuck in airports. But it was my life at the time and I tried to make the best of it.

Oh. Another difficult thing? More often than you'd ever think, it was my fellow travelers.

And I've seen it all.

Most of the time, the reason there's a problem is because the traveler in question is drunk or high and unable to handle the amount of alcohol and/or drugs they have in their system.

Situations like this one (the ride to the police station at the end is CLASSIC)...

When I first saw this video, it was a "reacts" video and they didn't tell you where it was happening. As the madness unfolded, I was like... "I wonder what airport this is at?" And then when they are dragging her off the plane and I can see the concourse better, I was all "Ooh! It's Tampa! That's such a nice airport!" and then I'm all "Yep. Yep. Florida... this makes total sense now!"

In all my decades of constant travel, I've only had direct conflict with another traveler twice.

The first was when somebody was in my seat and wouldn't even entertain the idea that he was wrong and he started getting verbally abusive. A flight attendant showed up and asked me for my ticket. Then asked him for his ticket. He was wrong. He had to move while mumbling about thinking he was on a different flight. The end.

The second was more irritating.

I got on the plane, found my seat, and started to put my carry-on bag in the overhead. From behind me I heard "STOP! DON'T DO THAT!!" I turned around and a woman was leaping from her seat. "MY JACKET IS UP THERE AND I DON'T WANT YOU WRINKLING IT." And I was like okay. Then I backed up so she could move her jacket. But that's not what she did. She was looking for a different place for me to put my bag! Once I understood what was happening, I said "Um. The overhead is not a coat closet, that's where bags go." and she came unglued. She was berating me because SHE GOT THERE FIRST! and I DON'T GET TO TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!

So here comes the flight attendant who explains to her that the overhead storage is for bags, and she is not happy.

Eventually a compromise is reached. The rude woman turns her suitcase sideways and puts her folded jacket on top of it. Which makes her unhappy because it's going to get wrinkled being folded.

You'd think this would have been the end of it.

BUT NOOOOOOOO.

She was sitting across the aisle from me and decided to keep going off about me, but was smart enough to not direct her comments to me. Which is why I put my headphones on the minute we left the runway.

And when we landed?

That's when she decided it was safe to direct her comments to me. And the more I yawned and pretended that she didn't exist, the more upset she got with me. I most definitely didn't want her behind me, so I was sure to wait until she had gotten up and got her stuff before I got up.

Behind her.

At which time I grabbed a hunk of the fabric from the bottom of her jacket she was holding over her arm and twisted the ever-loving shit out of it.

She must have felt something happening, because she turned around and gave me the stank-eye, but she didn't realize what had actually happened.

I really, really wish that I could have been there when she saw the nice wrinkles at the bottom of her jacket.

Childish? Yes. But she deserved it. Had she just been a decent person and asked if I could watch for her jacket, I would have gladly done my best to do exactly that. But she was an entitled beyotch who thought it was her personal plane and that she had the right to unload on me for daring to defy her, even though I was just trying to put my bag in the overhead.

Sorry I don't have a better travel conflict story to share. You'd think that I would, given the odds.

But I do have plenty of stories about weird behavior, violent outbursts, crazy happenings, and other travel-related madness that I wasn't directly involved in. I also have a story about an oven catching on fire in the galley of a flight I was on.

But I'm tired and want to go to bed.

Last year I bought a freezer to put into my garage. The main reason for buying it was because I only had a drawer freezer in my refrigerator which wasn't big enough to store much of anything at all. So whenever something went on sale, I couldn't really take advantage of it. I didn't have the room. So I spent the money on extra freezer space... quickly filled it up by going crazy whenever something I like was on sale... then ended up wishing I had bought a bigger freezer.

All that food sitting in the freezer, but did I ever dig into it?

Not really.

I'd put my Beyond Stack Burgers in there since I buy so many of them... but everything else just kind of sits in there.

Until I spent all my money on board games.

Given how horrendously expensive groceries are, I decided to start working my way through all the frozen foods I've been ignoring instead of buying new food. And it's been kinda an eye-opener.

First of all, I've fallen in love with frozen biscuits again. I bought five bags of those Pillsbury Grands! frozen pucks months ago because they were on sale for cheap. I think that I overcooked them at too high a temperature or something, they tasted awful, then I never cooked them again. All I needed to do was lower the temp and cut the cooking time. Delicious!

Second of all, I bought loads and loads of pizza sticks because I loved them so much. Then got tired of them. Turns out I just needed a break, because they are damn delicious. And now I'm probably going to get tired of them again.

Third of all, I have a habit of freezing any bread I have left over before going on vacation or whatever. Then I never eat it because it doesn't taste fresh. But here's the thing... it tastes great toasted. It also tastes great made into garlic bread. Or croutons. Or a grilled cheese even.

Fourth of all, I have loads of Morningstar Farms burgers in my freezer which I've all but abandoned. It was super-cheap on sale so I bought bags and bags of Grillers fake burgers. And almost immediately discovered my beloved Beyond Stack Burgers, which are the only burgers I want to eat. Because life is too short for less tasty veggie burgers. But, for reasons I don't know, I have also been ignoring all the other Morningstar Farms stuff in my freezer. Fake hot dogs, corn dogs, sausages, bacon, black bean burgers... you name it. That was a mistake, because those things I still love as much as I ever have.

And last of all, I had bought a bunch of bags of frozen fire-roasted corn. Never touched them. But then I was hungry and... oh dang is this stuff delicious! It's good microwaved. It's frickin' fantastic when cooked like BirdsEye wants you to cook it... spread out on a cookie sheet and over-roasted. I will never eat un-fire-roasted frozen corn again.

And so...

The great news in all of this is that I am saving loads of money eating food I already have instead of spending money I don't.

Given the heinous inflation, I'm willing to bet my freezer has paid for itself already.

   
There. I voted. Impossible to believe we still have 13 days of this shit.