I'm super busy for the next 24+ hours with my day job, so I may be a bit quiet for the next 36 hours.
It seems that the Yahtzee app removes people from families without any prompting. Perhaps that's why we lost Jetguy a while ago.
Kitty has had it happen to her at least once. It appears it happened quite recently to DiceMafia187chris. That's what his mother, Kathyjh24, tells me.
I didn't remove Chris, so I'm sure he'll be back as soon as he sees the invite. I sent him a note, letting him know I did not remove him. If he's upset enough to tell Kathy, who informed me of it, then I'm sure he will be eager to rejoin us. (Kathy has moved on, too. She's a pal with DARNDICE, and where DARNDICE goes, she goes too, evidently.)
I did remove two members the other day. Both Deeznutz and AKhuntergirl have been completely absent for more than a month, probably more than six weeks. So I removed them. They had been contributors in the past, so I gave them some benefit of the doubt. I also sent them a private message, letting them know if they return to active play and want back in our family, they're welcome, I'll do what I can to find them a spot. At the time I had requests to add three players, and no open spots. This was right before the DARNDICE group took their action elsewhere. I chuckle at the insanity of that at this point.
If you read this blog, you're likely an active player. So, if you ever find yourself out of the family all of a sudden, don't assume I simply removed you. I'll send you a note informing you that I did, just as I did for Deeznutz and AKhuntergirl. So, if you wind up like DiceMafia one day, check with me, let me know you lost your spot, because I have no idea who disappears when the member count goes from 50 to 49. I have to figure it out, and I don't keep a membership roster.
To that end, I'm making MysticShores a co-leader of our group, so in the event I find myself out of the group somehow, she can guide it until I return.
Also, read the blog post below if you want in the new contest. Deadline is sometime tonight. And yes, you're still welcome to participate, Chris, despite the fact you're somehow on the outside today. Who knows, maybe you've already accepted my invite back to the group as I finish typing this.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Let's celebrate
We lost a few people who turned out to be less than wonderful human beings. They proved it. I was a jerk for assuming the worst of one of our family members, but I don't hide from that. The departed fools think they're victims, I'm sure. Good luck to them, they're going to need it.
So now that we've lost the unstable players, let's have a simple contest, with an unspectacular prize for the winner. These prizes are valued at no more than a buck, but the hope is that they put a smile on your face or give you an excuse to put a smile on someone else's face.
The winner gets a choice from the following:
An Elvis prize
A Prince prize
A Game of Thrones prize
I bought four GoT prizes, and have two left. Each one is different, and I'm not getting more of them when they're gone. The Prince prize is different than the first one I offered several weeks ago. The Elvis prize is new to the prize closet.
So what's the contest? It's simple.
My favorite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox, is hosting the baseball team that's 7 miles from my house, more or less, the Minnesota Twins. They play on Friday evening.
To enter, send me a private message via the Yahtzee app with your prediction of the total combined hits for both teams during Friday night's game. Person who comes the closest, without going over, wins an unspectacular prize. In the case of a tie, we'll have a random draw to determine the winner.
Entries due by late Thursday evening. Whenever I sit down to compile a list of the predictions, the entry period is over. Don't delay, enter today!
So now that we've lost the unstable players, let's have a simple contest, with an unspectacular prize for the winner. These prizes are valued at no more than a buck, but the hope is that they put a smile on your face or give you an excuse to put a smile on someone else's face.
The winner gets a choice from the following:
An Elvis prize
A Prince prize
A Game of Thrones prize
I bought four GoT prizes, and have two left. Each one is different, and I'm not getting more of them when they're gone. The Prince prize is different than the first one I offered several weeks ago. The Elvis prize is new to the prize closet.
So what's the contest? It's simple.
My favorite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox, is hosting the baseball team that's 7 miles from my house, more or less, the Minnesota Twins. They play on Friday evening.
To enter, send me a private message via the Yahtzee app with your prediction of the total combined hits for both teams during Friday night's game. Person who comes the closest, without going over, wins an unspectacular prize. In the case of a tie, we'll have a random draw to determine the winner.
