This was a great childhood game because it was competive, skill based and quicker than monopoly.

It’s interesting to know that the game has been solved, meaning that computers have determined the first player to move can win every time if they play perfectly.

“There are some people who can play Connect Four perfectly. Wikipedia link for basic strategy. About Connect Four

When the first player goes in the middle column, the first player will always win if the first player is perfect, but the columns next to the middle column will result in a draw, and the other columns result in a second player win.”

Play Connect Four

I think the AI on this one is better, so when you dominate the first, try this Connect Four game.

The USS Cole was attacked by terrorists while at portin Yemen back in 2000. Far from recent news, but here’s how we brought her back for repairs. The Cole is a fairly big guided missile destroyer. The Marlin is a huge ship and it partly submerged itself, had the Cole tugged over it, and ascended with the Cole now on its deck.

The Cole returned to the Fleet in 2002.

I was never good at the punch a mole game. My excuse was that I was six and the wacking stick was too heavy. That same year I found out that you could pull out all the tickets from the skee-ball machine if you pull them slowly with constant pressure. That is really neither here nor there and I don’t remember any of the cool prizes I won, so there’s your brief glipse of me as a 6 year old.

In other news, this game is fun and will prepare you for your next career in data entry which starts shortly after your boss sees you playing this.
Play Tontie

Feeling a bit like Ryan Seacrest, I have the results to last weeks American Idol. You may have already seen the results, where the beautiful and talented La Toya London lost when everyone expected Jasmine “Flower In Her Hair” Trias, wasn’t even in the bottom two, to go home instead. I know why, and it’s not because of sympathy votes.

Last post I admitted to watching a lot of reality TV and especially Survivor. Congratulations to Rob and Amber, I’m a sucker for romantics and they’re cute together, and to Rupert for winning the ‘America voted’ million dollars. He got one of my votes. I’ve never voted on American Idol because I don’t watch the show live and the phone lines are only open for two hours in the time zone after the show airs. The key to American Idol and Jasmine’s reprieve from joining JPL and the football player is timezones.
Would you like to know more? »

My name is Thad, and I’m a reality TV junkie.
“Hi Thad”

I watched my first reality TV show in college. Road Rules: Islands was pulling their RV into Newport Beach to do a comedy skit at Balboa Island. MTV hooked me with their Real World and Road Rules marathons. Back to back to back episodes to eliminate the waiting of who is going to hook up, who is going to demand respect, and who is going to say, “I’ve never in my entire life on this earth been….” Where does MTV cast?

MTV is like a gateway drug. I had it under control with a half an hour a week, and I could have stopped at any time…and then along came Survivor. I missed the first couple episodes because this was still 2 B.T. (Before Tivo), but Sarah and Vinnie couldn’t stop talking about it on my morning commute. I tuned in and instantly hated Richard Hatch, but instantly loved Survivor. In that first season I actually said to a date, “We have to take this sushi to go, because Survivor starts in 10 minutes.”
Would you like to know more? »

All of my music is stored on my computer now, and before that the CDs were in big wallets, so it’s been a while since I’ve looked through the album covers. Some covers I remember were the baby on the first Nirvana album, and Michael Jackson with the white tiger on Thriller…although that may have been on the inside…

Flip that around and here’s a humorous review of the Top 10 Worst Album Covers.

See also more album covers

Play Team Dodgeball

Play Ultimate Dodgeball

In a way it’s like Pool. When you have nothing, just hit it really hard.

The Good:

* 40 Levels
* Fun with Physics
* Popping balloons

The Bad:

* No level codes

The Game: Warthog Launch

A penguin walks into a bar, and asks the bartender if he has any plums. The bartender, confused, tells the penguin that no, his bar doesn’t serve plums. The penguin thanks him and leaves.

The next day, the penguin returns, and again repeats his request for plums. Again, the bartender tells him that, no, the bar does not serve plums, has never served plums, and, furthermore, will never serve plums. The penguin, a little ruffled, thanks him and leaves.

The next day, the penguin returns, but before he can say anything, the bartender begins to yell: “Listen, penguin! This is a bar! We do not serve plums! If you ever ask for plums again, I will nail your stupid penguin beak to the bar!” The penguin is silent for a moment, and then asks, ”Do you have any nails?” Confused, the bartenders says “No.”

“Good!” says the penguin. “Then do you have any plums?”

——–

At which point the bartender wished he could play: Penguin Baseball

This isn’t much of a movie review as the movie isn’t released until 9 July 2004, so consider this a trailer review.

Will Ferrell returns to hit socal roots to play a 70’s anchorman for Channel 4 News team in San Diego. So I guess that means: funny and filled with hot girls. The trailer and an exclusive clip are available in many formats and sizes. “You pooped in the refrigerator?…I’m not even mad, that’s amazing.”

Will Ferrell is THE comedian right now. Last year brought us Old School and the Harvard Class Day speech.

Sara, if we go to just one movie this year, and that’s a real possibility, it’s gonna be Anchorman.