Games people play

Had an opportunity to play with Conectaballs (r) the other night.

These are stretchable strings with 8 wooden balls each.

Two or more strings combined together will let you form this or that shape. 

Oh, they can grow pretty huge being connected as series of shapes. 

Natural wood is smooth to touch, addictive like praying beads.

Some adults will find coloured version more attractive, this is a matter of taste.

For young kids coloured version will be easier because you can get prompts from assembled coloured 3D shapes. 

This brain teaser may keep one engaged for hours but at the same time you can get a simple result pretty fast. Possibilities seem to be endless, as your imagination could be miraculously awaken.

It's a versatile game adaptable for early childhood development and for high school mathematics education.

Could be used for theoretical mathematics and stereo-metrical reasoning development: how many 8-ball strings are needed to assemble a 5-beam star? And how about a square pyramid with four beads on the side? How about a cube?

But just playing with the strings of balls without reasoning will work too! 

Very suitable for adult pass time. Trust me, one can be childfree and have fun with the game (yeah, you don't need kids to get kicks out of this puzzle). You can chat and drink with your friends and manipulate Conectaballs creating a new shape at the same time.

What is next? I hope next version will come with a stack of cards with pictures of the assembled shapes, marked with levels of complexity. It's real fun to create outside of the box, people like to say.  For me it's fun to see the target and know that I am advancing to the next game level.

But – bummer! - this item is not sold in any store: nor Amazon neither ToysRUs. Not even in  Learning Express Toys...

This can be changed and you are in control: support Conectaballs @ Kickstarter and wait for  your rewards (they ship internationally) as you help this wonderful product to make it to the stores. Imagine happy people buying Conectaballs for their kids, nephews and nieces, friends, ageing parents and themselves. 

 

Everclear

Everclear is pure grain alcohol bottled at 151-proof (75.5%) and 190-proof (95%). Sale of the latter is prohibited in many U.S. states.
I was lucky to have a cocktail made of home-made Everclear lemon and fresh ginger bitters mixed with sparling water and ice.

It's a real eye-opener I must say!

Back into the future

Sketchfab Talks 3D Printable Ties

There aren’t many ways that men today can express themselves with formal or office wear these days. While women are often pressured to wear stylish and expressive clothing, men tend to be forced into a box of bland sameness where your suit colors are black, brown, or blue. But wearing interesting neckties is often where men are allowed to shine, and express themselves and their unique personalities.

And what is awesome, neckties work for girls too!

And I told you so.

Bonus:

Protein pancakes

Life is sad without pancakes this time of the year. With darkness, cold and snowstorms  carbohydrates become unsanely desirable. 

3 eggs, a cup of milk, 2 teaspoons of white sugar, a pinch of salt and a half teaspoon of baking soda or a teaspoon of dry yeast and enough all-purpose bleached wheat flour mixed together to make for batter that has to be scooped rather than poured. Grilled in substantial amounts of oil and served with sour cream, jam or honey to make a perfect winter breakfast.
Very high in carbs.
And what we need is a healthy balance of protein, carbs and fat. 

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Substitute white sugar with brown sugar,  take unbleached flour...
Sorry, whom are we kidding, still very high in carbs.

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Option one.
Sub sour cream with something high in protein: Greek yoghurt or cottage cheese.

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Option two.
Make batter protein-reach:

whisk 3 eggs, mix with 1 cup of cottage cheese, few tablespoons of water and 1 cup of rolled oats (branded as "Old-fashioned oats"  vs. "Quick"), let the mix stay for 7-10 minutes to let oats reabsorb the liquid.   Add 2 rounded tablespoons of flour, salt and soda. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water if needed to achieve desired thickness.

Go! 

Anne's Food: Semmelkladdkaka or Cardamom-Almond Blondie

Anne's Food: Semmelkladdkaka or Cardamom-Almond Blondie: Semlor is all the rage in Sweden this time of year. Let's do a short recap: It's a yeasted bun, flavored with lots of cardamom, an...