Entries due by late Thursday evening. Whenever I sit down to compile a list of the predictions, the entry period is over. Don't delay, enter today!
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
So long, farewell
On June 25 I assumed that a member of our "family" had left to seek a spot on the first-place team of the latest Feast, which had started hours earlier that day.
I don't have a long history with her, and based upon our limited history, I assumed the worst of her actions. I looked like a jerk because of it.
I asked her why she suddenly bailed out of a group she professed devotion to, and the exchange we had, and her interest in returning to our group, despite the fact I had been a jerk was good enough for me to bring her back. I gave a person the benefit of the doubt, doubt I had expressed an hour earlier.
That didn't sit well with DARNDICE, the new member who I thanked profusely in my previous post, for bringing a new group of players to the family. There is no doubt, DARNDICE was not upset that I was a jerk and assumed the worst of another player. She was upset that I decided to bring that person back, based upon that person's word. DARNDICE promptly left our group.
Again, she was clear in direct messages to me that she left because she didn't want me to bring the other player back. She never explained why she wanted the other player to remain exiled from our family.
Again, she was clear in direct messages to me that she left because she didn't want me to bring the other player back. She never explained why she wanted the other player to remain exiled from our family.
Nothing I can do when people make puzzling decisions. I learned that weeks ago.
I expect we'll lose others as a result. One of DARNDICE's followers gave me the third degree via private messaging. Questioning my judgment is fine, but being rude and insulting is not acceptable. I will say no more about it, other than to note I removed her from our group.
Within an hour one of her close comrades was also gone. I'm sure he won't be the last.
Our group lost good contributors, but I won't apologize for trying to be kind to somebody who could have remained with the front runners, but accepted my apology and returned, claiming she left the group through no fault of her own. (The Yahtzee app has glitches, we've seen them, so it's not hard for me to believe that a member is having trouble with her phone/Yahtzee app.)
I'm human, people will rub me the wrong way. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and I should have done so earlier this evening. Because I didn't, we lost three people so far. But given the reasons we lost them, our group is better off without them. It's too bad my act of kindness rubs people the wrong way, with no good explanation for it.
UPDATE on Thursday, June 26:
It's the morning after the big fiasco, and I am glad that three people are gone.
First and foremost, I feel like a jerk, still, for my knee-jerk reaction. I assumed the worst of a player who was no longer in our group, and I expressed that immediately without giving her a chance to respond. Ultimately it doesn't matter if she wants to leave and join the lead group. But given previous exchanges we'd had, I took it as an insult that she was in another group, and chastised her in our private group chat without waiting for her to respond to my inquiry as to why she was gone after all the effort she made to remain in our group. I look like an idiot because of it. No sugar coating it. It's a fact.
I received several, and I mean several, private messages from people as a result of the previous night's fiasco, and learned some interesting things about those who are no longer in our group.
I was quick to acknowledge my shortcoming as a team member. I'm not the only person with shortcomings, however, and others choose to take their Yahtzee action elsewhere and pretend they're victims, victims of something. They're victims of their own poor judgment and decisions, nothing more.
Let the good times roll!
UPDATE on Thursday, June 26:
It's the morning after the big fiasco, and I am glad that three people are gone.
First and foremost, I feel like a jerk, still, for my knee-jerk reaction. I assumed the worst of a player who was no longer in our group, and I expressed that immediately without giving her a chance to respond. Ultimately it doesn't matter if she wants to leave and join the lead group. But given previous exchanges we'd had, I took it as an insult that she was in another group, and chastised her in our private group chat without waiting for her to respond to my inquiry as to why she was gone after all the effort she made to remain in our group. I look like an idiot because of it. No sugar coating it. It's a fact.
I received several, and I mean several, private messages from people as a result of the previous night's fiasco, and learned some interesting things about those who are no longer in our group.
I was quick to acknowledge my shortcoming as a team member. I'm not the only person with shortcomings, however, and others choose to take their Yahtzee action elsewhere and pretend they're victims, victims of something. They're victims of their own poor judgment and decisions, nothing more.
Let the good times roll!
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
We did it again
Not all of you were here for the first Feast, when this group won its pool and took first place. I assumed that was a one-time thing, but we've managed to finish in the top 10 every time, and we just won another Feast. I can't tell you how blown away I am, or appreciative of everyone's effort to make it happen.
A special thanks to DARNDICE for joining us and bringing a new group of players to bolster our ranks. It was luck that I wound up in a group with all of you, and we've had a good group that has morphed since the first Feast. But my efforts to "recruit" weren't all that spectacular, and as a result we've never had an active group of 50. I don't expect to have 50 hardcore players at any given time, but it's nice to have a group that's 95 percent active players at this point.
I've never been militant about the membership of our group, and as I've noted, I'm hanging onto three people who aren't around much, and didn't contribute to the last Feast. I will give them the benefit of the doubt until I no longer can. There are a few folks who were nearly inactive for the Feast. While I don't need them to post big numbers, the Feast is the biggest reason we need active players. If they're too busy or not interested in making a modest contribution, I'll look at replacing them if we end up with interest from any of your friends or family. I'm not asking for anyone to recruit new members right now, we don't have a lot of room to spare. I just brought back a former member today at the expense of a non-contributor to the last Feast. But perhaps after the next Feast I'll ask for nominations to fill a few slots that have been underwhelming for an extended period of time. Not everyone is a 24/7/365 player, I get that.
Thanks again to all for the last Feast contribution, and an added round of applause for this motley crew:
And finally, a contest. I still owe a prize for the last contest, and Pennie knows I haven't forgotten her. Finding fun, cheap prizes that don't require a giant box for shipping is not easy, unless I want to limit my prizes to cheap, old comic books. And I'd like to think I'm a little more creative than that.
So, here's a contest. It starts as soon as I post the link to this blog. And it's capped at the first five entries with the correct answer, or as many correct answers as I get by 8 p.m. central time on Thursday, June 20. If I don't have 5 correct answers by 8 p.m., then it will continue until I have 5, or realize nobody else cares enough to enter.
To enter, simply submit your answer to the following question by sending me a private message through our Yahtzee game. The answer can be found by listening to the latest episode of my podcast, Can't Turn it Off. https://www.jerseystudios.net/2019/06/17/038-andy-strano/
My guest, Andy, talks about the DeLorean Motor Company and its DMC-12, the "Back to the Future" car. Of those cars produced in the 1980s, how many are estimated to still be around, according to Andy?
A special thanks to DARNDICE for joining us and bringing a new group of players to bolster our ranks. It was luck that I wound up in a group with all of you, and we've had a good group that has morphed since the first Feast. But my efforts to "recruit" weren't all that spectacular, and as a result we've never had an active group of 50. I don't expect to have 50 hardcore players at any given time, but it's nice to have a group that's 95 percent active players at this point.
I've never been militant about the membership of our group, and as I've noted, I'm hanging onto three people who aren't around much, and didn't contribute to the last Feast. I will give them the benefit of the doubt until I no longer can. There are a few folks who were nearly inactive for the Feast. While I don't need them to post big numbers, the Feast is the biggest reason we need active players. If they're too busy or not interested in making a modest contribution, I'll look at replacing them if we end up with interest from any of your friends or family. I'm not asking for anyone to recruit new members right now, we don't have a lot of room to spare. I just brought back a former member today at the expense of a non-contributor to the last Feast. But perhaps after the next Feast I'll ask for nominations to fill a few slots that have been underwhelming for an extended period of time. Not everyone is a 24/7/365 player, I get that.
Thanks again to all for the last Feast contribution, and an added round of applause for this motley crew:
And finally, a contest. I still owe a prize for the last contest, and Pennie knows I haven't forgotten her. Finding fun, cheap prizes that don't require a giant box for shipping is not easy, unless I want to limit my prizes to cheap, old comic books. And I'd like to think I'm a little more creative than that.
So, here's a contest. It starts as soon as I post the link to this blog. And it's capped at the first five entries with the correct answer, or as many correct answers as I get by 8 p.m. central time on Thursday, June 20. If I don't have 5 correct answers by 8 p.m., then it will continue until I have 5, or realize nobody else cares enough to enter.
To enter, simply submit your answer to the following question by sending me a private message through our Yahtzee game. The answer can be found by listening to the latest episode of my podcast, Can't Turn it Off. https://www.jerseystudios.net/2019/06/17/038-andy-strano/
My guest, Andy, talks about the DeLorean Motor Company and its DMC-12, the "Back to the Future" car. Of those cars produced in the 1980s, how many are estimated to still be around, according to Andy?
Friday, June 7, 2019
We're No. 1!
I'm not one to celebrate early, but I will say that I'm impressed that our team, with an infusion of new energy, is in the lead early on. You all amaze me.
As I say over and over, I don't want to insist that people meet a minimum participation level in order to be part of our group. At the same time, I'd rather not have people fill slots and never play.
When it comes to "help" points for scratchers, rolls and tourney passes, I no longer care if your score is 200+ or 0. We have multiple people who are awesome. It never takes more than an hour to get the help you need for a free roll or scratcher. As long as we have such an active group, we're covered. Thanks all of you for checking in and helping each other when you do.
As for the Feast... that's where we really need help from as many as possible. I'm trying to make allowances for those who have helped in the past and are currently not active. The drawback: I don't keep scorecards, I don't keep stats. I have to go by memory, and I may have booted a past contributor the other day and didn't realize it, as I didn't recognize her screen name as one that is active. I'll resolve that in the next few days.
I don't have "rules" about when and how I remove somebody from the team. I'm hoping I'll soon have 50 active people and not have to think about it any more. Again, I never intended this group to be militant. I created it because I could, and named it after my podcast because I could. Fun fact: New episode should be dropping on Monday.*
Another fun fact: I'm recording another episode on Saturday night, remotely, and I'm interviewing a guy who has a super cool "hobby." Hobby isn't the right word, but you'll understand if you listen to ep. 38 on June 17 at cantturnitoff.com.*
I have no idea why DARNDICE's comments disappeared from our group chat this evening, or how she returned. But it was the crowning moment of a bizarre evening.
She brought a new group of active players, and they chat a lot. Awesome, that's what the chat is for. We also have other groups/duos on the team, some that chat, some that don't. And then we have plenty of loners in the group that wound up with us for no reason. I'm a loner, I have no friends or family that play Yahtzee. I think my Yahtzee wife, MysticShores, was also a loner who found her way into our group by chance. I don't know how or why I ended up with all of you in a group I created for the hell of it, but it has shaped up to be an active group. I'm very fortunate to be a part of it.
As I noted Friday evening, some of you offer words of encouragement to others, and those words come in many forms. I haven't seen every last comment made in the group chat lately. I've been on a long, busy, tiring run the past several weeks. And lately I'm falling behind on the daily chatting.
But I have yet to see anything that seemed critical of others. There was joking about level of activity on a weekday afternoon, but nobody has been openly critical of others, as best I can tell.
I don't want anyone to feel unwelcome, or criticized. I hope none of you feel that way. If, however, you are not happy with the group dynamics, I don't want you to feel guilty about moving on and finding another group. I don't like losing people, but it happens, as this group has seen several times. If you want to find a new group to socialize with, or follow a friend to their group, don't feel guilty. It'd be nice if you'd say goodbye first, at least privately to me, but you're not obligated to do that, either. I hate when people say goodbye in a group chat, then leave. Yahtzee changes their display name to "former member," so it's not immediately clear who announced their departure. How stupid is that?
If you're not happy with the group chat, ignore it for a day or two. Come and get your freebies, play some Feast and enjoy the world around you. Take a break from Yahtzee's chat. Hell, play less dice altogether for a day. Sometimes it's nice to put the phone down for a few hours. I don't do it often enough. I hardly touched mine for two days during my Memorial Day weekend camping, and I didn't miss it. I survived!
Do what's best for you, assume the best of others, and keep plugging away at the Feast. It's a fun challenge, and we've got a good thing going right now, it seems. Let's keep it going.
In the interest of sharing tidbits about our lives, I will tell all of you that I have a pacemaker. I've had one since I was 35 years old. I'm actually on unit 2 at this point. The battery hit its end of life after about 9-1/2 years. I'm expecting to get 11 years out of unit 2. Yes, I have a pacemaker. It's really no big deal.
*Fact is not fun
As I say over and over, I don't want to insist that people meet a minimum participation level in order to be part of our group. At the same time, I'd rather not have people fill slots and never play.
When it comes to "help" points for scratchers, rolls and tourney passes, I no longer care if your score is 200+ or 0. We have multiple people who are awesome. It never takes more than an hour to get the help you need for a free roll or scratcher. As long as we have such an active group, we're covered. Thanks all of you for checking in and helping each other when you do.
As for the Feast... that's where we really need help from as many as possible. I'm trying to make allowances for those who have helped in the past and are currently not active. The drawback: I don't keep scorecards, I don't keep stats. I have to go by memory, and I may have booted a past contributor the other day and didn't realize it, as I didn't recognize her screen name as one that is active. I'll resolve that in the next few days.
I don't have "rules" about when and how I remove somebody from the team. I'm hoping I'll soon have 50 active people and not have to think about it any more. Again, I never intended this group to be militant. I created it because I could, and named it after my podcast because I could. Fun fact: New episode should be dropping on Monday.*
Another fun fact: I'm recording another episode on Saturday night, remotely, and I'm interviewing a guy who has a super cool "hobby." Hobby isn't the right word, but you'll understand if you listen to ep. 38 on June 17 at cantturnitoff.com.*
I have no idea why DARNDICE's comments disappeared from our group chat this evening, or how she returned. But it was the crowning moment of a bizarre evening.
She brought a new group of active players, and they chat a lot. Awesome, that's what the chat is for. We also have other groups/duos on the team, some that chat, some that don't. And then we have plenty of loners in the group that wound up with us for no reason. I'm a loner, I have no friends or family that play Yahtzee. I think my Yahtzee wife, MysticShores, was also a loner who found her way into our group by chance. I don't know how or why I ended up with all of you in a group I created for the hell of it, but it has shaped up to be an active group. I'm very fortunate to be a part of it.
As I noted Friday evening, some of you offer words of encouragement to others, and those words come in many forms. I haven't seen every last comment made in the group chat lately. I've been on a long, busy, tiring run the past several weeks. And lately I'm falling behind on the daily chatting.
But I have yet to see anything that seemed critical of others. There was joking about level of activity on a weekday afternoon, but nobody has been openly critical of others, as best I can tell.
I don't want anyone to feel unwelcome, or criticized. I hope none of you feel that way. If, however, you are not happy with the group dynamics, I don't want you to feel guilty about moving on and finding another group. I don't like losing people, but it happens, as this group has seen several times. If you want to find a new group to socialize with, or follow a friend to their group, don't feel guilty. It'd be nice if you'd say goodbye first, at least privately to me, but you're not obligated to do that, either. I hate when people say goodbye in a group chat, then leave. Yahtzee changes their display name to "former member," so it's not immediately clear who announced their departure. How stupid is that?
If you're not happy with the group chat, ignore it for a day or two. Come and get your freebies, play some Feast and enjoy the world around you. Take a break from Yahtzee's chat. Hell, play less dice altogether for a day. Sometimes it's nice to put the phone down for a few hours. I don't do it often enough. I hardly touched mine for two days during my Memorial Day weekend camping, and I didn't miss it. I survived!
Do what's best for you, assume the best of others, and keep plugging away at the Feast. It's a fun challenge, and we've got a good thing going right now, it seems. Let's keep it going.
In the interest of sharing tidbits about our lives, I will tell all of you that I have a pacemaker. I've had one since I was 35 years old. I'm actually on unit 2 at this point. The battery hit its end of life after about 9-1/2 years. I'm expecting to get 11 years out of unit 2. Yes, I have a pacemaker. It's really no big deal.
*Fact is not fun
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